I huffed into third period advisory (study hall). My hair stuck to my face and neck with sweat still there from this morning’s marching band practice. It was chilly in Mrs. Stanley’s room, unlike then rest of the school that seemed to have broken A/C’s. I sat at my usual desk as far away from Mrs. Stanley’s desk as possible. She was nice an all, but I was more comfortable back here. I pulled out my phone and put one ear-bud in, turning on some music just to get a little background noise. The feeling in my stomach had only gotten worse throughout the course of the morning. I also had a minor headache.
I sat there with my head on the desk ignoring the world when my phone’s screen flashed. Who the fuck sent me a text message during school? I looked at the name on the screen: Bunny/ Windy, my friend in Hugo. She knew texting during school was against the rules. Something was off, very off.
I glanced up. Good, no one was looking. I quickly opened the message. Get out of school. Something very, very, VERY bad is going to happen. You need to get to the fruit stand ASAP!!!!!!!
That was not good. Windy wouldn’t ask me to drive all the way to Hugo without good reason.
I grabbed my bag and was about the get up to talk to Mrs. Stanley when the intercom buzzed on. “All students and faculty need to report to the Activity Center immediately.” The secretary announced.
Well shit… I thought. The class got up and piled out the door. I walked down the hall as slow as possible. I didn’t want to go to some stupid assembly. I wanted to go see what Windy was spazzing about.
“Hey, Rain,” someone called behind me. I looked over my shoulder. Coming up behind me were my other best friend Destiny and her boyfriend Daniel.
“Hey,” I said as they walked up beside me.
Destiny frowned. “You look sick. Are you feeling all right Rain?”
Now that she mentioned it, I did feel like complete and utter shit. But I wasn’t about to tell her that. “I’m fine.” I said, “Morning band has been killing me though.”
I could tell from the look she was giving me she knew I was lying through my teeth. She thankfully dropped it though. I never liked hiding things from her, but how could I explain what I was unsure of myself.
The 600 plus group of students and faculty members piled into the bleachers of the Gymnasium-slash-auditorium, some teachers dragging in chairs from the adjoined cafeteria. Destiny, Daniel and I sat amid the rest of the seniors in our designated area. I sat on the edge next to Destiny just in case I needed to run to the restroom on the off chance I’d be seeing my breakfast again. I rested my head on Destiny’s shoulder and closed my eyes my headache making me a little sensitive to light. My shoulder began to itch a little, right where I had my BVB Pentacharm tattoo. A little rub soothed the itch, but it was back when I moved my hand away. I sighed and did my best to ignore it.
“Attention students,” The principal’s voice whined over the speakers. I zoned out after that and not really giving a fuck as to what she had to say. I just wanted to get out of here and go see my friend and maybe take a nap after a heavy dose of Tylenol.
Suddenly my stomach churned. My eyes flew open and I could practically feel the last bit of color I had drain from my face. My tattoo burned; I swore it was searing off that patch of skin. Everything was unfocused and the room was spinning. Tried to lock on to something—anything—that was not moving. The only thing I found was a man. The man was in a black suit and tie. He was pale with slicked back black hair. In many ways he reminded me of a snake; tall, thin, beady black eyes and a sinister smirk that made my skin crawl. My heart thumped in my chest and I broke out into a cold sweat. In the back of my mind a voice whispered. It said things like “Trust in Fear”, “Remain in the shadows”, “Only we can protect”, and “Stay close to Fear”. I shook in my seat. This was utterly and absolutely bad.
Destiny shook me a little. “Rain what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen Satan himself.”
If only she knew.
I clutched Destiny’s arm. “Take me to the restroom.” I choked out the words barely above a whisper. She quickly wrapped her arm around me and we hurried to the restroom in the cafeteria. I ran into the first stall and dropped to my knees in front of the toilet. Everything that was in my stomach came out in violent heaves. I sat there taking shaky breaths until I was sure I was done puking. I then sat against the wall shaking and sobbing a little.
Destiny opened the stall door and looked down at me. “I called your mom, she’s coming to get you.” she said.
I swallowed back bile. “Can you get me some water,” I whispered. Destiny nodded and left the restroom.
Windy was right, something very bad was happening, the worst thing imaginable to be exact. F.E.A.R. was rising, and it was starting at my school. My heart sank. I had to get to Windy and we had to bail. She had warned me but I couldn’t get away soon enough. This was every BVB Army Member’s nightmare. The fictional tyrant group created by Black Veil Brides was now real. All Hell was about to break loose.



