(Cover art is courtesy of my artist, @NirraTam)
Jeremiah was having a really bad day. He had been chased by the Soulbeaters since noon, and it was much later now. No matter what he did--run into public buildings, drive away on his car, call the Fuzz-- he just couldn't escape them for long. "You might as well stop running, kid," The leader--Wheelock, Jeremiah believed it was--shouted to him as the Soulbeaters chased him up a staircase in a MetLife building. "You'll tire out eventually!" Jeremiah didn't even know why the Soulbeaters were after him. He hadn't done anything wrong.
Jeremiah ran into a room and looked out one of those giant glass walls that MetLife buildings have. The sun had set hours ago, by the looks of it, and Jeremiah hadn't even noticed. It must be at least nine o' clock now, Jeremiah thought to himself. He decided to stop running and face the Soulbeaters. They eventually reached the room where he was.
"You're finally tuckered out, eh?" Wheelock growled.
"No," Jeremiah said with a smug smile. "I've decided to face you cowards."
Wheelock seemed happy to oblige. "FIRE!" He roared. About six men came from behind him, bearing rifles. Before Jeremiah could wonder who in the world gave them rifles, they all began shooting him.
It did absolutely nothing.
Jeremiah had an innate ability since birth. It allowed him to turn into a shadowy form, one that wasn't physical. Hence, he couldn't be affected by physical things, like bullets, knives, walls, parking meters(a long story). It tired him out, though, it could knock him out if he stayed for too long. So the Soulbeaters did the next best thing: throwing various sharp objects, like knives and can lids(seriously deadly weapons). They all passed through Jeremiah, but with each evasion, he could feel his energy slipping away.
Evidently, Wheelock could sense that, too. "We'll get you now, kid!" He growled as he picked up a can lid. Right as ol' Wheely was about to throw, a wolf made of blackness crashed through the window. It turned towards Jeremiah and spoke to him without moving its mouth. Come, young shadow boy, it said. Awaken. Jeremiah was seriously freaked out. He forgot to hold his shadow form. He got hit by a salvo of knives and can lids. Then everything went black.
Jeremiah awoke to see a pretty blonde girl kissing him. He, of course, reacted reasonably. "SWEET MERCY OF DISCO MONKEYS!" he yelped as he jumped in surprise. He was lying on some sort of mat. As soon as he moved, pain shot through his body. "Ssh, calm down," The pretty blonde girl said. She was wearing pajamas with the Mockingjay symbol all over them. "Just relax." She kissed him again, except now Jeremiah realized she was doing something like mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. every time she exhaled, his body filled with warmth.
Soon he was fully rehabilitated. "I'm Heather, by the way," Heather said to him, extending her hand. "Jeremiah," he said back as Heather helped him up. Jeremiah looked around. He was in some sort of giant chamber. Giant chambers were never good. Aside from him and Heather, there were four other kids--two girls, one in a nightshirt, one in just girl's underwear(he didn't stare at them, he was polite that way), and two guys, one in some boxers and one that wore pajama pants and a white t-shirt.
"I healed you with what I call my Good Morning Breath," Heather said to him, snapping him back to where he was. "It's a special quirk that I have. I can make my breath give things life, like plants, and heal things, like you." Jeremiah explained his shadowy form, and she seemed reasonably impressed. "I bet the other four have special abilities, too," she said. Jeremiah found that to be a decent deduction. "Yeah. I'll go talk to the guys. The one in boxers seems pretty relaxed."
Jeremiah strolled up to the two guys. "Hey. I'm Jeremiah." The guys introduced themselves in return. The brown-haired guy in his boxers introduced himself as Dylan. The Spanish guy in a t-shirt and PJ Pants was August. "So, what're your stories?" Jeremiah asked the two. Dylan spoke first. "I tripped into a sewer on my way home from school," He started.
"I was stuck in there for hours, wandering through the underground caverns, until I finally found a ladder that could bring me to the surface. I ran home, and my parents asked where the heck I was, etc., etc. Then, when I later went to bed, water burst in through my window and flooded my room. Everything went black, and I woke up here. I think Heather was the first person to get here, because she was the only one there when I came in." Jeremiah turned to August. "What about you?"
August told them about how he nearly got rammed by multiple cars, even though the light was red and the crosswalk had the white walking dude. "It happened on multiple crosswalks, too!" August was half-laughing, half-still-pissed. "Then when I got home and went to bed later. Right when I was dozing off, a bronze robot-thing crashed in through the roof, grabbed me, then flew off. I, of course, passed out, and woke up here."
Jeremiah asked them if they had any innate abilities. August said he could "talk to" and control machines, as well as being a technical genius. Dylan had rock-hard skin and bones and could control water. Jeremiah mentioned his shadowy form. "I know Heather can heal things with her breath, but what do the other two do?" Dylan shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't talked to them." Before they could get a chance to, the floor suddenly opened up.
A winged lady with black hair, silvery armor, and giant white wings came out of the new hole in the floor. "Hello," she spoke, her voice ringing throughout the eerily large chamber. "I am Eden." She tossed pants and shirts to everyone except Jeremiah, as he was already clothed. "You might want some pants for this."