Awakening Part 2: Promised Ones

She looked around in awe. Though no one knew, she loved books almost as much as Isaac. Quikly checking herself, she focused her gaze on Corey and Isaac, still unknowing of who exactly they are. Her head was still spinning from everything since the moment she died.

(Ion, you still in this?)

Jack strode forward. "So, Corey, you guys find anything yet?" Corey shook his head. "Nope. They still could be anywhere. Though we think that there might be one in Scotland somewhere"

(sorry! I had band camp .-.) She could not control what she said next. The words just came tumbling out. It was so obvious. "Actually, it's in Ireland. Scotland and Ireland are very close but are separated by the sea. They are about 400 miles away which is only about 8 hours. The problem, of course, is the sea. The sea makes crazy things happen in both places, screwing up any sense of direction, especially for beings like us." By now, she was in full "smart" mode. All of a sudden, her knowledge seemed to expand though she had always been really smart, she never showed it. "Now, obviously the other Chosen are trying to screw us up. Think about it, if we are currently undefined and trying to track down mystery locations, the obvious place to look would be Scotland. It is rural and open. Hidden but obvious." She pulls a large book from the shelf and lays it in front of Corey, pointing to a graph of activity and occurrences. She then points out the map and location of the countries and the sea. "We are directing there." She said pointing. Scotland did seem the best option. "But it is actually here." She said pointing again to the smaller country of Ireland. "According to the calculations of average wind speed from the sea and temperature, coupled with the rare but violent happenings is what hides the location in Ireland. Now, if you do the same calculation for Scotland, it is obvious that it is not there." She flushed a little as she finished, realizing exactly what she had just done. "Erm..just saying..I could be wrong..."

Jack, Johnny, and Alissia stood slack-jawed. For a second, it was silent, until Alissia broke the silence with a long, vapid, "Whaaaaaaaaaat?" as her hair turned platinum blonde. Corey slammed his fist down on the table. "She's right!" He exclaimed. "I can't believe I didn't see it before. Man, I feel like a total idiot, it makes perfect sense. Good job, Jayde!" Corey stood up, walking around the table. "Alright then folks, we have our first best guess as to where to go. Now we just hope we're not too late. Everyone ready?" Jack, Johnny and Alissia all nodded. "Jayde? Isaac? Ready for your first true test?"

She realized what she had just done and flushed a little. She had not meant to reveal that side of herself. She avoided eye contact with everyone but mumbled "sure" before pretending to be interested in the floor.

The three others all stepped up, Alissia and Corey offering their hands for Johnny and Jayde to grab. Johnny stepped up and grabbed Alissia's hand, looking back to Jayde to make sure she was ready.

She took Corey's hand, but as lightly as possible. She was clearly uninterested in anything at the moment, and was receding back to her bitchy, sarcastic persona.

They all stepped forward, and with the same disorienting whirlwind of motion they flew through time and space. They all appeared on top of a giant rolling hill, the wind whipping their hair about. Corey took a step forward and looked around. "No sign of any activity. We need to look around." Alissia wrapped a cloak around herself, her face bitter, hair black. Jack seemed unphased by the wind, his eyes closed, almost looking meditative. Johnny shuddered in the cold, though somehow seemed to relax more, feeling the wind on his body.

She looked around and noticed that if she concentrated on it, the wind didn't seem to affect her as much as it did the others.

Corey looked back to the group, watching the newer recruits closely. His eyes focused on Johnny. "Johnny, what is it?" Johnny wore a preplexed look. "I don't know, man. Something just feels weird. No, not feels, smells. Something smells weird." Johnny looked in the direction the wind was coming from. "I've never smelled anything like it, but it seems to be coming from over there." Corey smiled, as Jack cursed under his breath, handing Alissia a 5 dollar bill which she accepted with glee. Johnny was confused. "What's going on?" he asked. Corey simply laughed. "We had a feeling we knew what you were. And your heightened sense of smell proves it. You are indeed the spirit of the north. And whatever you're smelling, it's probably trouble. Let's go that way." Corey pointed in the direction Johnny had looked, and started walking that way. The group began walking, except for Johnny and Jayde. Johnny turned to Jayde and asked, "Do you get the feeling we're in way over our heads here?" He looked at her, with real fear in his eyes for the first time she'd ever seen.

She sighed and muttered somewhat annoyedly. "I know I didn't sign up for this shit."

Johnny stood and looked straight into her eyes. "Look, whatever happens, we do this together, ok?"

Something about his gaze made her take this seriously. At least at the moment. She searched his eyes for a brief moment, finding genuine sincerity. She nodded. "Okay."