“You sure you’ll be fine by yourself, Rain?” my mother asked as she stood in my doorway.
“I’ll be fine mom,” I said, “I’ll call if I need anything. Go back to work.”
She sighed a little. “Dad and I will pick up your car later. Love you Hun.”
“Love you too mom.” and she left. Truthfully I didn’t know if I would be fine, but I needed to be alone. F.E.A.R.’s presence had me riled up to the point of being physically ill. Though most of it had subsided since I got home, the image of the man was burn into my mind. I prayed he was not the “Voice of F.E.A.R.” the leader of the unholy group. I highly doubted he was though, but it made me feel a little better to think someone somewhere heard my prayer.
I will say it: I am Christian. I believe there is a God and that he watches and loves all on Earth, even those who reject him or practice other religions. I’m not all “hellfire and brimstone” though. I don’t care what someone else’s beliefs are, hell one of my best friends is Satanic for crying out loud. As long as you are nice to me and respect my opinions, I don’t give a damn about what you believe. I will give you the same respect, but I could altogether care less. You have your opinions and I have mine, and that is that.
I laid in bed trying to see off the headache still pounding at my temples. Then my phone rang. I groaned and looked at the caller-ID. Bunny/Windy… shit. I quickly answered the call. “Hey Bunny-Boo—”
“Where are you?” Windy’s shrill voice cut me off.
I wince a little and sighed. “I’m not coming Bunny.”
“Why not?” She asked franticly.
“Because F.E.A.R. showed up at my school and I got so fucking terrified about it I became physically ill. I’m sorry but I can’t make it all the way out to Hugo right now.”
There was silence on her end for a rigid moment. “... Fuck me…” I heard her groan. “What happened? What did he say?”
“I don’t know.” I muttered. “I sat there already feeling like shit when my Pentacharm tat started burning like hell and my stomach felt like it was coming up my throat. My vision blurred and I got a massive headache. Then I saw the F.E.A.R. representative. Everything went downhill from there and I rushed to the bathroom sick as a dog.”
Windy groaned. “Well shit…”
“Look, I’m coming down there tomorrow and we’re hightailing it out of here.”
“All right, I’ll be at the fruit stand at 8:30 tomorrow morning.”
“Perfect, the sooner we leave the better.”
“Where will we go, though?”
I hadn’t thought of that. I sighed a little. “We’ll figure that out as we go.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow Kitty.”
“Tomorrow Bunny-Boo.” And Windy hung up on me. I groaned a little and plugged in my phone. My head hit the pillow and I was out like a light.

