The Specials (open)

[Wolk]

OOC: Sorry guys, I'm going to have to bow out. It turns out playing a genius character convincingly actually requires a lot of thinking! Who knew, right? That's just too hard for my poor brain already overstressed by the hard thinking RL demands. :OOC

 

[ManOSafety]

Jeff/Lucky

OOC: Sorry, out of town the past week...

IC: Seeing the attention paid to so many others, hearing the suggestions that some type of changes had occurred, Jeff sits up, looking around, watching the others. Remembering what happened with the vials the nurse was carrying earlier, he looks towards the tray at the end of the bed and thinks about moving it, smiling as he sees it raise up then slide to the left as he turns his gaze that way. Forgetting the tray, it falls to the bed again as he looks back around the room.

Standing up from his bed, he looks towards Alexis and starts to move that way, startled he finds that his movement across the room seems nearly instantaneous.

"Let's get out of here..."

 

[CollegeCutie]

Alexis was gazing across the room in shock as everyone's new abilities suddenly became very apparent.

"Let's get out of here..."

She blinked in surprise as she turned to find Jeff standing right next to her. Hadn't he been in his bed just a second ago. She couldn't deny that the idea was appealing, but if they left now they might never find out what exactly had happened to them.

"We can't just leave the others Jeff. Besides, we still have no idea exactly where we are. We should try to get some facts first."

 

[ManOSafety]

"I don't know, I think we're asking for trouble if we stay here. But, then again, maybe we should stick together...I tell you what, you watch my back and I'll watch yours. If thinks look too bad we'll get out of here?"

He continues to look around the room, wondering if they are going to get any real answers to anything.


OOC: How about Blue Streak instead of Lucky?

 

[Matthew82]

Trying to get a grasp of everything happening around us, I turn verticle, hovering in mid-air...My muscles tight from having been in comatose for who knows how long. My attention is immediately grabbed by Alexis, her arms stretched above her body, hair flowing down, but her eyes, a glowing ember .....

Boom!!!!...falling heavily to the floor, i cut myself above my eye...

"Bo!!...are you ok???", Alexis shouts from across the room...coming to terms with my newfound ability, I just couldn't concentrate...it was as if looking at Alexis flipped something some kind of switch in my body, I just couldn't hold myself help...

I feel her fingers brushing a few strands of hair from my eyes as she rushes and kneels besides me, blood slowly oozing from my brow..."I'm ok Alexis,"....my wound healing almost immedialty, her jaw dropped...

"Jess, just stay there ok," I calmly say....."I dont think they are going to let us go anywhere just yet."

The room is immediatly surrounded by military personel. You can hear choppers scrambling outside the cold walls of our confines...Holding Alexis' hand, helping her to her feet, a tall dark man smiles at us from down the hall...My heartbeat is frantic as my finger tips brush against Alexis', my heart should definitly not be beating this fast...first I'm flying, then my cut dissappears within a flash of a second...now this....the man's voice booms inside the room..."Kids, why dont you follow me...Im sure you'd all like to know what the hell is going on"....

OCC: Blue Streak sounds great...whatever you like is cool ManO....going to need to find someone to play Gen. (insert name) and maybe Dr. (insert name) to go into origin explanation of "the specials"...if anyone knows of of someone that would like to pick up the Wolk's character, that'd be cool, doesnt matter, guy or girl..just thought it was a cool character...let me know what you think....thanks to everyone for sticking around...

 

[ManOSafety]

Jeff/Blue Streak

With a shrug and another glance around the room, he heads towards the booming voice in the hallway.

"Yeah, what the hell is going on here any way? Where are we? What happened to us?"

 

[CollegeCutie]

Alexis / Wildfire

"I don't know, I think we're asking for trouble if we stay here. But, then again, maybe we should stick together...I tell you what, you watch my back and I'll watch yours. If thinks look too bad we'll get out of here?"

Alexis had just given Jeff a small nod of agreement when suddenly out of the corner of her eye she saw Bo crash to the ground.

"Bo!!...are you ok?" She asked in worry before rushing over to him.

Seeing blood on his forehead she kneels down next to him on the ground and brushes his hair back to get a better look at the cut. Her jaw drops when she sees the cut healing right before her eyes. In no time at all there isn't even a scar left as evidence that the cut had ever even existed.

Alexis hears the military personel swarming all around them as Bo offers her a hand and they stand up. She puts on a brave stance, but holds on tighter to Bo's hand when she hears the man's voice.