Johnny said nothing, just looking at her for a second, before nodding, and turning to follow the rest of the Chosen.

She was suddenly aware of how overwhelming this whole situation was. She had not wanted this. She did not want to be "Chosen" or "Promised" or dead! Why had she killed herself just because life was not what she had hoped? She groaned softly with hints of annoyance, regret, and even anger. What was she doing?? These people were crazy and she didn't want any part of it. The worst part was that she found her bitchy behavior was stupid in this realm. It wouldn't get her anywhere and it wouldn't make people ignore her like it had before. She had revealed her smart side already and she knew they probably would not drop that. She sighed softly, this time in defeat, and followed behind everyone slowly. She decided she'd go along with it agreeably but she'd have to refrain from saying much.

The group walked down a great hill, trodding as they went, Johnny and Jayde soon catching up to the group. As they walked, Johnny seemed to tense, his breath becoming visible, despite the temperature being fairly warm. Corey felt a slight chill, and looked back to Johnny. "Hey, everything all right?" He asked. Johnny sniffed, and scrunched his face in disgust. "It's getting stronger, the smell." He replied. The veteran chosen shared a glance with each other, each one looking like they were getting ready for something. "Alright then." Corey called out. "We're getting close. Everyone, be on alert."

Jayde rolled her eyes and muttered. "No thanks." but something inside of her seemed to know better. She, too, felt a strange feeling as they continued. She tried to ignore it but it kept biting at her insides. She just wanted her life back.

As they kept walking, the wind suddenly cut out, all at once. The chosen all stopped walking in unison. Jack whispered under his breath, "Goddamnit." Suddenly Corey began shining, his body shifting to light. "The seal's been broken. It's time to move." He began to run forward, Jack following him, his body fading to smoke as Alissia came after him, transforming herself into her demonic, cat-like battle form. Johnny breathed in, letting the adrenaline course through him. He began to run after the group, behind them because they had a hea start, but as he ran, his body started to shift, and he began to fall forward. It was almost as if he tripped, but when his hands hit the ground, they had transformed into paws, his body covered in gray fur as he shifted into a great arctic wolf, quickly closing the gap between him and the group.

She groaned inwardly. What was she supposed to do? Start running and turn into a cloud? A flower? Rain? She didn't even know what she was capable of, besides control nature to some extent. How does this work? Why her? How did Johnny all of a sudden know what to do? What was she supposed to do? She was not ready for anything like this. She didn't want to be. She no longer cared who she was or how she acted or who was around her. She just wanted everything to stop. The group was way far ahead of her now. She still did not know what to do. She began to feel utterly hopeless.

A wave of spirits appeared before the running group, eliciting a battle cry from the Chosen as they charged forward. The spirits looked like wraiths, with indistinct bodies wrapped in tattered rags. They appeared in great numbers, too many to count, really. Johnny took a quick glance over his shoulder and saw Jayde, standing still. He immediately stopped running, and howled at her, beginning to run straight at her as fast as he could, barking and snarling.

She saw Johnny charge at her and suddenly became the little girl she was inside. The girl she never let grow up by covering her up for so long. She felt frightened and alone. She felt useless and stupid. She backed up slowly. "What are you doing? Stop!" she thought he was going to trample her he was coming at her so fast. She didn't know why he was snarling either.

Johnny's paw began glowing a pale blue as he clumsily stumbled onto two feet, halfway between man and wolf. He shouted, his voice garbled, but the word still audible. "DOWN!!!" He shouted, as he loosed the energy in his hand, the pale missile soaring just over Jayde's head, as Johnny fell backward, blasted off of his feet by the force of the blast.

She practically fell on her face she ducked so quickly. The force of the missile blew her onto the ground as well. She covered her face and buried it into the ground. She repeated into the ground: "i want to go home. i can't do this. stop. no." She didn't care who thought what or who could do what. For the first time in ages she embraced herself and knew that she was alone. She was still a child. She was a complete nerd, but hopeless on the streets. She was not this. She couldn't be. "Help me. Please." she pleaded to the ground.

Jayde couldn't see what was happening, but she heard it. And she could feel it. The sound like glass shattering as the missile hit something behind her. It rang out loud and clear as she heard the thudding of paws coming closer, as Johnny jumped over her, growling louder as he soared through the air toward where the missile hit. There was a wet smacking sound, and a yelp of pain, followed by a hard thud as Jayde felt a small shake in the ground, like something just landed. Hard.

She groaned inwardly and forced herself to look up. She searched the area where she thought she heard the strange noises. She scanned quickly, growing more uneasy, unable to see anything.