»»»«««


I glowered out the window of the hotel room at the large “church” being built down the street. It was happening. What we had been trying to prevent was now transpiring. It’s been nearly two years since the album came out and we have put out few more albums since then, but “Wretched and Divine” had been our warning. The world thought they were made up, a fairytale we had invented. But no, they were real, as real as the people they were planning to corrupt.
“We did it once,” CC said from the bed behind me, “we can do it again.”
“We weren’t alone then CC.” Jake reminded him solemnly.
“We’re not alone now! We have the Army to back us up. Millions of people just here in the States—”
“Most of which are only children, not warriors.” Ashley interjected. “Back then we had an army, small though it was, of trained soldiers who knew what they were getting themselves into. Not children and teens who know nothing about fighting and protecting themselves.”
“They could be trained—”
“Not fast enough to take down F.E.A.R. before they become too powerful.” Ashley growled. He hated putting the fans at risk, even though it could save their lives. Take away the “Play Boy” front and you found the most caring man I’ve ever met.
“What do you think, Andy?” Jinxx asked from his place on the far wall.
I stared out the window silently for a moment, thinking. “CC is right, but so is Ashley. We have more than enough people to take F.E.A.R. out permanently, but most of them are too young. We could train those who are old enough and able, but that would take time we don’t have…” I trailed off into my thoughts. I sighed and pounded my fist on the window. “We have no choice.” I muttered. Turning around I looked over my brothers. We all were strong, with our own powers, but we needed the support of an army. We had no choice. “We have to call Wild Ones to arms,” I said firmly. “It is the only way. I know they will be young and untrained, but it is what we must do. The Army as a whole will come later, but the Wild Ones must be called tonight.” They all looked at me gravely.
The truth behind the Wild Ones is we have no idea who they are. The Wild Ones are a legion of special people, a blood line, that we have called upon time and again to fight F.E.A.R., but their identities we only know after we call them. They have their own powers unique to the individual and we help unlock and strengthen these powers. The Wild Ones have been all we needed to take down F.E.A.R., but now we need the all the help we could get.
Jinxx shoved off the wall and walked to the middle of the room. “He’s right,” he said, “The Wild Ones are our only hope of building the Army. They will pick up on training quickly and be able to teach new soldiers as we get them. But where are we going to assemble them?”
“That’s the only problem I’m seeing as well.” I muttered running a hand through my hair.
The room went silent. “I say we send them out to The Cavern.” Jake said after a few moments. “It’s quiet, hidden, and the cavern’s entrance would be the perfect place to open a gateway to the training grounds.”
“And we’re the only ones who know of its existence.” Ashley interjected. “How the hell are we going to get them up there?”
“That will be their first test,” Jake exclaimed, “seeing how well they follow directions and use their heads in difficult situations.”
“Are you mad?” Ashley nearly shouted. “The Cavern is in a valley the middle of a mountain range. We only got there by flying. Those peaks and cliffs are too fucking dangerous. They would never find the trail to get into the valley and if they did the hike would be too strenuous for even a professional. They could never get anywhere near the—”
“Enough!” I barked. Ashley quickly snapped his mouth shut. I took a deep breath before speaking again. “The Cavern is the best place to send them. We won’t force them to hike to it alone though. We will have them meet us at a rendezvous point and we'll lead them through the trail. We will have to train them at the valley. Opening a gateway to the training grounds will be like turning on a bright flashing sign that screams to the world ‘Look at us! We’re building an army to take you out!’ something we most defiantly don’t need. We will set up everything there. We’ll take turns opening small portals to get supplies when needed. We will only risk a gateway if we need a quick escape, but only then. This will take time though.”
“We give them a month,” CC chimed in. “That should give them more than enough time to get to the camp and us enough time to set up a basic command center.”
I nodded. This might actually work. “Jinxx, how long do you need to gather the supplies to call the Wild Ones?” I asked.
“A few hours, but I can have it all by tonight.” Jinxx said.
“Good,” I muttered. “Get to it, the sooner we get this done the better.”
With that the others left me to my thoughts. I turned back to the window. This was going to be Hell.