"Kids, why dont you follow me...Im sure you'd all like to know what the hell is going on"

"Should we trust him?" she whispers to Bo.

She doesn't know if she should follow the man or set his clothes on fire.

 

[JubeCube]

Breeze

Cheree watched as the room is surrounded by military personel. She hears the blades of the helicopters outside. Then a voice.

"Kids, why dont you follow me... I'm sure you'd all like to know what the hell is going on..." The wind blowing into the room halted and a nurse grabbed Cheree around the waist. She stared at the man that had spoken.

"So tell us." She spoke up, looking around the room for back up.

 

[Matthew82]

General Gabriel Knight

Gen. Gabriel Knight
Level IV Security Clearance
Height: 6Ft0inches
Weight: 190LBS
Hair: Brown, graying
Age: 33
Graduated West Point. Served in Operation Desert Storm. Youngest American soldier to reach the post of General in the United States Army. After his term in Desert Strom, Gen. Knight was assigned to Homeland Security Covert Ops Division. He dealt with any threats to American soil, and as it appeared, these kids were now a top priority threat.

"Cheree, why dont you follow me and we'll discuss everything."

Cheree fires back, "why dont we talk about it right here", feeling comfortable having access to open airwaves through the window.

"Gentlemen," replies the general as the soldiers escort all the "specials" into a small conference room.

"As you can all tell, you are not in the 'Cross' medical facilty. You are currently in he West Cross Military Medical Building. Now let me ask you this, do any of you remember what happened thirty days ago?" Looking directly at Alexis, but nobody said a word.

"You have all been in a comatose state for 30 days since the incident happened. At approximately 17:00hrs, something astronomical happened that has never been witnessed before. Actual burning stars penetrated earth's atmosphere. It has been recorded that 'burnt' out stars have almost broken through our ozone layer, but this...this we cannot explain. It hit Pine Crossing and my men and I have been on damage control since."

"You may be wondering why you are here and not back in town, well what's left of the town. The town suffered heavy casualties not only to infrastructure but lives as well. Your parents are in the barricks on base, while you all are kept in isolation for observation." Looking at Bo, who senses something wrong. Reaching over to take Alexis' hand as the General continues.

"What you kids need to understand is, every buidling that was hit, nobody made it out alive...."

A tear drops from Bo's face. He knows already that everyone elses parents are ok...but his...they didnt make it. Gripping tighter at Alexis' hand, as they all now can see their parents from outside the rooom.

"Mom!!!" Jessica screams...

"They cant hear you Jessica. And no, you can't see them"

"I think young Mister Smith can see where I'm going with this.."

Jessica replies, "Bo, what the FUCK is he talking about...I want to see my parents NOW!!!"

"Jess, didn't you hear Gen. Knight...everyone died from exposure to the stars...then how are we still breathing," he says glaring at the General through tear soaked eyes.

Gen., "We dont know Mr. Smith, but the military would like to find out. Just like we'd liked to know how Alexis started that fire, and Cheree created that windstorm...even how you flew Bo."

"We are not here to hurt any of you...so please get comfortable...we have a lot to discover about one another," he says with a crooked smile.

 

[the_bean]

Jessica turned around, her brows furrowed and stared at Bo in confusion. She wanted to yell at him too, ask him what he was talkign about. Obviously she didn't understand where any of this was going. She never was one for subtlety.

She looked around between her classmates, back through the window at her parents, and then wrapped her arms around herself and hugged tight. Silence is what they would get out of her from now on. She backed away from the group and pressed herself against the nearest wall.

 

[CollegeCutie]

Alexis / Wildfire

Thirty days. They had been asleep for 30 days...and stars? Had they really been stars? According to everything she had learned in Astronomy class that was impossible, but if they weren't stars then what were they? It was a lot to process.

Her joy at seeing her parents safe was disrupted when she noticed the tears in Bo's eyes. Turning back to the window, which she assumed was made of one-way glass, she suddenly noticed that everyone's parents were there except his. They were exposed to a star. she thought to herself. She gave his hand what she hoped was a comforting squeeze before turning back to the General.

"You're afraid we'll hurt them aren't you? We were exposed to a star and survived, but now our parents can't be exposed to us or they might die...am I right? But if that's the case then how can you be around us General?"

Tears gathered in her eyes and tried to roll down her cheeks, but could only make it a short path down her skin before sizzling and evaporating into the air.

