The rest of the teens scraped food of their plates, only to reveal to same message on all of them. Corben's food remained untouched.

Blair slammed her hands on the table. "We gotta do something! Surely there's a clue or something to tell us what to do?"

"Maybe it's underneath the plate?" Kai asked, lifting their plate to check. "There's got to be something."

Corben pinched the bridge of his nose. "Right. We all need to help search. Kai, you and Carmen check through everything on the table. Azalea, you and Maylea check underneath the table, let us know if you find anything."

He pointed to the cluster of boys. "We need to check the walls and surrounding areas. This place is big with lots of nooks and crannies, so be thorough." His gaze scraped over them, before his gestured at them. "Well? Get going!"

The teens broke into their assigned roles, Azalea practically running into a table leg in her haste.

Everyone worked in determined silence, only broken when someone called out that a space was clear, nothing useful there.

There was a loud clatter and thud.

"Carmen!" Kai rushed to the younger girl's side, lifting up her head. "Are you ok?"

Carmen gave her a weak smile. "I'm fine," she soothed. "Just dizzy."

Corben knelt next to her, brushing hair out of her face. "Look at me." He gently tilted her chin, studying her. "Her pupils are dilated." He pressed two fingers to the side of her neck. "And her heartbeat is faster than it should be."

Kai held Carmen close as Corben tugged off his sweatshirt and rolled it into a makeshift pillow. He shifted the girl's head to rest on it, face creased with concern.

"Ok," he said, getting up slowly. "Everyone get back to work. Carmen must have had the poisoned plate, and we don't know how fast acting it is, so it is imperative that we find out how to stop it."

He stooped to whisper in Kai's ear, quietly, so she was the only one to hear. "Keep her awake, no matter what. We don't know what will happen if she becomes unconcious."

Kai nodded, and turned to the girl now under her care. "Hey, you're gonna be ok. I promise you."

Carmen bit her lip and nodded. "Ok."

Blair cast a worried look at the two girls as he passed by, and he tapped Corben on the shoulder. "Is she going to be ok?"

Corben sighed. "Truthfully, I don't think so. Our only hope is to find something to fix it." He checked his watch. "It's been five minutes since we first found the message, which means it's been around ten minutes since she first ingested it. I have no clue what it could be though, so I'm not sure what our timetable is on something like this."

Blair quirked one eyebrow up. "Man how do you know all of this stuff?"

Corben shrugged. "I read."

Azalea suddenly popped out from under the table, a paper in her hand. "I found something!"

Everyone in the room dropped what they were doing and crowded around her, each trying to read the words.

Corben reached over everyone and plucked it out of her hands, turning away from the group. He mumbled out a few words of it, then sighed, exasperated. "This makes no sense."

Juno took it from him, reading it aloud. "If yet we once and yet now we are, and yet all we were was to look to the stars, and yet let us take flight on wings and dreams, thus to reach forth, to clouds and things."

Maylea perked up. "Wings And Dreams! It's a book of poetry I read once!"

Corben looked at her quizzically, but nodded. "Right. We need to search for a book called Wings and Dreams. Don't leave a single place unturned."

The group broke apart to search, and Avery knelt next to Kai and Carmen. "Hey," he said, a smile on his face. "Want to hear a couple of jokes while we wait?"

Carmen gave him a weak smile. "Sure," she whispered.

"Ok." Avery took one hand, and noticed that it was trembling. "What does a nut say when it sneezes?" There was a heartbeat of silence, and he continued. "Cashew!"

There was a small snort from Kai, and Carmen gave a breathy chuckle. "That was terrible," she said.

Avery grinned. "Oh really? Cause I've got more." He tapped his chin. "Let's see... oh! What do you call a hen who counts her eggs? A mathemachicken!"

Carmen's smile grew. "That was worse than the first! Do another one."

"Uh..." Avery licked his lips. "Got it. Why do fish live in salt water?" He looked hopefully at her.

"Uh," she bit her lip, eyebrows pressed together in thought. "I don't know?"

Avery squeezed her hand. "Because pepper makes them sneeze!"

Carmen nodded, eyes fluttering closed. "F-funny..."

Kai inhaled sharply. "Carmen? Carmen, wake up! Wake up!" She whipped her head up towards Corben. "We need to find that thing and fast. She's not waking up."

Corben spat put a curse and sprinted over, practically sliding down towards the girl. "Carmen, Carmen I really need you to wake up now."

There was a gasp, followed by a loud thud, and then Charlie was running over, a vial filled with a strange blue liquid in his hand. "I got it! I got it! I- it's right here."

He stumbled just as he reached the table, and Corben muttered another curse and grabbed it from the air, a long sigh of relief curling from him.

Kai plucked the vial from Corben's hand and carefully unscrewed the top, before tilting it into Carmen's open mouth.

The girl swallowed, and they all sat there, fear and hope intermingled in all of their eyes as they waited, no one daring to breathe.

Then she coughed, sitting up and wheezing for air and everyone screaming and laughing and others were crying and Kai wrapped Carmen into the tightest bear hug ever.

Carmen clutched the older girl's arms, sobbing into her as her entire body shook. "Thank you, thank you so much. Oh thank you."

Corben clapped his hands twice. "We need to give her some space. Everyone back off a little bit."