»»»«««

I woke up on something hard, something most defiantly not my bed. I groaned in annoyance. Had I tossed and turned so much I fell off my bed? Rolling over all my pillows and stuffed animals to fall the floor? Damn, what kind of dreams did I have? With another groan I pushed myself up so I was sitting with my legs crossed. The ground gave under my hands a bit. What the Hell? I clenched my fist and opened my eyes to watch sand trickle out of my hand. Great, just mother fucking great. I was still dreaming. Come on brain, can you do anything better than sand? Really? I sighed and stood. So what happens next, huh? Am I going to get attacked by a sand shark? Is Luke Skywalker going to come flying by? Or is Prince Charming going come gallivanting up to “rescue” me? God why did I have to have such weird dreams? Oh wait… this is me we’re talking about. I should be worried some purple giant has yet to come skipping by singing some Celtic song about sheep or something equally ridiculous.
I let my eyes wander the barren landscape. Off in the distance there was a black cube-like structure. My heart skipped a couple beats. Why? Why, why, why? Seriously Brain? I already spewed my guts out. Now this? God these people were haunting my nightmares. Barely thinking I turned tail and ran. The black ripped skinny jeans, and thin, tight shirt did nothing to constrict my movements. My long legs carried me away from the dreaded building, thick souled black boots thudding against the ground softly. I had absolutely no idea where I was going, but I’ll be damned if I stayed anywhere near that hellhole. It’s sad that I mean that literally.
I run for what seemed like forever. The building soon disappeared behind me. After the longest time little structures came into view. From what I could tell they were little makeshift huts and tents. A black mass seemed to be forming around a platform in the middle of the little village. Thank God I wasn’t alone. Other people were streaming in from roughly the same general direction I was coming from. I soon joined the crowd of people. Looking around I was surprised to see some of my favorite bands. Blood on the Dance Floor, Motionless in White, Asking Alexandria, and other bands like them stood among the crowd, just as confused as the rest of us. Out of the corner of my eye a random flash of pink caught my attention. It was Windy! Ok, what the hell is going on?
“Rain!” someone called my name. I turned to see… Daniel? Now I was beyond confused. Why on earth was goodie-two-shoes Daniel here?
Daniel weaved his way through the crowd until he was by my side. “What on earth is going on?” he asked a little out of breath.
“Hell if I know.” I replied. “The only thing I can think of is I’m going full blown insane.”
“Well, Crazy, you have got to know where we are.” He muttered. I quickly explained the Wretched and Divine album and the Legion of the Black movie to him. As expected, he looked at me like I had seven heads. “That’s completely insane and disturbing.” He said.
“I know, but it’s the truth, more than you know.” I breathed. God why did this have to be real?
“Have you seen anyone else you know?” He asked after a moment.
“A mutual friend of Destiny and I, and a few bands I like.” I said looking around. “What about you?”
“I’m pretty sure Destiny ion the other side of the stage.” He muttered. So that was three people I knew so far. I’m starting to think this isn’t a dream.
The shriek of a guitar pierced the air. My eyes darted to the stage as I winced at the sound. My jaw dropped. On stage stood five of the most beautiful men I had ever seen. Black Veil Brides stood across the platform: CC the Destroyer, Jake the Mourner, Jinxx the Mystic, Ashley the Deviant, and Andy the Prophet. Jake and Jinxx stood with their guitars in hand. Andy’s eyes surveyed the crowd. Daniel grabbed my arm. “I think I believe you.” He whispered through the murmur of the surprised crowd.
“I know you are all wondering why you are all here.” Andy’s voice boomed, the crown falling silent. “You are all here because you possess a quality that will help our fight against F.E.A.R. For those of you who don’t know, F.E.A.R. stands for, For Every and All Religion. They are the bane of humanity’s existence. Their only goal is to rule the world with fear and hate. I am not a religious man, but I know no gracious God would look upon them and be pleased. Sometime I swear not event Satan himself favors them. They will stop at nothing to be the supreme religious leaders.
“Many of you may have already seen the effects of their rise. It is our job to put an end to it. We must bring them down and destroy them once and for all. You have been called to do this job. You all are descendants of a powerful blood line, the Wild blood line. In the past your ancestors have fought with us to take down F.E.A.R.’s previous up risings. We have called you here because you are their living and able kin. You all have a power deep inside you, a power we can unlock and use for the good of humanity.
“We do not expect any of you to immediately want to join us. What we are asking of you may very well cost you your life. We only hope most if not all of you are willing to risk that, if not for yourself then for your families. F.E.A.R. will have an army ready and waiting for orders to demolish a city if it means moving forward in their conquest. This could mean the lives of your loved ones will be destroyed as well. We are asking what may be just too big of a risk, but it is a risk that must be taken to ensure the safe and free future humanity deserves.
“We are setting up training grounds in a secret location out of the view of any curious eyes. It is out of the way and very difficult to reach. There we will safely teach you how to use your powers. We have embedded into your subconscious minds directions to a rendezvous point where we will meet you and take you to the training grounds. You all have a month to get there to gain access to the grounds. After that those who have not shown up will have to earn their way in. Time is of the essence. We don’t need slackers.”
I stared at them letting it sink in as Andy’s voice faded. This was all too real. I knew without even thinking about it what I was going to do. Everything started to fade. The last thing I saw was Andy’s blue eyes, serious and strong, the eyes of a leader, the eyes of the Prophet.


