Re: :.:Gone:.:

[Princess]

A small squeak escapes my mouth and I hug Ingrid closely. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I cup her face in both of my hands, turning it sideways to look for any marks. "Did you get burned?"

I freeze briefly as I remember the little girl. I hadn't checked on her. I'd assumed she was okay from the group of people helping her.

"Marcy is okay..." my voice drops to a murmur. "I think." I turn around and look for her, but the group of kids block my view. "I can't see her from here."

[Taylor]

I N G R I D }


"Is Marcy okay?" I ask again, now opening my eyes and fighting to keep them open. My cheeks heat up as Paige worries over me, though I quickly pinch my leg to keep focused.

To my right, I see a group of kids all in a circle surrounding something. A girl leaves the circle with tears streaming down her face. She shoots a pitying look at me before rushing off to who-knows-where.

"Marcy?" I shout as loudly as I dare. "Is Marcy over there?" I sit up now, trying to ignore the blackness that dots my vision.

[Princess]

I quickly move in front of Ingrid, blocking her view of the crowd. "Try not to talk," I attempt to press her back down on the grass. "She's okay, you need to rest."

[Taylor]

I N G R I D }


"Why is everyone crying?" I ask Paige. "Why are they leaving the circle? What's going on?"

[Princess]

I turn my gaze towards the floor and move out of the way. "I'm so sorry," my voice cracks towards the end of my sentence.

"She's gone."

[Taylor]

Name: Arabella Nars
Age (not 16 or over): 15
Appearance:

https://i.imgur.com/Ss1zMmP.jpg:

Personality: Arabella was born into a wealthy family, composed entirely of successful people. She was a prodigy in ballet, immediately becoming confident and narcissistic. Arabella holds herself and others to high standards of perfection; 'good' isn't enough. She thoroughly believes that power is what is imporant, therefore only helps others if she knows she can gain something from it. Arabella lacks empathy and, quite frankly, doesn't care about others feelings. She shows zero mercy towards those she deems 'unworthy'. Arabella is well aware that she's an attractive girl, and uses this to her full advantage. She plays with all genders, and claims that she doesn't need to truly be loved and only does it for fun (which is partly true). Secretly, Arabella deeply craves love and strives for attention.
Power: Telekinesis.
Coates or Perdido Beach: Coates Academy. She was sent there after sabotaging another dancer's ballet performance when she felt her chance to get 1st in a competition was at risk.
Job: Arabella discovered her powers at an early age, and used it frequently. When she was sent to Coates, she discovered other kids that had powers as wells. What did she do with them? Picked a few easily-manipulated people and took them under her wing. Once the FAYZ happened, Arabella jumped at the opportunity to get rid of the others who had powers. With her group, she placed the others' hands in cement and currently holds them captive in Coates' gymnasium. She has become 'leader' of the Coates Academy.
Family*: -
Other*:

[Taylor]

I N G R I D }


I feel a large weight come crashing down on my shoulders. My breath catches in my throat. This was your fault, a voice tells me in my head. You could have saved her. You could have been faster. This is your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault.

The drowsiness and confusion I once felt are gone completely, replaced by anger. I get to my feet and strongly push my way through the crowd gathered around Marcy's body. "Move, you fuckwits," I snap, guarding her body with my own. "Get the fuck out of here. Get away from her."

How can they just stand there, staring at a little girl's body? Or, what remains of it; just a charred skinbag of a thing that used to be full of life.

Once everyone has gone, I drop to my knees and begin clawing at the ground with my hands in a blind rage. The speed that makes me run transfers to all of my movements; my hands move in a blur as I attempt to dig a grave for Macy.

[Princess]

1 Week after the FAYZ

Ingrid is holding a bonfire tonight. Everyone who hasn't disappeared is here, minus the Coates.

As we approach the fire, the children are told to stay in one group near me. They're not likely to wander off, anyway. They've hardly ever been outside at this time of night. I maneuver through groups of loosely-knit people until I spot Ingrid in front of the fire. I sit next to her, the kids sitting together behind me.

"What's up?"

[Taylor]

I N G R I D }


It has been one week since the FAYZ. One week since I was respnsible for Marcy's death. The town held a meeting where we decided what to do; almost everyone was assigned a job. After my display of murder bravery, I was elected Mayor. Paige runs the daycare in town.

