Furbin~

Stuffing my hands into my pocket, I make my way down the busy streets. I am supposed to be meeting somebody around here, but I can't seem to find the right building. Exasperated, I sit down on the nearest bench and relaxed my shoulders.

I squint into the sky, trying to forget the fact that I'm extremely worried. There is something whizzing in the air...

I cough, my collarbone heavy. Oh god, that burns! Falling into the ground, I gasp for air, clenching and unclenching my fists.

There is someone above me. Worried faces. I get up and push the people out of the way, limping and clutching my chest. Turning into an alleyway, I look to see what happened.

A shiny red stone is embedded in my collarbone. I squeak slightly, faliing onto the ground.

"Not possible, not possible," I mutter, rubbing my eyes. "A dream, a dream, just a dream..."

I pinch myself, growing ever more frustrated. I kick the nearest garbage ca--Whoa! Did I just... I just kicked it into the wall. Inching closer, I see a large dent in the rusty thing. Looking around, I decide to test something out. I kick a wall nearest to me. The stone cracks. I gape, feeling dizzy. I should find a doctor... No, actually, that isn't a good idea.

The best thing for me right now is to keep moving.

Are we starting?

We are indeed starting!

Lynn~

I stumbled over a rock on the sidewalk. I took a moment to glare at it and telekinetically cast it aside before moving on.

I had a mission to complete.

When I was chosen as a Worthy four months ago by the blue stone, it came with what was practically an instruction manual. Somehow, I knew: there were five more like me, there was a woman trying to take the stones, I had to find the other five people.

Unless, of course, I am utterly insane.

It's possible.

I turned a corner and saw a pebble go skittering past my foot at an odd angle, as though it had been blasted out of a wall. I looked up to see a boy about my age standing in an alleyway, staring at a hole in the wall.

A flat red stone glowed on his collarbone.

I almost laughed at the irony; a bookish-looking, thin boy receiving the stone of strength.

He stumbled out of the alleyway and almost ran into me. He looked embarrassed.

"S-sorry-" he began to stumble off.

"Wait," I said, exposing my stone. His eyes widened. "You have one too?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, and so do four other kids, probably. Come with me. I have a lot to explain." 

~Anne

"Bye mom!" I call as I head out the door. Finally, fresh air (well, not exactly fresh. We live in the suburbs JUST on the outskirts of the City)! It's been raining for days and days and I've had to stay inside the house..but the rain finally ceased, as if it had been so strained, so tired, that it couldn't go on anymore after using up all of it's strength to it's fullest.

I throw on a light-green sweatshirt and brush my hair. I remember the day I wanted  to get it dyed... I was so proud of myself for making the choice! I remember how much Uncle Conner laughed once he saw my hair- ....

...Uncle Conner....

I immediately stop bouncing. Oh, irene. Oh... "Help!" "I'm coming! I won't let you fall!" I close my eyes and try to shut the memory out. It doesn't go away. Even with my eyes closed, I can see the light on the reddish Arizona rock, and the footprints...always the footprints... I very faintly hear a voice. "Anne? Anne?" It brings me back to the present. I open my eyes.

There's mom, smiling at me weakly. "You were shut up again. Now, sweetheart, go outside." I nod. "Sure, mom!" I reply and immediately go back to being happy, giving my Uncle's early death no further thought. I head outside, splashing on a puddle, and staring at the sky, and the clouds that are starting to clear.

...is that a Rainbow?

A burst of multicolored light appears in the sky, creating an instant rainbow. Every color of the rainbow but indigo was there....and suddenly the burst falls. It's an object! The burst is coming down faster and faster and I realise, too late, where it's going to land. Ow. A burst of pain on my collarbone. Light, so much light. Multicolored light. Every color shining brightly in my face..then it stops, but the searing pain on my collarbone doesn't.

I look down and see a gem right there. A gem. A triangular gem, with every color of the rainbow striped on it. My first thought is the Illuminati (hey, it's a triangle!) but the Illuminati is a green triangle. What's going on!? 