»»»«««


I opened my eyes and looked at my brothers in our circle on the floor. It was done. Over 200 hundred people had been called, the largest group yet. We were going to have our work cut out for us. But in the end it would—hopefully—be worth it.
Jinxx stood from his place next to me and nearly fell right back down. The spell took a lot out of him. Jake and I quickly caught him and helped him to the bed. “Sleep here tonight, Jinxx.” I said as he sat on the bed. It wasn’t an order, but he gratefully complied with a small “Thanks Andy”. He soon fell asleep as the rest of us cleaned up the floor. Then everyone else retired to their own rooms. I laid next to Jinxx on the bed and gazed at the ceiling until sleep overtook me. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.


»»»«««


I woke up to complete darkness. The cushion of my bed and pillows surrounded me. I grabbed my phone and checked the time— 2:51 a.m. My head spun. It was real. The nightmare was real. I had to stop it, stop them from taking over. In the back of my mind an address kept popping up a long with simple directions. These had to be for the rendezvous Andy had spoken of. I quickly found a little notepad in the cutler around my bed. Jotting everything down I tore off the sheet and slipped it into my bra. I jumped off the bed and stared packing. I had to leave in a few hours to pick up Windy. I knew she would go with me. I knew I would have at least her to count on. My mind wandered to Destiny and Daniel. What would they do? Would the come with and fight or stay and convince themselves it was only just a dream?
My phone rang just as I zipped my small duffle bag full of clothes. I quickly answered it forgoing checking the ID. “Hello?” I whispered as I grabbed the remaining clothes in my closet.
“Hey, it’s Des.” Destiny said on the other end. “Umm… did you have a weird dream? I mean just an utterly freaky dream. With a lot of people in black and that band you like.”
“Des that wasn’t a dream” I said as I finished stuffing a few shirts and pants into a messenger bag.
“Not funny Rain, I’m in major freak out mode here.”
“Trust me I wish I was joking. Everything they said is true. F.E.A.R. is closer than you think Des. A representative was at school today. The whole reason I got sick was because my body couldn’t handle the stress and what I’m sure was brainwashing.”
“Brainwashing,” Destiny hissed. “Now I know you’re insane.”
“How else do you explain the fact I heard voices?”
Des was quiet for a moment. “What… what do you mean?”
“I mean what I said Des. It’s not my schizophrenia Destiny. Just before I spilled my guts out voices were whispering to me. I’m probably not the only person it happened to—Hell— they most likely did it to everyone; even you and Daniel. My body just completely rejected their very presence. I have no idea why so don’t even ask. My point is they are close. We need to scram Des. I’m leaving around five to drive down and pick up Windy. You’re either coming with me or going on your own.”
Another long pause. “I’ll be ready by 4:30.” Destiny muttered.
I smiled little. “Thanks Des.” And we disconnected.
It was about 3:30 when my phone blipped with a text. I looked at the screen—Daniel. I was wondering if that boy was ever going to reach me. I opened the text.
Please tell me I’m not insane. I had a dream about that band you’re obsessed with and you were in it. We had a little talk and one of the band members gave a long speech about some group call F.E.A.R.
I smiles a little and quickly texted back the spiel I just gave Destiny.
I’ll be ready by 5.
And that was that.
As quietly as I could I snuck everything out to my car. I grabbed my dad’s old bug-out bag and filled it with first-aid supplies and other useful random things. By the time I was done with packing it was nearly 4:15. I grabbed a quick breakfast and went to the front door. With a heavy heart I taped a letter I had written on the window. I hated leaving like this; they would not believe that this was real. I closed the door softly behind me, my heart aching.
Destiny’s house was a bit of a drive down a dark country back road. I had to drive slow with my high beams on to make sure I didn’t hit a deer. Des was waiting outside for me when I got there at 4:35. She stuffed her bags in the trunk and hopped in the front seat. Then we were off to get Daniel. We were on the road by 5:30. Daniel and Destiny were snuggled up in the back a sleep. I was running on roughly 16 hours of sleep so I was ok to drive for a while. The drive to Hugo kind of was long. We stopped for a quick breakfast at a McDonald’s off the turnpike. I downed a couple coffees and we were back on the road.
We got the fruit stand Windy’s mother owned at roughly 7:45. We parked roughly a block away and got out to stretch our legs. I spit out the flavorless wad of gum I had been chewing on for the last hour. My body was craving nicotine from stress. I use to smoke behind my parents’ backs for roughly a year but been off the nasty habit for nearly six month. With all the stress I’ve been under lately, I was craving some form of relief.
A red Honda CR-V pulled in at roughly 8:15. Out stepped Windy. She had short black and hot pink hair and was in full BVB get up, shoes and all. Along with her came Jane, a short, brown and red haired girl; Samuel, a black and blue haired, skeleton skinny, giraffe boy; and Hayden, her tall, white-blonde haired boyfriend. They all climbed out of the car and stretched a little. I ran up and hugged Windy. She held me tight. A small bit of my stress left me for a moment.
“You had the dream too?” Windy asked as we let each other go.
“We all did, I’m guessing.” I replied looking at the rest of our friends. They all nodded a little. I couldn’t suppress a small smile. “For some reason, the fact we all came from the same blood line doesn’t faze me…at all.” This earned a little chuckle from the group. “You all got everything you need?” I asked looking at the group riding with Windy. They gave a quick affirmative. I got in one last good stretch before going back to my car. “Let’s get going.” I said slipping into the driver’s seat. Everyone quickly got back into the car and we were gone.



