Jade Cooper wasn't exactly sure what she had gotten herself into. She thought she was going to be driving at first to find that substance that was stolen, but she was watching two girls who were obviously horrible with directions.

"You're going the wrong way!" Esme yelled at Emma.

They were driving along the highway with the sun beginning to set. There were trees all around the empty highway where cars were still crashed into the ditches, but the grass was beginning to become overgrown with weeds.

"Are you sure?" Emma panicked.

"It's north. Wait, we are north, right?" Esme rambled, looking around the car only to see guidebooks, tissues, and a country music CD.

"Do not play that, or I'll throw it out the window," Jade stated, because she hated country music.

Esme frowned at Jade. She couldn't stand country music by any means because she found it dreadful and always about the same things, like beer, tractors, or something depressing. If anything, she was more into rap music because it hyped her up for games.

"Okay, I'll turn around," Emma said, doing a full circle turn, driving normally on the highway.

At least Emma didn't speed or zigzag down the highway. The only thing she was terrible at would be directions.

"I think we should just go east. It's not exactly near the highway," Emma said, her lips pressed together.

They headed east, but Emma's driving wasn't exactly east. They were moving to the opposite side of the highway and heading back into town.

"There's a lot less on security," Esme said, her face pressed against the window.

"Most don't guard the highway anymore," Emma stated.

Jade assumed they stopped guarding because nobody came out here anymore and Greyson had his own driving rules.

"Whoa, Emma! I didn't know you had your ears pierced!" Esme exclaimed, spotting Emma's ear with a small golden stud.

"I got them when I was a baby," Emma said.

"I'm supposed to get mine this year," Esme sighed, putting her legs on the dashboard. "Let's play a game!"

Esme's impatience became noticeable without even saying anything. She kept trying to find something interesting in the vehicle, but there wasn't anything. She would try to lean her seat down, but Jade put her foot on the back of it, preventing her from doing that.

"Emma, stop driving like an old person!" Esme exclaimed as she reached to grab the steering wheel.

"I don't know; it just started going slow!" Emma panicked as it stopped. She kept pressing on the gas, but nothing worked.

Jade stood slightly in the back, noticing the problem. "We're out of gas," she sighed.

All three of them heard talking through Esme's now-open window. Jade opened the back door, squinting to see something.

"Don't tell me it's some security people," Esme groaned.

Jade could tell it was a green pickup truck from a distance from the bright headlights. They travelled slowly along the highway, where they stood outside of the vehicle.

Esme sped toward them, leaving Emma to run her hands over her face. Within a few seconds, she came speeding over with a girl Jade had never met. Esme and Emma stared at the girl, who pulled away quickly from Esme. It caused her to pull out her water gun, loaded with rubbing alcohol and vinegar.

"What are you doing out here?" Esme pointed the gun at her face.

"I'm doing a highway check," Teagan said.

Esme kept the water gun pointed at Teagan's face. This girl was at the meeting that they had today, but she didn't stand out from any of the jobs that had been assigned.

"Aren't you part of the daycare?" Emma asked, her head tilting in confusion.

It made Teagan breathe out a sigh. "I was looking for you. Someone broke their arm, and the bone is sticking out." She attempted to make a broken arm gesture, but it didn't exactly work.

"Only if you give us a ride," Esme said.

"Where?" she asked, looking at the three of them.

"Uden Academy," Jade sighed.

Teagan seemed as clueless about getting to Uden as they did. It wasn't that people just travelled willingly to Uden.

"Well, I have the boy who broke his arm," Teagan said as they walked toward the truck. It was still running while making a loud, thumping sound.

Teagan opened the back door and pulled out a boy. He was skinny with slick brown hair, wrapped in a tarp with his arm hanging off the back seat.

"Stripper?" Jade inquired, his gaze meeting hers.

The reason he had been wrapped in a tarp was because he was naked. Emma turned away from him while Esme laughed.

"Where did you find him?" Esme inquired, her laughter fading.

