Larkin~

My teammate, a pretty, dark-haired girl named Celia, sits across from me in silence, staring akwardly at random people in the bus. I catch bits of a conversation about a rabid cardinal, which strikes me as odd, until I see the people doing the talking. Mark Fledge, and his aggravating sidekick John Piffner. I roll my eyes, and stare back at my hands. When I look back up, Celia gives me a quick smile, and I smile back, an odd feeling of warmth pulsing through me. 

When our rat-trap of a bus finally jerks to a halt, a strange feeling of foreboding begins nagging at the back of my head. I grab my backpack and slip out of my seat, merging into the river of people all trying to push their way off the bus first. Managing not to fall as I exit the bus, I stand still as I reach the edge of the woods, trying to detect that faint scent of danger again. Nothing reaches me, and I push on into the tangle of trees.

There was only one thing wrong with that hike. We stopped far to few times. There was no time for me to sit on a rock and sketch a sparrow, or do an outline of a tree to be filled in later. I simply had to hope that my memory would serve me well so I could sketch everything on the way back to Camden Middle.

OK… it is fine. Can I be Terrance?

Mark~

After yet another safety lecture, Coach sends us into the woods, assuring us that he will be walking around checking on our progress. As John and his partner start off on winding trail, John turns back to look at me, and winks. Celia, Larkin, and a couple other pairs group with Ellie and I as we walk down a winding valley trail. I wait, biding my time. Gradually, kids start branching off in different directions, leaving Larkin, Celia, Ellie, and I. Just when I feel like Larkin and Celia will never leave, they take a fork in the trail that leads down by a scenic, glassy pond. 

"C'mon Ellie, let's go this way," I bait, smiling endearingly. 

"Okay!" She replies, following trustingly. I feel a twinge of guilt at what I'm about to do, but I ignore it. She'll be fine. After all? What's the worst that can happen? Rabid cardinal attacks? Yeah right. After many echoing, crackling steps, I see a path, probably made by water, carving its way down a small hill. 

"Hey Ell, why don't you look down that path, and I'll peek down this trail, and we'll see which one's better? Meet here in five?" 

"Sure," she replies, happily stumbling down the path. As soon as her back is turned, I sprint back up the trail we came down, leaving Ellie to find John. The back of my neck prickles warningly, but I ignore it. What's a field trip without a little fun? John and I should have been partners from the first, after all. 

Ellie~

It starts on the bus. A strange, chilly feeling that seems to come out of nowhere. Oh, oh! I hope I'm not getting sick! I moan inwardly. It gets worse as Mark and I set off into the forest. Chillbumps break out over my arms and I rub them discretely. Tenatively, I glance at Mark. He doesn't notice my strange behavior. My stomach begins to churn as the awful, cold feeling is worse. I plaster a smile on my face and hope that Mark won't think that I am really this naive and happy. When I suggests that I check out an itty-bitty rabbit trail, I can't believe my ears. Finally a chance to sit down a breathe for a few seconds. As soon as I am a few feet down the steep slope, I sink to the ground, leaning against a tree. I must be sick. Why today, of all days? Cold fingers of dread latch onto my shoulders and…I spin around to face the rough tree bark. It really felt like someone was grabbing and shaking me, but there is no one there. Shaken, I look around for Mark, but he is nowhere in sight. Then the awful coldness grips me again, boring into my very skull. Pain blossoms outwards, spreading all over my body. I think I scream, but it is lost in the chaos within my mind. Something is struggling against me, pushing, pulling, fighting, but I can't see it. All I can see is a flash of silver-black sparks, and then, far beyond that, far enough to be surreal and otherworldly, is the forest I was walking through seconds before. I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming. I must be dreaming. The ground is shaking beneath me, as if the invisible foe inside my head is using the very elements against me. Just when I feel like I cannot bare the shaking tumult anymore, it stops, and everything relaxes. But the world still feels distant and fuzzy. And my head…my head feels so wrong, as if something other than me is inside it. 

~~~~~

So Voidling has Ellie. What happens next Brooke? 

Cool! Thanks! Who is my partener? Can I make someone up?

Hey Terrace, Abi is probably your partner.

Mmm….. I'd rather just make someone up. But someone else can RP them if they want. What's happening right now?

Kind of… actually, my post happened before and then during the earthquake. 

Top! I'm seriously considering going against RP ettiquite and writing ANOTHER post in which Mark comes across Larkin and Celia during the earthquake and they manage to avoid injury because of Mark's danger sense.

Voidling~

Ellie stumbled down the rock path. I follow behind, watching her movements, silent and wordless as her shadow that plays on the rocks.

All at once I grab her by the head, force myself into her mind. She gasps, clutching her forehead, but she is losing control.

"Thank you for your body, Ellie," I say to her-say to myself. I'm in her body, using her voice.

She is trapped inside her own body. Who are you? What-

"I am the crack in reality, Ellie. I am not male, not female, not agender. I am above and beyond your pitiful ideas. Your form is strong, Ellie, but not strong enough. When I find a form better than yours, I'll kill your body and you with it. So shut up. Maybe you'll live longer." 

You can't do this!

"But I can."

There is silence in her-my-head. I laugh, twirling my new hair.

"Ellie," I say, "I'll make you a deal. Do you have any friends who are immortal? Tell me, and maybe I won't make you jump off a cliff."