We had been on the road for nearly a weak. We would drive for twelve-plus hours a day until we had to get some sleep. We ended up in a little town roughly 45 minutes north of Seattle, Washington, Everett, I think. We set up in a little hotel and had no choice but to wait. This was as far as we knew to go. The address of the rendezvous was buried in our minds, but hell, we had practically three weeks to kill.
It was 5:30 in the evening of our third night in Everett. We had decided to go out for dinner, and ended up driving to Seattle for Applebee’s. The restaurant was rather quiet for a Saturday night and we were seated quickly. There was a calmness in the air and we all just felt very at ease for some reason. Hell, even I was able to relax. We ordered our food and sat back to enjoy each other company for a short while.
Then out of the corner of my eye a flash of black caught my attention. There was a man sitting over at the bar just lounging on a bar stool. By the way the bartender was blushing I could tell he was flirting with her. He was in all black: cowboy boots, tight ripped jeans, tank top, and studded leather jacket. Layered, long, raven black hair fell past his shoulders. In truth, he kind of looked like a girl. Don’t get me wrong, he was quite handsome; he just had some feminine features. His flirty smile coupled with an ever so seductive glance seemed to make the bartender putty in his hands. I knew this man right as I got a good look at him; it was Ashley Purdy. He appeared to be enjoying himself as he toyed with the bartender. Truly what else was there to expect from Black Veil Brides so called “play boy”. Though, it did baffle me why he was alone here, without one of his band mates or some other friend of his.
I turned back to my group. Though I wanted to go all crazy fan girl over him, I decided it be best to leave him alone. For the next 20 minutes or so I would sneak little glances in his direction. He was just chilling at the bar the entire time. I’m surprised my friends didn’t notice me. At one point I met his eyes. He gave me a charming and knowing little smirk and winked a little. Butterfly fluttered in my stomach and I looked away quickly, but I could still feel his eyes on me. I totally understood why the bartender was blushing.
Out of nowhere my Pentacharm tattoo stared to burn. I looked across the table at Windy. She looked sheet white and I could see the slight movement of her arm as she rubbed the tattoo on her hip. Everyone else didn’t look any better. There went our relaxing evening. I stole a glance at Ashley; He looked like he was ready to strangle someone. A shiver ran up my spine. Light laugher came from the entrance. Windy’s face twisted in pain. In a mirror on the wall I saw three men in suits being led to the smoking section on the other side of the restaurant. I noticed Ashley duck his head down as they passed. My heart thudded against my ribcage. They were seated in a back corner. I could see them clearly from here; I just wish I knew how well they could see me.
A hand rested on my shoulder. “What the hell is going on?” Jane asked. “You and Windy look like death.”
I felt worse. I looked across the table at Windy. She had her head on the table and was taking short shaky breaths. We were both somehow holding down our supper, for now at least.
I closed my eyes and leaned my elbows on the table. “This is a reaction to F.E.A.R. Three minions just walked in. I can only guess it’s due to their sheer unholy-ness and sinful aura. If it’s bad enough to make Windy queasy they have to be just utterly ungodly. I only know this because my Pentacharm feels like it’s on fire. This happened the other day at school when one of them came and gave some sort of speech, or something.”
The table got quiet. “We have to get out of here.” Samuel said after a moment.
“Doing so might cause suspicion should they see us.” I murmured. “All of us, aside from Des and Dan, look like we’re getting ready to throw ourselves into a mosh-pit. We might catch their eye. We have to wait for a little while. Just to make it seem like we don’t know they exist.”
Everyone nodded, even Windy. 10 minutes tops. I thought.


