Free Reign

All the kids gathered on the football field concluded that no one's parents or guardians seem to be in town. If fact, from what they could gather from one another, there didn't seem to be an adult in the entire town aside from the university students that happened to be there as well. This fact scared most of the younger children, while the older children instead got excited for free reign over the town and their anatomy. So, most of the kids did what any kid would do once they realise, they are alone with no explanation and no knowing when the adults would be back; whatever the hell they wanted.

Every kid had a different idea of what they would do with their newfound freedom, some of the younger ones decided to loot the toy store and get everything that they had always wanted; Bionicle, Pokémon, trucks, dolls, and every other toy out there was taken from the store and brought to their own houses. Meanwhile, the older kids looted the liquor and smoke shops, taking what they can carry and hiding it in their rooms in fear of their parents coming back at any moment and finding it.

While a good number of children went wild and did what they wanted, some understood the repercussions of what could happen if the adults stayed gone for too long and were worried that in all the chaos, they would inevitably fall victim to an unfortunate circumstance, such as food shortage or improper use of home appliances. At that very moment, a small group was worried about the latter, and the small children left alone will undoubtedly need someone's assistance due to their parents being gone, so they decided to go around the residential part of town, making sure no young children were left alone.

That small group consisted of five teenagers and a six-year-old, all of whom lived off Crius Street, which was two blocks of housing for those who were asked to come to town due to a special gift that is possessed by either the parents or sometimes even the children.

The eldest in the group is Chantel Grey, she's sixteen and she's also the most rebellious, always getting into trouble at school or trying to drag her friends into some kind of 'adventure' that would surlily end in someone getting hurt. She is very loyal though, once she considers you a friend, she would die for you. She moved here when she was seven, her dad is a big environmental lawyer, never lost a case, and is now working for the local firm that represents the Harrison Center of Science and Research (HCSR). She doesn't talk about her mom much but considering she doesn't spend a lot of time at home, one can assume it's not a good relationship.

Next is Richard, he's also sixteen but younger than Chantel by two months, and believe me, she never lets him forget it. He moved to Deloraine with his family six years ago when they found out his sister had an IQ of 220 and she was accepted early into HCSR. Richard himself has Hyperthymesia and an eidetic memory, so he can recall everything that's ever happened in his life. Sounds torturous, doesn't it? This is one of those rare occasions where the parents are the ones who moved with the children instead of the children moving with the parents.

Then there's Bernard Wolfe aka Bernie, he's the youngest in the group (not counting the 6-year-old) and the most protected. He's a shy kid, doesn't tend to say much but is always listening, whip-smart, and honestly quite hilarious at times, but his quiet demeanor around people he doesn't know or like, makes people feel uneasy around him. Again, another fiercely loyal individual; unlike the rest of us, who have ties to HCSR, his family got recruited because his dad is a five-star general that won some wars or killed a Nazi, no one knows and to be fairly honest, it's all quiet secretive, but he works at the Apate military base beside the mine just outside of town, so, he's gone all the time, meaning it's usually just him and his mother.

Finally, the favorite of the group, but don't tell him that, Christopher Nelson, everyone calls him Chris, he'll be sixteen in two months, and I haven't gotten him a present yet! His mother is a well-known and accomplished bioengineer, she was recruited to the HCSR when he was 4, moving their family here. His dad was an alcoholic and left a few months after Chris' sister Clara was born, which was just over four years ago. Since then, Chris has been taking care of Clara when his mom is at work, which is almost always. He tends to take care of his mom when she's around since she's usually too tired to do anything when she gets back from her long hours at the HCSR. Jocelyn helps as much as she can, they live next door to each other and help one another when needed.

That brings us to little Clara, only six years old but has gone through some shit in her life. First off, she was born two weeks premature, which isn't a lot, but it was forced labor because there was an issue in the womb making it seem like she was suffocating. Turns out she was and came out not breathing and had to be resuscitated, doctors didn't think she would make it past a few weeks due to the complications and if she did, that, she could have brain damage or at the very least a disability. Weeks went by and she got stronger, there was no immediate sign of danger, so she was allowed to be brought home. As of this moment, she does not seem to have any disabilities, perhaps some slight ADHD and autism, but it's too early to tell. Doctors have called her a miracle and she has regular check-ups at the local hospital.

Finally, Jocelyn, just turned sixteen at the beginning of the summer. Her father and she moved to Deloraine five years ago when she was eleven. He was offered a job at the Harrison Center of Science and Research as an expert in interdimensional space travel, he's one of the only people in his field but he is also the best. He was the scientist that figured out how to create a wormhole and move objects to another point in time and space, but he was having trouble with manipulating the wormhole to send things or even people to specific places, dates, or times, that is where the HCSR came in, they have state of the art resources that Jocelyn's father never has had access to, and now that he does, there may be a possibility of him finally figuring out the final piece to his life's work. Jocelyn was happy for him, but it casts a huge shadow on her, she wanted more than anything to follow in her father's footsteps, but his shoes were so big, she wasn't sure if it was something she would be able to live up to.

She was the one who initially suggested that they go and check the houses for anyone left alone, she knew that in her and Chris' block alone, there were at least ten children under the age of six, and needing consistent supervision, so as a group, they all went from street to street, house to house, making sure there were no scared children alone in a house. However, as they were going through the houses, they noticed that they weren't finding any children ages four and under, which the group found to be very strange. Eventually, Bernard clears his throat, looks around at his friends, and asks the obvious question everyone has been thinking about but is too scared to voice. "Where are the younger children? Do you think they disappeared with the adults?"