I don't really have much time to reflect, as a vicious husky down the street, nicknamed 'The Wolf' charges right at me. I gasp and say the first thing I can think of. "Look over there! A nice, juicy bone!" I always try the distraction trick. He turns, and, exactly where I'm pointing, a nice, juicy, slightly-transparent, bone appears. He runs at it and trys to bite it but his jaws go through it. Just like he's biting at air.

All I can do is turn and run while he's distracted. Run towards the city. 

The story is set in Seattle, right? 

After finaly relizing I could make people do anything, I thought of what to do. Yes, what to do..

Ow! I ran into a girl with a rainbow burn on her chest. My trench coat was buttoned to my neck, and I was wearing a pair of black Skullcandy headphones and listening to techno dance music, but I was listening to the girl's breath. Shortened, as if by pain... Gah! I can't belive it. Someone else... Wait, there was a dog running at us. Mastering my powers, I stop it. "Who are you?" I ask.

(Icy, is that Ok with you?) 

~Anne O'Brien

"You have one too?" the boy says. I stare, dumbfounded, at the purple gem thing on his collarbone area. "Yours is purple" is all I can say. He gives me a look like 'Duh.'. Oops. "How did you--" I begin, then stop. "Come to my house, we need to talk" is what I end up saying.

~~~

I open the door. "Mom? Is it okay if my friend from school comes in?" I call. I feel bad about lying to my Mom. I trust her with everything (and I plan to tell her about my gem-thing), but if she knew the Boy was a complete stranger, she wouldn't let him in. "Oh, okay Sweetheart," she replies. I cringe.

"So, who's your friend?" she asks. "Uhh, his name is--" "Gared," he cuts in smoothly. Mom beams. "What a lovely name," she says. I nod, and Gared follows me up the carpeted stairs to my room. "So, how did you get that...purple gem thing?" I say casually, in case Mom is listening to strains of our conversation (she can detect something serious or worrying from miles away). "It fell from the sky and fused on me," Gared said. "You?" I go through the events in my head. What really had happened? "Well there was a rainbow that appeared in the sky. Then it turned into a small thing and it fell on my collarbone and this--" I gestured towards the thing on my collarbone. "--fused on me somehow." 

I'm not telling him about the weird, phantom bone that appeared, and, from his expression, he's not telling me something either. 

Jackel~

l quickly whirl around a corner into an alley, crouching on my heels, listening.

Stupid, stupid. Why didn't l pay more attention? l swear, l'm getting far too careless these days. The small group of people pass by, unknowing of my presence. That was simply lucky. Next time could be my last.

Some part of me thought that l might be a little too  paranoid, but far too much had happened in the last few months for me to trust anything. For one, l grew wings. Huge, each six feet long, that looked like the didn't strictly belong to any animal, much less me. They had the rough shape of bird's wings, but they were far too heavy in proportion and curved. They were covered on huge feathers, that were stiff and deadly sharp, which where a off-white and grey.

The wings wouldn't have been too much of a problem, they could be awkwardly pressed flat against my back, if they weren't a full foot longer then l was tall.  With a full-length coat that l wore and kept trpping over, l tended to pass as normal if someone didn't stare at me too long. Whatl was afraid of, l didn't know, but l had my reasons.

The day l grew wings, l was terrified. l couldn't simply understand why this yellow stone somehow attached to my collerbone had grown wings. l had, as a good child, promptly informed my parents. They had not reacted well at all. So badly, in fact, that the very same night l ran away.

l didn't want people to treat me the same way my parents had that night, like some sort of monster. l never truely loved my family, only the sort of distant love that is nescessary in a family. l didn't miss them. l didn't regret ny choice.

So thus, l avoid everyone, or blend in as best l can. But lately, people have started to notice me more. It frightens me badly. How would they react? Not good, is what l would guess. l don't know what l would do if my secret was found. l hope l will never have to.