"We were getting candy from the gas station and found him there," Teagan said.

"Can you heal it?" Stripper moaned, his bare chest visible.

Jade spotted part of the bone sticking out, making Emma look physically sick. She could always freeze his arm with ice, but that wouldn't do anything but numb it.

"I was running back to town and tripped when my clothes fell off," Stripper said.

Stripper always seemed to lose his clothes at any given time, like that was his own supernatural power, but it wasn't. Scarlett had tried ranking him, but he was still none, which caused teachers to physically tape his hands together.

"Bones look different than on paper," Esme awed, examining part of his bone sticking out.

Esme's words caused Emma to double over and vomit on the grass. "Can't Melany or Cindy do it instead?" Her voice wavered, still nauseous.

"They asked me to find you," Teagan remarked as Emma stepped away from where she vomited. Using her sleeve, she wiped her mouth, eyes closed.

"No," she said. "Tell Melany I'm not healing it until that bone isn't in sight."

"We still need a ride," Jade implied, hands in her leggings' pockets.

Teagan seemed perplexed by the situation. Emma refused to heal someone and definitely didn't want to be dragged around by Esme.

"I'll take you to the infirmary," Teagan said. "We can talk it out there."

"Then we go to Uden," Esme said, looking toward Jade.

It wasn't that the people at Uden knew much of Greyson's plans. Some freaks had left Uden for Simcoe, while others had come to Uden. There were switch situations where it came down to knowing which side seemed better. Jade hadn't chosen a side to stay out of the sibling rivalry that was occurring.

"He stays in the back," Emma said, wobbling her way toward the truck. Esme dragged both of them to the truck before skidding across the highway.

"Darn it," Esme mumbled.

Emma attempted to open the truck door, but it wasn't working. She had her head pressed against the door, still appearing nauseated. Could this girl even be able to heal him?

"Can we throw him in the trunk?" Esme asked, making Teagan stare back at her.

"Sounds good," Teagan agreed, lifting the naked boy with Esme.

If they didn't have these powers, Emma would be sick all the time. Jade thought about broken bones, and it made her slightly nauseous. If people could barely control getting broken bones, it could be possible that Emma being the healer would be a bad thing. Worse enough, all of it could be used against her.

Jason met eyes with Cindy as Zane had gone to help Ilya at the daycare. With all the children at the daycare, it's harder to manage. One had tried escaping, and even them just being restless. Jason didn't realize that dealing with younger children could be tough. Actually, he didn't realize how difficult dealing with problems could be.

"Someone had their bone sticking out?" Bella asked. "It wasn't some Halloween decoration?"

"I know that's not exactly the news you wanted to hear." Cindy trailed off without even looking nauseated.

Bella looked green when they stood outside the church. It was getting close to dinner, leaving almost one day until he vanished.

"We're going to have dinner," Jason said, waving a hand and walking with Bella.

"The thought of that makes me nauseous," Bella mustered.

It had been three weeks since all this began. The food supply had a lot of junk food, like fruit snacks and nacho chips, but that was slowly running out. Now, it's hard to understand how to make chicken since you can't just microwave it.

Opening the door to the new house, both of them felt starved. Bella did know how to cook some recipes on the stove. Now it has gotten to the point that eating pasta noodles has started to become an option. Pasta sauce was still in the cabinets, but Jason doubted they'd run out of food. Soon enough, they'd be out of this wicked place of doom.

Bella boiled water and rested her forehead on the counter. "Did Cindy really say his name is Stripper?" she mumbled with her eyes closed.

"Well, Noah Richers is his full name. People call him Stripper because he always takes off his clothes randomly," Jason implied, walking toward Bella.

"Have you figured out a way to stop vanishing?" Bella asked, but Jason shook his head.

Jason grabbed her hand and pulled her toward his chest. "I'll figure out a way. Plus, I'm still dealing with Greyson," he groaned in thought. They still had to deal with Greyson, even with Ashley and Divina at each other's throats.