»»»«««


Great… just mother fucking great… I get one night to myself and those mother fuckers show up. I forced a smile at the bartender as she served me another drink. Damn she was hot: blond, tall, and just the right amount of curves. The petite porcelain doll with raven black hair and mint green eyes that was sneaking glances was pretty damn cute too. There went my chances with either of them. I had to get the fuck out of here.
“…to F.E.A.R. I can only guess it’s due to their sheer unholy-ness and sinful aura…” wait… What? I perked up a bit and focused on the voice. “…they have to be just utterly ungodly. I only know this because my Pentacharm feels like it is on fire….”
I let my eyes wander the few people in the general direction of the voice. They landed on the pretty little doll I had caught sneaking little peeks at me. She was leaning in close to her friends. On the other end of the table another black haired girl had her head on the table. They both looked ready to puke. The rest of the group looked pretty pale. They all had to be Wild Ones, it was the only reasonable explanation to the physical reaction they were having. Dolly was right, the sheer evilness that surrounded F.E.A.R. would make Satan upchuck.
“I thought it was our job to take out F.E.A.R.?” a blond boy from the group asked.
“Yes, but what can seven teenagers do?” A girl with curly blond hair next to Dolly asked.
“We’d only draw unnecessary attention to ourselves and them. That would be the equivalent of walking around them dressed as targets.” A boy next to the girl said.
“Fighting right now is the worst thing we can do.” Dolly said. “As Dan said, we will draw unnecessary attention. Until we know more about what we’re really dealing with our best bet is to lie low.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw the group nod a little. Good, some teenagers with some brains.
“What do ya mean ‘cut off’?” some drunk guy slurred behind me. Shit. I glanced back to see a waitress talking to a big burly guy who had obviously had too much alcohol. The waitress was trying to get the guy to pay and leave. Don’t get involved, don’t get involved, don’t get… And he smacked her. That did it. I was out of my seat and caught the waitress just before she hit the floor. Apparently I was not the only who was coming to her rescue.
“Hey asshole!” Someone called. It was the blond boy from Dolly’s group. He walked straight up to the man, who was twice his size. “No man has any right to ever hit a woman, especially if he is the issue.” He said getting in the guy’s face.
“Out of my way you little faggot!” the guy said shoving Blondie so hard he flew into the wall.
There was a collective gasp from the whole room from behind me I heard some girl say “He is fucked.” I didn’t really understand what she meant until I saw Blondie get up and tackle the man to the ground. Damn that kid was quick. The two of them wrestled for a bit before Blondie had the man to the ground with blood dripping from his nose. Blondie stood and dragged the guy to the door. A couple of people held the door open as he threw the guy out by the waist band of jeans and the collar of his shirt. Damn. This kid couldn’t have weighted more than 120 pounds and he still kicked that bear of a guy’s ass. Again I say: Damn. As Blondie walked back in the restaurant erupted with cheers and applause. The waitress stood from where I held her kneeling on the floor and walked over to the kid, thanking him with a hug. He smiled tensely and hugged her back spilling out some chivalrous drabble. When they broke apart she came back and thanked me for catching her. I smiled and she helped me to my feet
I dusted myself off and paid my tab at the bar. I quickly wrote a little note on a napkin and asked the bartender to give it to Dolly. As quietly and stealthily as I could I snuck out of the restaurant to my car. I hoped to hell and back that nobody saw me.