The teens shifted, but not much, not wanting to leave the member of their unlikely group alone in a moment like this. Not after what had just happened.

Carmen pulled herself away from Kai's arms, smiling wearily. "Can I have some food?" She asked, rubbing her forehead. "Preferably something that's not poisoned."

There was a slight chuckle, and then everyone was laughing. Laughing for relief and joy that they were together.

Azalea came forward with a full plate of food, setting it next to the Carmen. "Here, this used to be Corben's, but he didn't eat anything so it's untouched."

The other teens started to filter away, when Carmen grabbed Avery's sleeve, clutching it tight.

The boy turned, confused. "Huh?"

Carmen smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you for the jokes."

Avery stammered out something, his face turning flush. "You- you're welcome. Anytime." He but his lip, then got up and slipped away.

Maylea looked around, not quite sure what to do with herself now that all the stresses had faded away.

Well they were still kidnapped, so that was probably something she could panic about.

Someone sidled up next to her, and Maylea flinched as she turned to look. "Wha- Carmen! You need to be resting! Why aren't you sitting down? Go sit down." She placed her hands on the shorter girl and directed her over to the table, all but shoving her into a chair.

Carmen winked at her. "Aren't I lucky to have such a cute girl worried about me?"

Maylea turned pink and shoved a napkin in Carmen's face. "Sh-shut up."

Carmen laughed and pulled the napkin from her face. "Speaking of cuties..." she leaned forward, her gaze darting towards a cluster of the boys. "Isn't Corben just the hottest?"

Maylea squeaked and flushed deep red. "Ihavenocluewhatyoumean!" She blurted out, words blurring together.

Carmen chuckled and rested her chin on her palm. "I wonder if he's a good kisser..."

Maylea covered her face, feeling like she was going to melt away if she blushed any more. She shuffled away from the table, eyes still closed as she hid behind her hands.

She bumped into someone behind her, and she yelped, lurching forward. "Woah!" Someone grabbed her elbow and she spun from the momentum of it, stumbling and slamming face first into whoever had grabbed her.

"Easy there." The person pulled her back a little, but Maylea kept her eyes squeezed shut, not really wanting to face her embarrassment.

"Are you ok?" The person asked, and their hand gently touching her forehead, making her shiver. "You feel warm."

"I'm fine." She whispered. "Just a bit dizzy." She tried to think of a quick lie, something to explain away the lingering flush. "I think I have a headache and the light makes it worse." There, that should work.

They clicked their tongue, and guided her somewhere, when another voice spoke to them. "Juno, what's going on now?"

Maylea cracked her eyes open and saw Juno and Corben hovering over her. Juno turned his head from where he was crouched next to Maylea. "She said she had a headache and felt dizzy."

"Hmm." Corben leaned closer and studied her face. Maylea squeezed her eyes shut again, feeling her ears burn. "She does look a little red." There was a slight grunt, and she heard the shuffling of someone getting up. "She'll be fine. Right now we need to focus on getting out of here."

Disappointment hit her deep in the gut, but she couldn't quite pinpoint why.

But she didn't have time to analyze how she felt, because there was suddenly an unfamiliar voice speaking.

End of Stage Two

Please comment the way your characters would flirt/respond to affor mentioned action. This is very important

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The teens scrambled to their feet, staring warily at the stranger standing in front of the bookshelf that took up the back portion of the room.

He was tall and clad in a sharp black suit, a hint of ink crawling across his neck, disappearing into his spiked blond hair. His sharp blue eyes stared at each teen in turn, but despite his threatening appearance, a gentle aura seemed to radiate from him.

"Hello." His voice was surprisingly clear and smooth, and it didn't seem to fit his hardened face at all. "My name is Mr. James, and you will refer to me as such." There was a pause of breath, then he continued. "I am here to supervise you throughout the duration of the experiment."

Blair raised his hand. "Hi yes, so, quick question, did you just say experiment?!"

The man- Mr. James, nodded. "Yes. The Master has elected to use you in his scientific studies. But do not fear, no harm will come to you."

Corben scoffed. "A, we were kidnapped, not elected to use in studies, and B, Carmen literally just got poisoned!"

"The Master tends to have... eccentric ideas. I am here to keep him in check and provide a calm environment. I apologize for any further stresses he might put you through, but this is all for the sake of the study.

"Furthermore, Corben, you were not 'kidnapped', as you so inaccurately put it. Your paperwork says you were volunteered."

There was a stretch of silence, as the words cut into Corben, his face turning as white as a sheet of paper. And yet still, he never made a sound.

Mr. James cleared his throat and procured a small velvet pouch from behind his back. "Please reach into the bag and take an identification tag. This tag will determine future scenarios in the experiment."

The teens stared at each other, then Charlie shrugged and strode forward. "Guess I'm first."

Select a pair of two characters. This pairing will last throughout the entire book and force many interactions. Neither person in a pairing may be one of your characters.

》》

I'm sorry this chapter is out so late! I had been working on it and then I found a fanfic and then I was busy and then I had to go to bed early...

Anyways, do you have any opinions on the characters here? Who's your favorite so far?

Additionally! To any readers out there who may not have a character in this, don't be afraid to comment and make choices! I would love to have people choose many different options. It's more fun that way :)