"Will we ever be able to see them again?"

 

[Matthew82]

General's Response

"I dont know the answer to that Alexis," looking her dead in the eye with such much mystery, perhaps lies behind his.

"What I do know is that the soon we complete our testing, the sooner you all see them."

He knew they could see their parents, they were no immediate threat to their lives. What he could not let them know was the fact that the United States had just come upon something that no other country could even fathom...they had discovered a new weapon...

 

[Matthew82]

Bo Breaks down

Alexis, releasing her grip from him, exposing the skin on his hand to 3rd degree burns. Quickly new skin forms with no sign of scarring.

Able to see everyone else's parents through the glass...Having to find out about his parents this way...from this this cold-hearted bastard Knight. It just can't be happening. This is a small mining town..farms and families..Stars?? Why here, why now...no...no this isn't real...

"NO!..General, what the FUCK is going on here...no bullshit..tell us NOW!!"

Alexis, "Bo, calm down...he just said he doesnt know..."

"Bullshit Alexis, and you know it!" he states glaring into her fiery eyes.

"Jeff..Jess...Cheree..cant you see that something is wrong here??..."

Alexis, "Bo, Im sorry about what happened, but this is not helping..not here, not now," looking caringly into his eyes, touching a tear on his face, evaporating...

"NO!!..." Tears falling heavily down his face..he floats in front of everyone..seemingly in complete control of his powers, manipulating the gravitational fields around him...looking at Nick and Jamie..jess holding herself tight, both of them scarred..lastly at Alexis...bitinig his lower lip.."NO!!!!"

In a millisecond he is gone...penetrating the thick metal ceiling, crashing through layer after layer of construction...the sun blinds him momentarily..soaring pass the speed of the sound barrier..feeling woozy from the thin air as he continues to climb..not able to catch his breath quick enough, falling to the earth...

Able to control himself again he hovers for a moment...hearing in the distance and then upon him in a seconds time, surrounded by Appache helicopters...

Not sure that he would be able to outrun them as he was recovering from the pressure of breakng the speed of sound and air moving through his lungs once again..he leads the way back..back to his new home...his new and only family...

 

[Matthew82]

bump!

 

[JubeCube]

Breeze

Cheree pulled out of the grasp of the nurse as Bo took off, she ran over to stand with the others, away from the nurses and military people.

"So what? You think you can help us control these powers, with no powers of your own? How do you plan to do that? Do you plan to use us like some bizarre comic book heroes?"

The wind in the room began to grow, swirling faster and picking up loose objects lying around.

 

[CollegeCutie]

Alexis / Wildfire

"BO, WAIT!!"

But he was gone before she could even form the words. He had flown so fast! She stared up in amazment at the blue sky through the hole that he had made in the ceiling.

Then Cheree began to loose it too.

"So what? You think you can help us control these powers, with no powers of your own? How do you plan to do that? Do you plan to use us like some bizarre comic book heroes?"

"Cheree, stop that NOW!" she told the girl standing next to her as the wind began to blow her long hair around her face.

An inner fire burned within her eyes, and her hands clenched into fists at her sides in an attempt to keep her new abilities under control. She couldn't let things get any more out of control than they already were.

"I know you're upset, we all are, but we can't afford to loose our cool right now. They may not have powers but they have our parents, they have more military weapons than we can probably even begin to count, and they out number us! If they want to run a few tests on us then LET them. I don't care what it is, we are going to do whatEVER they ask us to!"

It was then that she looked up again and saw Bo decending back down towards them. A huge sigh of relief escaped her.

 

[Matthew82]

Falling

Entering the building from the hole he had created earlier, allowing gravity to take hold of his body, gently landing on the cold marble floor of the military hospital ward. Winds still swirling, I gaze over to Cheree, nodding my head no, pleading with my eyes for her to stop.

My body felt weak, maybe from the multiple G forces it had just sustained. Complete unaware of the power I had, I could think about was that I'd never be able to see my mom and dad again. Feeling defeated, I turn to each and every one of you, letting you see the tears in my eyes..the pain seeping out of every pore on my face..eyes locked onto Alexis', her fiery mane still blowing in the remaining winds from the touch of Cheree's hand. Feeling safe near her..

"Gen. Knight, finish whatever tests you need to run..my friends need to see their parents"..hovering, a dark shadow cast behind me...muscles tense, turning towards night, knowing i could grind ever bone in his body into a fine powder if i so chose..