If he didn't vanish, what did happen? Would they be let go from this place? Maybe getting ready for beach volleyball and being able to eat pizza? Jason doubted that came soon.

"James might know," Bella mumbled.

"Esme and Emma went back to Uden Academy to search for that liquid," Jason said, wrapping his arms around her.

It became an odd mix of Esme and Emma working together. Knowing from past experience, they wouldn't exactly kidnap them. If anything, they'd try to tie Esme down but leave Emma.

"Are we sure we can trust Emma?" Bella asked with uncertainty.

"We can trust her," he said firmly. Hearing the water boil, Bella opened the package of spaghetti noodles and took some to put in the silver pot.

Bella stared at them for a moment, trying to figure out why they wouldn't all fit. "I know I did it right," she said, puzzled.

The noodles were full-length without being snapped in half. "Maybe we cut them?" Seeing most of the noodles in the pot, Jason searched for scissors. It startled him when the door burst open, revealing Mark.

"Sup, bro," Mark greeted, waving a hand at Bella, who nodded. Shutting the door behind him, he was covered in dirt.

"More bodies?" Bella asked, using scissors to cut some of the long noodles.

"Only two today, actually. One house had two dead in the basement," Mark said. "It wasn't Ashley, but it looks like they got into alcohol."

How could you prevent death in this place? Did people die off like weeds normally in Simcoe? In that thought, Ashley's body crashed through the wooden door. All three rushed into the kitchen, with Jason holding his hands out.

Now that Jason looked, Ashley's body looked physically destroyed. Her hair was mostly gone, her joints all in opposite directions, both eyes black, and her skin looked like marinara sauce.

Divina came jumping instead of running, her feet slamming into contact with Ashley's ribs. Blood dripped down her temples with a smile like a shark. Her eyes were pitiless without even the awareness that they had been there.

"You think running will get you anywhere? You can't see clearly," she snarled.

"I'm not a prideful person thinking they won," Ashley growled with gritted teeth.

Divina laughed scornfully, especially when she spotted them. It caused Ashley to make contact with all three.

"Wow, you picked quite a place," Divina sneered.

"I'll just kill them," Ashley spat.

"Maybe I'll paint a pretty picture with your blood." Divina taunted.

Ashley went to punch Divina, but she punched herself instead. Jason had to claim that Divina may be on their side, but she's crazy. No, that might be an understatement. Divina and Ashley are definitely both insane.

"Where are we?" Ashley barked while Divina swiftly travelled toward them. Looking around the kitchen, Divina's eyes lit up, seeing the boiling pasta.

"No!" Bella exclaimed.

Divina grabbed a glass left from the counter and scooped some boiling water into the cup. The cup size increased to the size of a watermelon, and she inwardly smiled down at Ashley.

Pouring the water down on her face, Ashley's face started to sizzle from open burns still on her face. They clearly hadn't been treated, as pus was dripping from some of the burns.

"This stupid body!" Ashley hissed, standing with her face mostly burned. "Why can't I see clearly?"

Divina threw the glass directly at the back of Ashley's head. "I like this game," she said, grinning.

Jason felt Bella grab his hand, holding it tight. "Divina," he started.

"Are you getting sentimental feelings? Well, I'm saving your asses right now," she hissed between gritted teeth.

"Fight outside," Jason said, but Divina nodded, yanking her down onto the floor. Dragging her out the door, he watched the door repair itself as if nothing had happened.

"I think my heart stopped," Mark breathed out. Bella nodded, peering down at the cooked noodles. Turning it off felt like all the air had returned to the room.

"Divina is crazy," Bella remarked, dumping the water into the sink with the noodles.

"She's the good guy, but she could kill us," Jason said, running a hand through his hair.

"I wonder if she can't kill Ashley," Mark said. "If she could kill Ashley, we wouldn't be trapped. It's just a guess."

Could Divina save them from this danger but not stop it? Two days to figure everything out until the big vanishing happens.

