Prologue
It was almost Summer. The monotony of the days at school broken by the excitement of the coming vacation.
Gideon O'Connel, a sixteen-year-old Sophomore, was warming up in the boxing ring. He pushed his golden-blonde hair out of his amber eyes and cracked his knuckles. This was his favorite pastime. He bounced on the balls of his feet with excitement as he watched the other boy. Someone hit the bell and Gideon advanced. The other boy swung a punch at him and Gideon dodged fluidly. His fist darted out, aiming for the boy's shoulder. A harsh crack! filled the air - after Gideon's fist withdrew a millisecond after he had punched. More cracks followed in quick succession, like glass breaking. It mingled with a high scream from the boy and a gasp from Gideon. Gideon rushed over to his fallen opponent.
"I'll take him to the nurse's office." he said to the approaching former audience. He picked the boy up, shocked to feel the boy's arm and realize it hadn't broken - It had shattered. He made his way to the nurse's office. When the nurse saw the boy, she gasped in horror. Gideon laid the boy on the table, "Will he be okay?"
"What on earth happened?" asked the nurse, looking over the unconscious boy, "His arm shattered, he has a fractured collarbone and a rib. And his shoulder's dislocated!"
"We were boxing. I punched him in the shoulder and…" The nurse shook her head and shooed him out of the room. He retreated awkwardly, head spinning over what had just occurred. He leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and let out a sigh. When he opened them, he saw something strange. Colors. New colors. Ones he could have never imagined. He stared around, wandering, the colors taking his mind off of the boy. He wandered into the cafeteria. Chatter jolted him from his stupor. It sounded panicked. He heard bits of it.
"It's so loud!"
"I can see everything!"
"I have
claws!"
Gideon stood still.
What?
"I have
fangs!"
Huh? Gideon stared at everyone. It was true.
Cass sat straight as a poker, her platinum-blonde hair streaked with blue and purple, sapphire eyes wide, "Do you hear that?" The room hushed, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing." As one, the students rose and exited the grounds of Aquila High. They moved across Mount Desert Island. The towns were abandoned. They got into cars and drove all the way to the edge of the island, then walked onto the rocky beach. Around the island, as far as the eye could see, there was a strange, wavering look to the air.
"We're trapped." whispered Gideon. Someone heard him and the cry spread across the beach.
A girl yelled at the top of his lungs, "Shut up everyone! It's just heat!" She walked boldly up to the thing. Right into it. There was a flash, a high-pitched whistling sound - and there she was. Her body, that was. There were screams. Someone threw up. The body faded away.
"What if air can't get in!" someone yelled.
Gideon raised his voice, "I don't think it's meant to keep stuff
out. I think it's meant to keep us
in."
Kathryn Jones, a senior, spoke up, "Who's trying to keep us in? How will we get out?"
"I don't know! We'll figure this out! We'll get through this! But for now we have to
stay calm. We stay away from the barrier, we get supplies together. We keep our heads clear and get through this." Gideon saw people nodding, calmed slightly by his words. He was glad they believed him, because all he could think was,
We're all going to die.