The group of friends took their seats in the hall, ready, or in some cases as ready as they'd ever be, for the Wild One Awareness meeting.
A woman in black jeans and a floral blouse looked as though she would be the one leading the evening's talk, as she was plugging wires into laptops and speakers and rearranging pieces of paper, all whilst scanning the room to see if everyone that would arrive had arrived yet.
"We will begin shortly," she smiled, and Jade felt like she would have to try very hard to dislike this harmless woman.
"She seems nice," Hunter read her mind. "At least David Lawrence isn't actually taking it. That would be even more boring."
Lily rolled her eyes. "This isn't going to be boring; it is going to be informative! Don't you want to gain some kind of knowledge about the threat that shares this planet with us?"
Jade couldn't believe that the meeting hadn't even started and she was already dangerously close to walking out.
"Let's save the Wild One chat for when the lady starts talking, shall we?" Luke offered and Hunter and Lily both sat back in their seats, like children having been told off by their parents.
On cue, the woman tapped on a small microphone and asked if everyone could hear her. The response of a few nods and grunts of confirmation seemed to be enough for her to begin.
"So, I am sure you are all here for very similar reasons. Perhaps you want to protect yourself via the power of knowledge, perhaps you were urged by the tests ran this morning, perhaps your parents forced you," she tried a laugh and Jade felt the urge to force a smile. "But what these all have in common is you're here to find out more. You are here to become aware, and, enlightened."
She let that hang in the air, some kind of dramatic statement, but it didn't seem to have anyone on the edge of their seat. Hunter let out a yawn and relaxed back into his chair, which Jade covered her mouth to smirk at.
A video was projected onto the screen – the second time that day these teenagers had to watch something the Being leaders had created – and Jade released a heavy sigh. Jack nudged her and they shared a smile, reminding her how thankful she was for her friends who came to suffer this with her.
"This video is the first of many we will watch together. There will also be interactive presentations in the coming weeks. Please watch carefully, and we will have time for questions at the end. I will conclude with a little speech, too, which I hope isn't too dull," she smiled and Jade wondered how such lovely people could have judgement that was so clouded.
The video began, a montage of young Beings just like the ones that populated the hall, and it was paired with that modern background music that old people who created things like this thought made it hip and appealing to teenagers.
A title floated onto the screen, reading 'Why We Need to be Aware'. The only interest Jade felt was at how they were going to manage making Wild Ones look like enemies to be terrified of when they were just normal.
"Hi, I am Ben Robin, and you're going to be seeing a lot more of me in the videos shown at your meetings. Lucky you!" A young man with glasses and a smile populated with way too many teeth shouted through the screen.
"Bloody hell," Hunter pulled at his hair, causing everyone but Lily to quietly laugh.
"Today, we are going to talk about why we need to be aware of the Wild One species. First, let's go back in time!"
The special effects looked ancient – colourful whirls trying to show time travel – and Ben Robin was already hard to listen to. He spoke about when the Wild Ones were banished, explaining the reasons for this (they were horrible, horrible, evil people, of course) and then talked through the coming decades after this. He said that since they left, Beings had lived in a harmony like never before, showing how crucial it is that we always view them as a threat to our peace.
Once finally up to the present day, the music became suspenseful – aggressive plucks of a violin – as Ben revealed, "We still have a cause for concern."
He explained that the tests the teenagers had experienced were because it is being heavily speculated that Wild Ones want to cross over, and with their powers and apparent instinctive skill of deception and manipulation, they already may be doing so. Jade thought about James, how he had already crossed over, how he had told her that the Wild Ones were, in fact, wanting to come to the Being sector.
"Therefore, we must remember to be diligent. These people could rebel at any moment, they could even be among us. We can never be too safe. Be sure to remind yourself of why they must never mix with us again, of why they are our enemy. They are dangerous troublemakers. We are not. Until next week!"
The video ended abruptly.
The lady flicked on the lights again and smiled her kind, warm smile.
"All right! I hope that wasn't too painful. Any questions before I ramble on for the next ten minutes?"
A boy in the front row raised his hand.
"Did any of the blood tests show negative results? Did they catch any Wild Ones today?"
"Fortunately, no. Everyone was positive, nationally," she nodded kindly.
Luke shifted his weight in his seat, looked to the ceiling, sighed and then raised his hand.
"Why did they test school students? Why would a trespassing Wild One go to a school?" His query had a lot of people who had zoned out entirely suddenly alert again. Jade felt a surge of excitement.
"Well," the woman hesitated. "As Ben Robin said in the video, we can never be too safe."
Jade was smiling, now. It was too vague. This lady, as lovely as she seemed, had no real answer.
"Are you sure it's not because he just wanted to persuade a bunch of impressionable people to come here? Don't you think he could have done it in better ways than traumatising them on a Monday morning?" Luke asked, and upon realising how angry he sounded, cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I know Wild Ones are something to be scared of, and an enemy, and they probably are plotting against us or something. But what Sir Lawrence did was wrong."
The room sat in silence for a few moments.