Jason didn't want to vanish but rather keep helping those around him. One of the main reasons is not leaving Bella. She's already lost her house and been a witness to Luke's chaos.

"Didn't she say something about someone having her powers?" Bella asked, using a fork to place some noodles on a plate.

"Some freak could gain those powers?" Mark asked.

Jason knew it wasn't insulting to be called a freak. What else could you be called? They no longer lived as normal humans but could do abnormal damage. If someone did gain their powers, who would it be?

"I'm assuming someone is breaking into this place," Bella said, handing him his plate of spaghetti and Ragu sauce. Jason had never heard of the sauce, but it seemed like one of the only ones that seemed to go well with the spaghetti noodles.

"They'd just die," Mark said, grabbing some spaghetti noodles for himself. "It could be someone in here. Could be at Uden Academy."

Jason tried to think through how the situation would work. Either way, having an adult break into The Bubble seemed strange. He wasn't going to ask his brother, especially with their birthday coming up in two days. Almost one day, they may disappear into the unknown.

Did they die? Maybe he disappeared into some twisted place like this bubble. This place already seemed jarring enough with everything going on. Couldn't Ashley let them free? Ashley wasn't Ashley anymore, but god, according to Divina.

"Esme, Emma, and Jade were supposed to be heading back to Uden," Jason said. "Emma refused to heal Noah. Well, they call him Stripper. Bone out of his arm dude."

He didn't even want to think about the concept of picturing that. Seeing as how in horror movies or hospital shows, that happens often. Even eating and thinking about it seemed like something sickening.

"Can those three work together?" Bella asked, getting a new glass of water.

Jason knew about the substance being taken away from Zane. It was apparently where Esme dragged Emma around using her speed to find it.

On one end, it did help them figure out what has been going on around here. That did help them prevent anyone from dying. If Greyson used the substance, he could kill someone.

"I'm sure they can. Esme and Emma have been getting closer lately," Jason said. Bella played with her uneaten spaghetti noodles. Mark ate quickly while Jason stared at his plate.

"What will we do when we find that substance?" Bella asked.

That liquid could quite possibly burn off human skin, such as what he had done. Luke didn't have an arm, and Maverick lost four fingers from his own burning powers that he's beginning to understand how to use.

"Hopefully it isn't used. If we obtain it, we store it in a secret place nobody knows about," Jason implied.

That seemed to be the only possible answer to anything. Test tubes didn't break inside freezers, so Greyson wouldn't go looking for them in places like those. Keeping the substance until, hopefully, he doesn't vanish could help a lot. It would help with understanding the cause and effect that this has on anything.

"What happens if it's gone, dude?" Mark questioned.

"It shouldn't be. Greyson probably is just taking it for himself." Jason rolled his eyes with a groan.

Another issue to deal with from Greyson. What was the actual purpose of taking that substance away? Jason didn't know but hoped the girls could get it.

Greyson sat in the dining hall at Uden Academy. The long room was filled with polished long tables and long seating against the sides. Two had been pushed together where Greyson sat at one end. Scarlett sat on his right side with her arms crossed, with Luke on his left. Food was piled in the centre of the long table, which nobody dared touch during the meeting.

Henry stood from his seat, looking directly at Greyson. "Everything is in order for tomorrow," Henry said.

Greyson grinned, scanning the crowd of around twenty bodies, he nodded to himself.

"Maverick, go tell Nevaeh that Jason and I are fighting at the school tomorrow," Greyson stated."Henry, you'll lead the fake ambush at the school with your men. Luke will lead the main group to the daycare, which you'll know what to do."

Everything is sorted out according to plan, even when Divina is off with Ashley. Greyson knew that Divina wouldn't get involved after what Scarlett told him about the information she had given her, which meant nobody would be in his way. Jason would vanish, and he wouldn't, which all led toward his success.

"We know how much Luke loves kids," Scarlett said mockingly.