"Now.."

 

[the_bean]

Jessica stood back, pressed against the wall, watching in horror as Bo launched through the roof. She wanted to cry out, but she instead shielded herself from the wind that rose up around Cheree and closed her eyes. She could hardly see anything through her tear-blurred eyes anyway. And the thoughts that demanded her attention ran so rampant in her head that she couldn't find anything coherent to form into words.

Before she knew it, Bo had touched back down and he was standing with Alexis, demanding that they saw their parents. Feeling a surge of courage from hearing the tone of his voice, she finally pushed herself away from the wall and stepped up beside him and Alexis. She hooked an arm in one of Bo's and held her hand out for Nick.

Now was the time for them to stick together. Now was the time for them to take a stand against this bullshit.

 

[Kuldaboli]

Nick "Samael" Bender

Nick had been sort of detached from the world after the incident with the orderly. He had almost killed him! All the guy had done was touch him… and it had almost killed him! He could still feel the warmth pooled within his chest. It felt weird. Terrifying. He really hadn’t registered anything of what had happened until Bo had taken off and crashed through the ceiling.

That part had left Nick stunned. Bo was flying!!! Holy shit!!! The guy was literally flying!!! Like fucking Superman!!! Then a galling wind seemed to appear out of nowhere. Loose things were flying around like in a typhoon. Nick could see Cheree was fuming and Alexis was trying to calm her down. Then Bo came back. He descended down through the hole on the roof he had made, and made a stand before the General guy.

Tests? What tests? What the hell was he talking about? Parents? What about his parents? Why couldn’t he see them? Well, it wasn’t like he had any true desire to see his deadbeat alcoholic dad or his shit-taking co-dependant mom. But he wanted to see his baby sister. Katie. He loved her to death.
Why couldn’t he see her? She was only 7 years old. He had to see her! He would not leave her alone in that hell hole, posing as a home, with those morons!

He saw Jessica move next to Bo and hook an arm in one of his. Something stirred inside him at the sight. It was hot and ugly. He recognized it. He’d felt it before. Jealousy!
As he stared at the linked arms of Jessica and Bo, he didn’t notice the shadows behind him growing deeper. Darker. The lights in the room seemed dim slowly as tendrils of the shadows behind him reached out along the walls like some horrifying creature made of pure darkness.

Then Jessica held a hand out to him. His heart leapt. Slowly the lights returned to normal, the shadows behind him receded and went back to their original state. He looked at Jessica’s outstretched hand and the scene with the orderly replayed in his mind. He cradled his hand and looked at Jessica with worry in his eyes. He didn’t want to hurt her. In her eyes he saw determination. She still held out her hand to him and something clicked in Nick’s head. She trusted him! She trusted him not to hurt her.

Slowly, hesitantly, he reached out to her and gently placed his hand in hers. He looked into Jessica’s eyes again. She was all right! He hadn’t hurt her! Seeing the determination burning brightly in her eyes, a grin spread across his face and he turned with her to face the General. This crap would stop now!

 

[the_bean]

The smile that crossed Nick's face caused Jessica to smile. Her eyes sparkled as they gazed at each other for a moment. Her grip on his hand tightened and she urged him, with a slight tug, to stand closer. She'd not been sure, after seeing what happened with the orderly if touching him would be safe. But she did trust him. She trusted him to not hurt her. She trusted that maybe, somewhere inside of him, he realized that she wanted him near. Most of all she realized with the onset of this situation, that something about him caused a twinge within her that was much more than her visible smile. With the four of them linked together, there would be no stopping them.

She looked back to Cheree with a beckoning expression. All five of them would be a hurricane, an unstoppable force. To resist them, or attempt a halting of whatever they might start, would be pointless.

 

[JubeCube]

Breeze

Cheree looked at the other four and the wind died, medical instruments clattered to the floor. She retreated over to stand next to Nick. Her short stature made her class mates tower over her. She always looked up at everyone. She stood and waited with the rest of them.

 

[Matthew82]

The Beginning

Standing with my friends, leering into the dark eyes of Gen. Knight, a small grin on his smug face, i took Alexis' hand into mine..holding it tightly.

Uniformed guards holding GI submachine guns led us back down to the Med Ward. We were told to shower and put on matching scrubs, black pants and a red top.