»»»«««


Hayden walked back to the table with a forced smile. “Can we leave now?” he asked through clenched teeth. He knew he just blew our “lie low” plan, but it could be forgiven. He had no tolerance what so ever for men who disrespected women.
“We might as well.” Samuel said. The rest of us agreed. No use in staying here. We got our check and got ready to leave.
As we got up to leave someone tapped my on my shoulder. “Excuse me, miss,” a girl said behind me.
I turned to look at the bartender Ashley had been flirting with. “Yes?” I asked looking at the almost too cheery expression on her face.
She handed me a folded up napkin. “I was asked to give this to you.” She said with a stranded voice. There was a gleam of jealousy in her eyes. What the hell has gotten her panties in a bunch?
“Thank you,” I said taking the napkin. I turned my back on her and followed my friends out the door. I slipped in to the front passenger seat of Windy’s Honda and clicked on the little light overhead. “What did the waitress give you, Rain?” Jane asked from the driver’s seat.
“That’s what I’m about to find out.” I muttered unfolding the napkin.

Meet at the rendezvous tomorrow at noon.
Bring all of your stuff.
—Ash

I stared at the napkin. The note was obviously from Ashley, I recognized his signature. But how did he know we were Wild Ones?
“What does it say Kitten?” Samuel asked trying to look over my shoulder.
I read the little note out loud. They were all a little shocked to find out Ashley had been in the restaurant; kind of shows how unobservant teenagers are. They were also baffled by how he knew we weren’t just ordinary teens.
“I say we go.” Jane said as we drove out of town.
“I agree,” Daniel said from the back seat. “The sooner we get started with the training the better. If nothing else we could be able to give them some help were it is needed.” Everyone else murmured in agreement. We made plains for the morning as the drive continued. When we were done with that I rested my head against the window and stared up at the stars and moon. It was all about to begin.


»»»«««


I pulled off the highway onto a dirt road roughly and hour outside of Seattle. The road lead to a large clearing with four other cars parked in it. I was the last one back. We had all gone out for a little alone time. We love each other and all but we all did need some space. I hiked a little ways into the forests and slipped my jacket off. I hunched my shoulders and groaned a little as my back stared to ache. I felt my shoulder blades grind together. Bones formed where there was none and my skin stretched to accommodate them. With the new bone came new muscle. It stretched and formed with everything else. Soon my skin prickled as feathers began to grow. When it was over I straighten up and stretched my black feathered wings. I had roughly an ten-foot wingspan. The feathers were a soft back, like the color of worn leather. With a few hard flaps I was hovering above the trees. I pointed myself in the direction of The Cavern and was off.
I landed in the wide open valley surrounded by tall mountains. At the base of one mountain was a large cave. We had set up a make shift shelter inside it for the time being. The guys were sitting around a small fire in the mouth of the cave. My wings retracted as I sauntered over to the circle.
“Hey! He actually came back!” CC called. I rolled my eyes at the comment. Yes, I was a notorious flirt, but it’s been a while since my last one night stand.
I sat on the ground by the fire. A warm glow illuminated the group. I was happy to see the girls were here too; Jinxx had Sammi and they were curled up together; Jake had his head rested in Ella’s lap; Lauren was sitting in CC’s lap; and Andy and Juliet were snuggled close together. I’ll admit it, I was kind of jealous they had found their perfect girls.
“You were out pretty late, Ash.” Jake said. “We sorta thought you found some girl to go home with.”
I rolled my eyes a little. “I looked but didn’t find anyone worth it.” A scoff came from CC. I flipped him off and took a deep breath. “But I did find someone worth our time, about seven some-ones actually.”
They all turned to me. “You met Wild Ones?” CC asked voice full of surprise.
“Not met, just saw. Talking to them wasn’t really an option.”
“What do you mean?” Jinxx asked. They all listened intently. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as I relayed the events of the night.
“Thank you for inviting them here.” Andy said switching into Prophet mode. “The more hands we have the faster we can get set up. The faster we get camp set up the better.”
The group nodded. A somber silence fell over us. My mind wandered as I laid back to gaze at the stars. I played connect the dots with the constellations as my mind drifted off to dream land.