The shock of the situation hasn't quite sunk into the young ones yet; they still believe their parents are returning. Even the old kids don't realize that the town is running low on food, and soon enough the river will go dry. Fortunately, nobody has gotten sick yet; I'm not entirely sure what happens when someone breaks a bone or comes down with a cold.

The school bullies have grown more powerful; nobody on the town council agrees with me when I say if we catch a bully, we should simply throw them into the jail for a day.

Through all of the stress, one thing has remained consistent; my dreams. Every night I dream of that day where I ran to save Marcy. Her burned body has been permanently burned into my eyelids. People tell me that I've aged a year in just a week; I don't have time for showers (the water's gone cold anyway), the bags under my eyes have become permanent, and my hair is almost never brushed.

Therefore, tonight I've arranged a bonfire. The last of the marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers will be eaten tonight. I figure they must go away soon, why not tonight?

I stand in front of the fire, roasting a marshmallow on a stick when I hear a familiar voice. "Hey, Princess," I say without taking my eyes off of the fire. "Nice get together right?"

[Princess]

I rest my chin on my knees. "I think so." I take a look at the groups around us. Most of them look more relaxed than they were earlier. "I think everyone here would agree, too."

I turn towards Ingrid. "Someone told me that you used to sing before all of this," my lips curve upwards slowly. "Is that true?"

[Taylor]

I N G R I D }


"Yeah," I remove the marshmallow from the stick and plop it into my mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "I used to be all about playing guitar and stuff."

I let out a long sigh and tug down on the sleeves of my green plaid shirt that's way too big for me, covering my hands completely. I adjust the bowler hat perched on the back of my head; it's a desperate attempt to cover the rat's nest I call my hair.

"Y'know, if this was the old days, I'd probably starting singing now." I laugh dryly and cover my face with my hands, trying to relax into the atmosphere even though I feel the eyes of the entire town burning into me.

[Princess]

"I don't see what's stopping you," I nudge Ingrid's shoulder gently at a feeble attempt to get her to cheer up.

"You should sing something," I pull the flannel I had "borrowed" from Ingrid closer around me, a small shiver running up my spine from the cold. "Anything you want."

[Taylor]

I N G R I D }


I bite my bottom lip nervously and run my fingers through my hair. "Why not?" I shrug my shoulders and drop my marshmallow stick to the ground. I motion to a group of 8th grade guys, one of which with a guitar.

"You mind if I use that?" Without waiting for a response, I snatch the instrument from his hands and begin to tune it. Once it's tuned, I sit cross-legged near the fire and begin to clap to the tune of what once was my favorite song.

"La la dee la, Lo da la la. Lo da la la la la," I begin to strum the guitar, my fingers have memorized exactly what to do after months practicing the song. "When Rome's in ruins, we are the lions, free of the coliseums."

"In poisioned placed, we are empty venom. We're the beginning, of the end," I feel a smile come onto my lips despite the overwhelming stress and fear I feel. "Tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds, and it's all over now. Before it has begun, we've already won."

"We are," I will my voice to hit the high note that I could never hit. "wild, we are like young volcanoes. We are wild, Americana, exotica. Do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby?"

My eyes close as I continue playing, projecting my voice loud enough for everyone to hear. For the first time in a week; I feel at peace.

[Princess]

My small smile turns into a wide grin as Ingrid begins to play. The butterflies in my stomach go wild as I watch her lose herself to the song.

My heartbeat drummed in my ear I swear could swear that it's going to jump right out of my chest.

I've stop paying attention to the song, and start paying attention to her. I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and divert my eyes to the ground, clasping onto the hem of her flannel.

I let out a small squeak. "Holy shit," I look back up at her, hoping to God that the darkness hid how red my face was. "That was amazing."

[Taylor]

I N G R I D }


I smile genuinely for what seems to be the first time in a week and swing the guitar off my shoulder. "Thanks," I place the guitar down on the ground next to me, "Wasn't that great, though."

Nonchalanly, I begin running my fingers through my hair, suddenly concerned with what I look like. "So, how's the daycare going? The kids seem to be taking, y'know, all of this, well."

Probably because they don't understand what's going on.

"Ingrid! Ingrid!" I turn around to see Rodger, the police chief, running towards me. "There's a car! It's coming down the road! There's, like, three behind it! They're coming for us!"