"You are justified to be upset at how the tests were handled. Just try to remember that your Head Being is only trying to protect you. To protect all of us. He would never deceive you or do anything he didn't have to. Wild Ones act like that. Not us," she spoke levelly and Luke nodded, folding his arms. He was, unfortunately, satisfied with her answer, it seemed.
There were no more questions after that. The woman rounded up the evening with a small speech which essentially reaffirmed all that had been said already, and then reminded everyone to get more people involved and spread the word. She also finally remembered to tell them her name, Janelle.
Lily went up to thank her personally for an insightful hour, and then they all left together, walking down the street under a dusk's pink sky.
"Luke, what was that? I can't believe you'd make such accusations in front of everyone!" Lily looked entirely appalled.
"They were valid questions, Lily. I was happy with the answers I eventually got, so let's just drop it, all right?" He looked tired.
It was no surprise. The day had been as horrid as it had been confusing, and the morale of the gang was as low as ever.
"Well, it was pretty bad. But also, not as bad as I thought. It was...interesting," Jade broke the silence. Interesting because it highlighted that she needed to warn James that Beings may be onto him, yet also because it showed how flawed her own kind were. They still had no strong reasons for their hatred, and it seemed as though it was clear to Jade and nobody else that the Head Being wasn't honest. Whether he was right to suspect trespassers or not, his tests were not about that. They were a sinister use of propaganda.
"I'm glad to hear that, J," Zoe smiled.
Jade forced a smile in return, and was glad when everyone but Anna and Luke had turned off in separate directions to go home.
"Are you going to tell us what you really meant by 'interesting' now?" Anna raised an eyebrow and laughed.
"I'm still sticking by what I expressed at lunch the other day," Jade shrugged. "And, Luke? Your question was awesome. I really think you're spot on with your accusation of the tests being used purely to persuade us to attend that meeting."
Luke just shoved his hands into his pockets and frowned so hard that a deep crease appeared between his brows.
"I have to be wrong. I don't really want to think about it anymore. I believe Janelle and I believe our Head Being," he said shortly.
"But Luke, you were so sure earlier today. I mean, why would they just test students and nobody else..." Jade tried desperately to get him back to his open mindset, but the end of the meeting seemed to have closed it off.
"I don't know, Jade! And quite frankly, it's not our concern. We are just a bunch of teenagers. You know why Lily has to be right all the time? Because most of the time, she is! I am going to forget I ever doubted my leader, and you should do the same."
Luke took a shortcut away from them and stomped down the dimly lit path, sighing as he went. Jade felt knots in her stomach. She hated upsetting him and the rare occasion of them falling out. It almost made her want to chase after him, until Anna linked their arms and pulled her along.
"Don't worry about it, J," she reassured her. "He's probably just confused. I know I am."
"I don't want you guys to feel like I'm forcing you into thinking in the way I do. I pushed Luke too far just now," Jade looked down to the ground.
They walked the rest of the way silently, neither of them quite sure what to say, until they reached the corner where they parted ways. Anna stopped and took a deep breath.
"This is hard for me...and it scares me to death to say it, Jade. But I think I see where you're coming from. I mean, it's obvious that something isn't adding up. The tests only being on students, like you said. I don't know. The meeting just seemed to have lots of reasoning for hating Wild Ones with no real explanation." Anna looked worried.
The small revelation almost brought Jade to tears. She never thought anyone could think like her, but now in the space of a few days, her own Grandmother, James and her best friend were all on the same if not a similar page.
Jade couldn't think of anything to do but hug her, and they stood embraced for a few moments, before pulling away.
"Don't tell anyone I said that," Anna nudged her and smiled.
"I won't. I promise. Thank you for telling me."
There were two thoughts occupying Jade's mind throughout her classes the next day at school, and none of them were to do with the curriculum. The first was her worry about Luke. He hadn't messaged her last night, and she hadn't messaged him, which was odd for them. He also had given her a half smile whilst passing in the corridor that morning instead of stopping to talk to her for ten minutes, making them both late to class, a usual occurrence. It made her feel uneasy.
The second was her excitement to see James that evening and tell him all the information she had gained in the 48 hours she hadn't seen him for. She wondered if he had anything to announce, either, and it made her giddy with excitement. It may have seemed far-fetched, but she couldn't help but think that maybe someday, her and this mysterious boy James would change the world.
"J, the bell's gone, babe," Zoe shook her out of her daydream. That marked Jade's last lesson of the day.
She said goodbye to everyone bar Luke, who had apparently gone to study in the library over lunch. The unease in the pit of Jade's stomach only grew at hearing this.
Jade felt as though waiting to set off to see James at the Cut Off Point at six was like waiting for Christmas morning. When five thirty rolled around, she left a note on the kitchen table for her parents when they got in from work, explaining that she'd gone to do homework with Anna. Another lie, but she tried to ignore the horrible feeling that gave her.
When she finally got there, James was already sat down. His eyes went straight to the plaster covering her injection wound.
"What happened there? Oh, and hi," he nodded to greet her.
She nodded back, and took a seat on the woodland floor opposite him.
"I have a lot to tell you."