Date: 1/3/27
Location:Paradise, Mi.
Joy bounced up to her best friend, her thin blonde hair shaking with her."Hi Virginia!"
Virginia grinned at the sight of her."What's got you down?"she asked. Joy wasn't skipping like she normally did.
Joy shrugged,"My Brother's going back to college."She explained.
Virginia nodded,"Well, do you want to take a walk? We can go to that indoor pool."Virginia suggested.
Joy bounced in excitement, her poofy, bright floral dress bouncing with her."YEAH!"
"Why are you wearing a dress? It's, I don't know, thirty degrees."Virginia observed.
Joy shrugged again,"I don't get cold."
"Probably because you're bouncing so much."Virginia chuckled to herself. She brushed her thick brown hair behind her ear."Let's head to my house. You forgot your bathing suit last time you were over."
"Sounds right."Joy chirped in agreement."Aw, man! I can't wait to go swimming!"
Virginia laughed,"Can you ever wait for anything?"She teased Joy.
Joy shrugged, launching her shoulder-length blonde hair into the air."I'm optimistic. What can I say?"
A pale, masculine hand clamped over Virginia's rich ridged lips. Before Joy could even react, another strong hand clamped over her mouth and eyes.
A whisper dominated her hearing, and Joy could feel the warm breath against her ear lobes."You're coming with us."
Joy struggled at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. A fear clamped her heart and squeezed so hard she could barely breathe.
Joy kicked and punched the best she could. She even tried to run, but she was held above the ground and couldn't get an upperhand.
A thick, scratchy coil of something and a sticky subtance--duct tape was wrapped around Joy's legs and arms. Realization settled in. They were definitely getting kidnapped.
The hands were removed from her mouth and eyes just long enough for a blindfold and gag to replace them. In Joy's quick glimpse of the world, she saw the soft lining of a car roof.
Joy tried to scream, realizing just how bad this situation was, but not a sound got out.
"Can't we just knock them out?"A voice complained.
"No, you idiot."
A feeling Joy rarely felt gripped her chest now. Despair. What was going to happen? They were probably as good as dead, weren't they?
It was as if something clicked in Joy's mind. A painful stab in the center of her head. An electric feeling vibrated through her body, making her tense and seize up.
Pain. That was all she felt. Pain, despair, anxiety, but mostly pain.
Joy whimpered, and her captors seemed to find it funny.
"Aw... The little blonde one is scared. Too bad--"
Joy let out a scream of pain that could easily be heard through the gag. Her body arced, her chest rising unnaturally high in the air.
"Oh heck no! They did not say anything about crazy supernatural stuff."
The captors started screaming."Is that a freaking demon?"
"GET- GET AWAY FROM US! STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING, GIRL!"
Joy tried to stop whatever was happening, but there was so much pain. With a start, she realized she wasn't even touching anything anymore. She was floating, with her heart leading the way.
Gentle, familiar hands seized her from the air and began to run. More emotions coursed through her body, confusion, relief, fear, worry. It only fed the pain, making it grow more intense.
"Joy? What are you doing? What-- what-- Stop, whatever you're doing... just, just please stop."Virginia's voice cleared her mind. What was Joy doing?
The pain eased slightly. They were away from the kidnappers then. Joy tried to say something through the pain and the gag, but the pain clogged her throat.
"Joy? Joy?! What are you doing? Please, please stop."Victoria's voice cracked, she was about to cry. She removed all contact from Joy's body.
No, that was wrong. Victoria never cried. Victoria was a happy person. Happiness...
The thought of happiness cut a hole through all of the pain, fear, and confusion. Happiness.
The pain slowly eased, leaving only an ache in Joy's upper back. She relaxed and slumped forward on to a picnic table.
Victoria's curly brown hair was sticking to her pale face in little ringlets. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
Joy rubbed her back."What happened?"
"You- you- your chest... blackness. Despair. Shadow...things."Victoria managed."How did you even so that? What-what are you? That's not normal."
"Shadows? I have no idea what you mean."Joy admitted.
A dimly familiar toned girl with thick, frizzy, flaming red hair approached them."Are you two okay? I saw your get away. I was about to jump in myself."
The name clicked. Amber Volt. She was a popular girl from Virginia and Joy's high school.
Virginia nodded shakily,"We're... We're okay. But did you see--"
"The black demons made out of shadow? Yeah. There's been something going around."Amber explained, as if it were a cold or stomach flu.
Virginia choked,"What? Demons of darkness randomly appearing--"
Amber sat down at their picnic table with a sigh."I'm going to sound crazy, but this is what all evidence points to. I have no idea why this is happening, but it is."
Amber took a deep breath. "Lately, I'm been running into people who are gaining new talents. Or maybe they always had them and never had to use them. A depressed boy who can light up the world, an artistic boy who loves creating things can completely turn things to ashes. Another boy, completely terrified of heights, can fly. A girl who got into an incident with an animal at a very young age and now has a prosthetic arm because of it who can talk to animals. Personally, I'm a huge swimmer and guess what, I get fire. I hate fire. My mom died in one, and there I was, on fire myself."
"So, a bubbly girl who has the darkest secrets? You'll settle right in. And what about you, um..."
"Virginia."Virginia supplied."But I'm normal."
Amber winced,"Sorry, I just figured--"
Virginia shrugged,"It's fine. I believe you So you think Joy is one of you?"
"Sweety, I know she is."Amber admitted.
Joy perked up,"So I have super powers? That's so cool!"
Amber opened her palm and her entire hand erupted in orange flames. She yelped and shook out the fire,"Sorry, I don't have the hang of it."
"That's so cool! Scary, but cool."Virginia observed."So by your logic from earlier, Joy has, what? Depression? I've never seen her anything but bubbly. If it's the opposite of her personality..."
"The brightest people have the darkest hearts."Amber agreed with a grin.
Virginia raised an eyebrow,"I never pegged you as a wise one."
Amber shook her head,"Nah, it's a running joke."
"How is that funny?"
"It's also an inside joke."Amber added.