[Princess]

I glance back at the kids, most of them asleep or on the verge of falling asleep. They were excited to be staying up past their bedtime, but now they're struggling to stay awake.

I lean in closer Ingrid's ear, "I haven't told them, yet." I lower my voice to a whisper. "They think they're having a surprise vacation."

I pull away quickly as Rodger approaches. "A car?" I grin and shake Ingrid's shoulder. "That could be help for us."

[Taylor]

>ARABELLA>


"Pull over here," I tell Lawrence, the driver of the black SUV several of us are packed into. "Does everyone remember how this is going down?"

Several murmurs of agreement echo throughout the car.

"I step out first, we find the leader of the group, and offer to help. We'll find out if they've figured out some of them have got powers later and take care of it."

As the car rolls to a stop, I smooth out my plaid skirt and maroon Coates sweater. I flip my hair over my shoulder and swing open the car door.

How cute, I think while examining the town of Perdido Beach. They're having a bonfire.

"Hi," I project my voice loudly and strut closer to the kids, making every moment and word I speak as confident as possible. "As you might have guessed, we're from Coates Academy. Either that, or we all have the same bad taste in clothing."

I glance back to make sure the rest of the Coates kids are getting out of the cars, all dressed in the same clothing I am.

"I'm Arabella Nars," I say as I return my attention back to them. "The leader of Coates. We're here looking for your leader, provided you have one."

[Princess]

I move in front of the little kids as Arabella comes closer. "Why do you ask?" I look behind her, eyeing the number of people she brought with her. "Is there a problem?"

[Taylor]

>ARABELLA>


"We're here to help you," I explain as I step closer to the girl who spoke. Nonchalantly, I shimmy my skirt further up my legs and flip my hair over my shoulder.

"Have you established a government? Laws? Given out jobs? Distributed food? A water system? Are you growing food? What about electricity?" I continue pegging the girl with questions, my voice getting lower and lower. "What about the children? Are you taking care of them?"

"We believe if we bring our groups together, we will be stronger. There's power in numbers," I bring my left fist down into the palm of my right hand. "We'd like to hold a city council."

[Princess]

I frown and turn to face Ingrid. "What do you think?" My voice lowers so that Arabella can't hear. "I don't trust it."

[Taylor]

I N G R I D }


I posiiton myself just in front of Paige, sheltering her body from Arabella and her friends. "She has a point," I murmur into Paige's ear. "If they say they can help us, maybe we should trust them."

[Princess]

I shrug at Ingrid. "It's your choice, but be careful. " I turn my gaze towards Arabella for a split second. "They're not really famous for being good news."

[Taylor]

I N G R I D }


"I can handle it," I murmur and step in front of Paige, locking eyes with Arabella.

"Alright," I say to her. "We'll hold a town meeting. You guys pick five of your people, and we'll pick five of ours. We can meet in the church next to the town hall."

Arabella licks her lips and never once breaks eye contact with me; she bites down gently on her lower lip. "Sounds perfect. We'll be there in ten." She turns on her heel and struts away from the bonfire, swinging her hips and her long brown hair.

I clear my throat and hope my face hasn't gone red as I turn to face the rest of the town. "Alright, so, yeah. You guys heard her. Anyone wanna volunteer to go to the meeting?"

[Princess]

I scowl at Arabella as she turns to leave, forcing myself not to say something mean.

I throw my hand in the air. "I'm going," I stop staring Arabella down. "Do you really think this is a good idea, though?"

[Taylor]

I N G R I D }


"It can't hurt," I decide. "Worst comes to worst, we just tell them to back off. Simple as that."

A few more kids tentatively raise their hands, and I end up choosing Rodger the police chief, Lana who has been working as our nurse, Danny the fire chief, and, of course, Paige.

"The rest of you, get some sleep. If anything happens at the meeting, I'll be sure to get the word out tomorrow," I offer smiles to everyone as they trudge to their homes. "Thanks for coming, guys. Hope you had a good time. See you in the morning."

I wipe the sleep from my eyes, ignoring my desire to take the world's longest nap, and turn to the four others who stayed. "We've got a meaning to get to."

[Princess]

I rest my hand on Ingrid's shoulder. "You look exhausted, are you sure you're up for this right now?"

I stare down in the direction the church is at, but its too dark to tell if the Coates have arrived yet. "What if things go bad?"

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