Letting the warm water trickle down my face. Too much happening too fast. It seemed like just yesterday I was in the batting cage at school, working on my swing without a care in the world. Now I was in Government confinement. My parents dead. All alone. Turning the hot water knob a bit more, steam rising from my skin. My hand pressed against the tiled wall, lowering my head. Gen. Knight had already given us "Dogtags" to ID each one of us...The name "Shadowbend" had been engraved in mine...rubbing the tip of my thumb over it...water rushing over my hair. Not sure what the codename had meant, perhaps they knew something I didnt. My body had changed...My muscle tone more defined. My brain just wouldn't stop thinking. Maybe I was in shock, maybe I was imagining things. But what could I do? Nowhere to go, nobody to turn to. All I had were my parents...my baby brother had died of Lukemia when I was 5. I prayed silently to myself...why was this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this?

Feeling emotionally and physically, drained I stepped out of the shower. Drying myself off, looking down the ways I noticed Alexis' outline shadowed againt the smoked glass of her shower. Her body long and curvacious...her head leaning back, hair falling to the small of her back...steam rising uncontrollably. My heartbeat quickened...blood rushing through my veins..

Stepping from her shower, I froze...completely embarrassed...her eyes wonder down my abdomin, grinning at the stiffening bulge from my towel...Flustered i shut my eyes, and it was as if I disappeared...I could see the objects around me, but it was as if they were transparent...It felt as though I were manipulating my body around light rays which instead of reflecting off of me, passed through me...

Not sure as to what I was doing, electrons firing in my brain, simply wanting to escape the embarrassment I thought of myself slipping to my locker, hidden a few rows away from the showers...and I appeared...How had I just made myself slip through space like that? I knew I could fly...but what had just happened?

Hearing Alexis giggle to Jess what she just saw, my face turned red...after all, we were still kids..

Slipping my scrubs on...walking back to the sinks in front of the showers..Nick and Jess were brushing their teeth..Alexis a few sinks down further...I hear them snicker, as I brush my wet hair forward with my hands...caressing my face, a five o'clock shadow resurfacing...Grinning down at each of them, hearing Cheree blow dry her hair...Jess walks over to me and gives me a playful tickle, "Don't make it so obvious next time Slugger"...

Walking down to the dorm area of the facilty, my barefeet cold on the marble floor..I decide to play with my new found talent again..dissappearing and flashing back in front of my bed..still amazed at how I did this.

Everyone already slightly dozing, I slip under the covers...Alexis in the bed next to me. A nurse walks over, placing flat scalp probes to my forhead. Machines next to each of us, monitoring our brain waves. I see Ali reach over, I lightly return her embrace with my fingertips, gazing into her aqua eyes..."goodnight" she whispers

"Goodnight Ali", i weakly smile over to her, falling gently asleep..

This was only the beginning

 

[Matthew82]

Testing

They had woken us early. Eating quietly in the mess hall, not sure what the day would bring.

Gen. Knight, "OK everyone, if you would please."

Knight had seemed to take a special interest in me. It was obvious that Nick was the most dangerous it appeared, since from a simple touch he almost drained the life out of a man. They didnt know him though, he was quiet in school and seemed as though he wouldn't hurt a fly. But for some reason, Knight took close observation of my testing.

Blood had been drawn from each of us. A special team of doctors each monitored our heart rates and breathing as we were required to run a test mile on the treadmills in the gym.

They took skin grafts from Jess. Ran her through an MRI but nothing came back, she had unknowingly made herself transparent, blending in with the metal tube.

Alexis' blood would boil and stop coagulating, making it simply unusable for testing. Running ever known test for different strands of fever and flu ...mutliple thermo scans...nothing made sense.

Running similar tests for Nick, he destroyed the thermo scan after absorbing the immense heat of the multiple lasers.

They measured Cheree's power in a wind-tunnel...that is until she completely destroyed it making it impossible to measure how strong and fast the force of winds she produced when she pushed herself. She had amazing control over it so far, but if she let go, the whole facility may crumble.

Gen. Knight had me escorted outside. The Crossing had been know for it's vast open fields and clear skies. The others stood, watching from the window. They had flown in NASA scientists, setting up equipment to test the pressure I could create through G-Force manipulation and do mach speed testing.