"I better not have my other arm burned off, since Jason is getting payback for that," he snarled.

"We're doing this because there's an injustice to how leadership should be done around here," Greyson said, pressing both hands on the table. "Well, we're going to change that so people won't have to listen to Jason's orders."

The small group of them all agreed. "Can Stick still participate?" Henry asked.

"He's your friend, and you're the captain," Greyson informed him.

Henry looked firmly at Greyson. His eyes then travelled toward Luke, who still wore a devious grin. He knew Luke's alleyway included beating up kids, but he couldn't kill them in this attack.

"If he does participate, you will not let him get away," Greyson ordered.

"I'll kick some sense into him," Henry muttered.

Jason didn't have a clue what was happening, and he could easily take over Simcoe. Technically, he had his own way since Jason hadn't tried to stop him. Greyson glanced toward Scarlett with a smirk while she raised an eyebrow.

"What happens if Ashley comes and attacks?" Finn asked, Greyson snapped his eyes toward him. Henry elbowed him in the side, making Greyson narrow his eyebrows at the fifth grader.

"I've already taken care of that," Greyson implied, forcing a cold smile.

Finn's doubting of his own power made him want to throw the child, but he wouldn't. Greyson needed them to see him as the dauntless leader.

"You're dismissed except for Maverick and Henry," Greyson stated.

All the rest stood up from their chairs and left. Maverick and Henry came close to him, eyeing both Scarlett and Luke.

"Maverick, you'll stay in town after you tell Nevaeh. If someone doesn't listen to rightful orders, you force their fears," Greyson commanded.

"Where do you want us after the fake attack?" Henry asked, looking directly at him.

"Joining with Luke once Jason shows up," Greyson said, grinning from ear to ear. "Leave," he dismissed them, turning to both Luke and Scarlett.

"Shouldn't you be worried about Esme and Jade?" Scarlett asked.

"They won't be a problem at all," Greyson said.

He had lost the power of those two, but it's not like they actually knew his plan that he had created. There were still a few people around here he had up his sleeve he could use.

"And I don't see Emma on our side either," Scarlett said, now smirking at him.

"I'll get her to come back and help," Greyson spat.

Emma was a big loss, but it wouldn't take much to get her back. She is the healer, which, technically, she goes both ways when injuries are needed to be healed since Simcoe already has Cindy and Melany.

"She happened to be there when that doodle showed up," Scarlett remarked.

"Definitely get her, Luke," Greyson gritted his teeth.

"Probably out looking for that substance." Scarlett laughed at Luke's words.

"Wow, Luke's thinking for a change," Scarlett laughed.

Luke slowly stood up in his chair, his eyes cold. Greyson held out a hand in coercion, and his eyebrows narrowed at the blonde boy.

"Don't do something you'll regret," Greyson taunted Luke, seething in frustration.

Luke rested on his feet, a wicked grin now crossing his face. In an attempt to cut the wire from his braces, he ended up cutting the wire in half. Now the top half looked like a border with a gap in the centre.

"You go make sure Maverick knows what he is doing," Greyson remarked.

"I'm doing whatever," Luke sneered.

Scarlett knew that Luke doing his own thing would go wrong. He wasn't a leader, but a twisted follower.

Back before The Bubble, Greyson used to pull tricks in class by using Luke. Scarlett normally recorded the video as his seat would go backwards or even crash into his desk. Students laughed while people praised him for his work. That had been back when he had first been learning how to use his powers. All that praise made him feel superior, and he still felt that way.

"Where's James?" Greyson asked.

"I'm not his keeper. Probably doing research on that substance," Scarlett said.

"Make sure he stays here during the fight," Greyson stated. "I don't want him telling how to stop the vanishing."

"Of course not," Scarlett purred, but Greyson definitely knew Jason couldn't know how to stop it.

I think I'd vomit too if I saw a bone sticking out of someone's arm.

Do you think someone will tell Jason about how to stop the vanishing?
-Lexi