All the teens looked at each other with looks of confusion and worry, Richard is the first to speak up and answer Bernard. "Who knows, do we even know that the adults really disappeared? Maybe they took the youngsters and headed out of town for a weekend or something…" He trailed off before shaking his head, already realizing how stupid he was sounding. "Shit, never mind… maybe they did, I can't speculate on anything without some more information, maybe Mary-Ann will have a better idea of what's going on."

Richard's sister stays in the dorm wing of the HCSR, which is close to the middle of town and consists of five separate wings in the shape of a pentagon; there was the science division wing, the research division wing, the technological division wing, the dorm wing, and finally the ominous classified wing; all of which had five levels and were connected through a huge information and security hub in the center of it all. It was a gigantic building and if one didn't know their way around It, they would get lost.

Christopher nods his head, a solemn look on his face, then addresses his friends, certainty filling his voice. "Yes, I think they did end up disappearing with the rest of the adults and it would be best to ask your sister if she knows anything about what is going on. Even if she doesn't, she's clever, I'm sure she'll think of something."

The teens walk the children that they found to the daycare in the middle school, where a few older children known for babysitting in town, had taken it upon themselves to help the younger ones who did manage to find their way to the field. There they were attending to the kids, making sure that they were happy, comfortable, and not too scared without their parents.

Meanwhile, just past the main road, in the business part of town, a small group of six walks the town streets carelessly, splitting into two groups, they make their way to the town's grocery and electronic stores, respectively. They had the idea to grab a large reserve of food for themselves as well as any electronics they wanted to keep them entertained.

The group heading toward the grocery store consists of seventeen-year-old, Terra Black, fourteen-year-old, Jack Surrey, and twelve-year-old, Stephanie Patel; the group heading towards the electronic store consists of seventeen-year-old, Gabi Green, sixteen-year-old, Emmet Ray, and twelve-year-old Kim Bulio.

Terra is the leader of this little brigade, the long auburn hair that reaches the middle of her back and green eyes give her a soft-looking, kind complexion, but those who know her, would describe her as anything but that; in school, she was known as a problem child, always fighting, stealing, and getting others to do her bidding, she is in every sense, a bully, who finds pleasure in inflicting pain and misery upon those who are weaker than her, Kim and Stephanie being the newest recruits into her little posse that she bosses around and torments.

Terra turns towards Jack and Stephanie while walking, explaining her plan with the help of her hands, while ensuring they are both listening to her. "Okay, here's the plan, Jack, you go grab all the meat and starchy foods you can, Stephanie you're on beverages and frozen foods, I'll grab the snacks, booze, and cigarettes, and I'll meet you all outside. We'll hit the smoke shop afterward, Lord knows I'm not going to be sober for any of this bullshit." She sent the two on their way and made her way over to grab a shopping trolly before heading to the aisles where all the snacks were. She passes other children grabbing all the candy and snacks that they desired, and grabs a bunch of different things for herself, ranging from chips and popcorn to chocolates and sour candies before going to customer service to grab a few bottles of Jack Daniels, Cîroc, and Smirnoff vodka that was behind the counter with the cigarettes, to which she grabbed three cartons of Marlborough before heading back to the front of the store to wait for the other kids.

Terra holds a cigarette to her lips and lights the end, inhaling the chemicals while she waits just outside the doors for the other kids to finish grabbing their designated groceries, she watches as other small little groups of kids go from store to store, picking and choosing what they wanted and not having a single care in the world. She smiled at this, if the children kept acting stupid with their limited resources, then her task would be that much easier to accomplish; hunger made people scared, and when people are scared, they are more susceptible to suggestion and control.

As Terra finishes her smoke, the other two file out with their own carts full of goods and the three of them head two buildings over, to the electronic store where Gabi was ushering out the other two, who have also finished their shopping and heading out of the electronic store. The group then starts walking back towards the residential area of town to store most of their stash at Stephanie's house and take the rest over to Jack's, Terra knew not to store anything at her place, just in case things didn't work out in her advantage, she was always going to stay as prepared as she could.

Once they had put the food away, Terra instructed the kids to start setting up the sound systems, lights, and equipment they had gotten from the electronic store. Since getting back from the mine, she had a clearer idea of what she was supposed to do, which is the reason why she gathered her brigade and initially started the looting in town; the first task was simple enough, create chaos and encourage stupid resource use, and what better way to do both, than to have a rager?

That was exactly what Terra had planned for the evening, while everyone is still reeling from their parents disappearing, we will offer a temporary but fun solution, to forget about it all for a little while and just let loose. It wouldn't take long for the teenagers and younger kids to do some sort of damage in the town, especially with some encouragement from the masses, people do dumb ass shit if they think people will think they are cool because of it. So, she sent the younger ones in her group to go and spread the word that there was going to be a party at Jack's tonight. He so graciously offered up his home to be the main stage for the entertainment that night, and Terra was beyond open to the idea, it made her think that she might be able to do her part in the grand plan after all.

In around an hour, Jack's house was transformed into a mini rave, complete with flashing lights, a fog machine, and small pyrotechnics on the sound stage with the DJ, which was in Jack's backyard, both for safety reasons and so they could make as much noise as possible. The sun was just starting to set as kids slowly started to stagger in.