"Go have some fun boy" the general stated. Smiling, I had just now realized I was given a gift almost every boy dreams of...I could really fly. Crouching low, an arm twisted around my back, knees bent. The dirt in the field blasting up, toppling the equipment surrounding me...they later told me it registered an 8 on the richter, the G-Force rumbling through the soil, shaking the facility where the others watched in awe. I lept into space within a blink of an...falling back down, hovering, smiling at the general...helicopters already in the air..screaming down at him, "See if your birds can keep up"..I took off over the horizon. Soaring slowly, teasing the Apachee's behind, me..slightly pushing myself and I had lost them. Returning to the base, unhooking the transponder that tracked where I had gone. I smiled over to everyone...We had been blessed...

Testing like this continued for weeks..which seemed to turn into months. Our small group growing close. After all, they were the only family I had left.

Eating in the mess, Gen. Knight entered.

Their parents following close behind....

Jess screamed, sprinting over to her mom and dad.

Nick shook his dad's hand lightly and hugged his mom. Seeing a smile break across his face that none of us had seen before, he pick Katie up into his arms, hugging her so close, not wanting to let go. She was safe in his arms...

Cheree warmly embraced her parents.

Ali cried and laughed, holding her parents close...

I watched each them...smiling for them. I could feel Knight staring at me, but I just watched my friends. A sense of hapiness that had been missing from them had returned. I watched Jess ball her eyes out, clinging to her mom..laughing softly..

Nick held katie, talking to her softly..

Then Ali turned her head from her mom's shoulder..looked at me, all alone..A tear running down my cheek as I smiled, happy for her and the others. She took her parents hands, leading them over to me..I quickly wiped my tear away, standing tall..

"Mom, dad..I'd like you to meet Bo..Bo, these are my parents." I shook her fathers hand, "Sir"...lightly taking her mom's hand.."Maam"....After a moment it finally clicked for them that my parents were not here..Ali's mom then took me in a close embrace, hugging me as I towered over her.."Bo," she said..."Maam??"..."You be strong now you hear.....you keep my baby safe".."Yes maam"...

I smiled at her parents, and then at Ali...you could hear the others telling their parents about the boy standing against the wall by himself. You could see the sympathy in there eyes. They looked but then returned to their own worlds, talkng about what had happened to the town...hugging and kissing one another...they had their family back...I smiled for them

Knight, "Don't worry son...we'll take care of you now.." patting my back and walking away...letting the others have their moments with their families.

Watching Ali, smile and giggle with her parents and brothers and sisters..Jess had never looked so happy. Cheree teased her baby brother. It was as if everything were normal again. We were safe....

For now...

 

[Kuldaboli]

Nick "Samael" Bender

Nick was lying in bed, his hands under his head, staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t sleep, his brain was on overdrive. It had been a very strange day. First there were the tests, where he had destroyed some fancy and probably VERY expensive piece of equipment. The funny part was that the General guy didn’t seem too upset about it. He’d actually been very surprised. Then they had been allowed to see their families.

He had loved seeing Katie. It had really made his day. She had asked him why ‘that boy’, meaning Bo, was all alone. He’d told her that his parents couldn’t make it to see him. It hadn’t been a bold lie. Katie had thought about that for a while and had then asked if she could go talk to him. He’d smiled at her and told her they would go together. They had spent some time talking with Bo. Katie had told him everything she’d already told Nick, with the same enthusiasm as before. Nick had had to remind her to breath. It had made Bo feel a little better.

He remembered something Katie had asked him. She’d taken his dog tags in her hand and asked what the inscription on them meant. He’d told her the truth, he didn’t know.

Lying there in bed, he picked the dog tags up and examined them. The inscription read “Samael”. He had to admit, he was very curious to find out what it meant. Looking around he noticed Jessica in the next bed. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched her. As beautiful as she looked when she was awake, she looked positively divine when she slept. Her covers had fallen off her shoulder and she seemed to shiver slightly in her sleep.

Sliding out of bed silently, he moved over to her and moved her covers a little higher, back over her shoulder, to give her more warmth. He then slipped into his t-shirt and training pants and quietly tip-toed out of the room. In the hall, he came face to face with a young brunette nurse sitting at her station, she couldn’t have been more then 26 years old. She saw him and he froze.

“Uhm… Y- You need to get back to bed… Sir.” She slowly got out of her seat and held one hand out to him as if indicating for him to remain calm. Nick could tell she was afraid of him. “I don’t want any trouble… but you need to get back to bed.”

“I will.” Nick said gently. “I just need to get one thing out of my mind first.”

“What?” The nurse asked, her voice trembling a bit.

“This.” Nick held up his dog tags. “I need to know what the inscription on these means.”

“Oh.” The nurse visibly relaxed, letting out a breath. “Okay. I think we can arrange that.” She said, smiling a bit. “I don’t have access to the military files, but you might get an idea off the net. Would that suffice?”

Nick nodded his head in reply.

“Good.” The nurse’s smile kicked into high gear. She was really pretty and had a really beautiful smile. She sat back down at her station and opened her web-browser. “Okay, what does it say?” Nick gave her the code name and she froze.

“What?” she asked and looked at him with a stunned expression. He didn’t understand why. She quickly typed in something and pressed enter. Getting up from the chair, she indicated for him to sit. Nick sat down, looked at the screen and froze in shock. The top of the page displayed read ‘Samael: The Angel of Death.’

The page was filled with information from various sources. Nick scanned through them picking up things like ‘…guardian of Shoel, the gates to Heaven and Hell’, ‘…free to walk in the worlds of angels, men and demons unhindered’, ‘…allegiance unknown’, ‘…wildcard’ and ‘…the only angel not created by god’.

Nick jumped up from the chair in total shock and backed away from the monitor. The light at the nurse’s station started growing dimmer and the shadow behind the monitor started slithering forward like a snake made of darkness. Nick noticed and frowned in confusion. The nurse backed away, her terrified gaze locked on the happenings at her station.

Nick tried to relax and noticed the light start to return to normal and the shadow start to recede. He blinked a few times and then decided to try something. He focused on the shadow and willed it to move forward. To his surprise, it did! Despite the light at the station shining brightly on the desk, a tendril of the shadow slithered forward directly into the light, unharmed. Nick couldn’t help but grin.

He started practicing and playing with it, making a monochromic impression of a rose on the desk, much to the nurse’s delight. Then he decided to try something else. Letting go of his control over the shadow, he watched as it receded back behind the monitor. He moved from the nurse’s station and noticed a large empty spot of wall. He walked up to it and examined it. Then he closed his eyes, called forth an image in his head and concentrated. He didn’t need to see the shadows moving to know that they were. It was like he could feel them shifting, coming together to make the image he held in his head.

“Oh my god…” He heard the nurse whisper in wonder behind him. She obviously recognized the image.

Nick opened his eyes and looked at the wall. He saw a large monochrome version of the image he’d called forth in his head hovering on the wall. It was an image of Jessica’s smiling face. He couldn’t help but smile at the image. She was so beautiful.

“You really like her, don’t you?” He heard the nurse ask softly.

Nick just nodded as he stared at the image on the wall, captivated by the girl’s beauty.

“Have you told her?” The nurse asked.

Nick shook his head sadly.

“Why not?” The nurse asked curiously. “For all you know she could be nuts about you too.”

Nick looked at his hands and the image on the wall dissolved, the shadows receding to their original state. “I can’t.” He said, his voice almost cracking. Before the nurse could say anything, he continued. “I… I’m afraid.” He balled his hands up into fists and tried desperately to keep his tears at bay. The scene with the orderly ran through his mind. His imagination replaced the orderly with the figure of Jessica. The image broke his heart. He closed his eyes and tears rolled down his cheeks. “I don’t want to hurt her.” He sounded as miserable as he felt.

“What makes you think you’ll hurt her?” The nurse asked gently.

Nick looked at her, all his pain and sorrow evident in his eyes. He held up his dog tags and spoke, his voice sounding hollow. “I’m the Angel of Death. Remember?”

 

[JubeCube]

Breeze

Cheree laughed as a nurse let her to the scales and stood her on them. One-point-two kilograms. They made her remove her shoes and clothes, leaving her standing in her underwear.

"This can't be. The scales must be broken." A nurse stepped onto the scales to test them. "No, they work, Cheree, step back on." Cheree obliged and stepped back onto the scales. "She weighs nothing."

She had received her dogtags with the word 'Breeze' inscribed on them.



Then she was able to see her parents and baby brother. Her brother was eleven year youner than her. He had laughed loudly when he was able to pick his sister up. Cheree had hugged her parents and bother until they had to go.



Cheree sat in bed, her dogtags in her hands, studying the incriptions on them. She remembered back to that morning and giggled, they hadn't been able to get her weight. She held the dogtags in her hand and concentrated on her hand. The dogtags seemed to float in air for a second or two before her hand appeared back around it. She looked up at the other four. Nick had gotten out of bed and snuck into the hallway.