The Awakened Ones
Chapter 1

Ever have a dream that seems so real that you could swear it was really happening? Well lately that’s what my dreams have felt like. I keep dreaming about this black figure that’s trying to lead me somewhere, but while he’s pulling me towards him, I keep feeling this tug on my back. I look around in this weird place and see transparent figures walking around me. I always seem to look back at the black figure, confused at what’s happening. The other figures were always whispering things like: awakened or she’s the one! Nothing makes sense. I never know where the black figure is taking me, and it’s always the same.

My best friend, Sarah, has even tried to figure out these dreams for me through a certain meditations she does. She couldn’t figure it out, even after trying different techniques. But she says she feels a connection with the dark figure and the disappearance of our other best friend, Dru. Dru’s disappearance was odd, there were no signs of any intrusion in the house and it wasn’t like she answered the door for the person. It was nine o’clock at night, her parents were watching television in the living room and Dru was in her room - on the second floor.

Sarah and I think we know how though.

We were always into the spirit realm, as we liked to call it. We always wanted to see ghost and always tried to astral project. We read about auras all the time since they were the easiest. It actually seemed like we were born with these special tricks. Mastering on how to project took the longest to figure out though. Sarah was the first to master it by eighth grade and taught me and Dru her way. By the time we hit the end of ninth grade, Dru and I were walking outside our temples (bodies) like Sarah always did. Out of all of us, Dru was the one who could see the spirits; ever since she was five actually.

When Dru figured out the astral projecting, she became a dare devil. Whenever you project, a chain is attached to your temple and soul. It’s what keeps you connected and if you break it you’re gone and that’s what Sarah and I believe is what happened to Dru. But we still found it odd. Sarah always said if you break your chain, only your soul disappears. Your body is left lifeless where it was last placed, your mind always searching.

Poor Sarah freaked out after Dru’s disappearance. She was afraid of what would happen if we broke free from our souls and she began to research more into the projecting. It was then that she learned about a thing called a soul song. After learning about this “song” that calls back your soul if your chain is broken, Sarah felt responsible for Dru’s disappearance - she should’ve known about it beforehand.

I, on the other hand, always wanted to find Dru, but always too scared. What if that soul song didn’t work? I always thought which always turned me off from the idea. But even if I did try and find Dru, I wouldn’t know where to begin looking.

It’s been three years since Dru left us. Her parents won’t stop searching and Sarah and I aren’t as close as we used to be. We don’t even project or check auras anymore. Sure we get together still, but it’s only like once a week.

We only got together today because it’s my birthday. We went to the diner after school to celebrate. The diner was like a high school cafeteria - classmates were always there, but we didn’t care. The burgers were good, not to mention so were their chocolate shakes.

“Don’t look now, but that Xavier kid is staring at us again,” Sarah said, leaning towards me during our meal.

I glanced over to the corner of the room where Xavier sat. Sarah and I always knew when he was staring at us; we even could tell where he was in the room too. Xavier’s like one of those weird Goth kids where everything on their body is black, he even pulls the emo makeup look too. He came to our school in tenth grade and has been staring ever since.

“You should’ve been there today,” I said, after taking a sip from my drink. “My books flew out of my hands today at my locker and freak boy was right there helping.”

“Creepy.”

“It gets worse. Our hands touched and he flinched like he was shocked.”

We giggled at him and Sarah told me her story with Xavier for the day. It wasn’t as weird as mine, all he did was follow her pretty closely as they went to their next class. She said the entire time she could feel him drilling holes into the back of her head. As we ate a little more, two people caught my eye: Sarah’s crush and oldest friend, and a familiar face.

“Hey, ladies,” Nick said, walking up to us. Nick was Sarah’s crush. We greeted him and he turned to introduce us to his friend, “This is Quint.”

Quint was my crush since the ninth grade.

“We know who Quint is, Nicky. We’ve only had classes with him since the beginning of high school,” Sarah teased.

We said hello to him anyways - my cheeks flushing at the smirk he gave.

“So, what are you two up to?” Nick asked.

“Well, it’s Jillian’s birthday today, so we’re celebrating!”

“Happy birthday,” he said, with a pearly white smile.

Quint said happy birthday next, with a sparkle in his eye.

“Here,” Nick said, slapping a twenty on the counter, “Your lunch is paid for. We’d stay, but I told dad Quint and I would help around the yard today.”

Sarah and I smiled and thanked him, then said goodbye to the boys. Nick’s twenty paid the bill and the tip and I got the remaining birthday dollar. When we finished our meals, Sarah and I left to head down the street to pick up snacks before going back to my house. While we walked, we saw a strange black cat sitting on the side of one of the buildings. Sarah knelt to the ground and began to call the cat over. It did nothing but stare at us and lick its paw.

“That looks like that cat from a few months ago,” I said, staring back at the feline. “Remember? The one I told you about whose eyes flickered at me.”

Sarah stood up and laughed, “There’s got to be a million black cats in this town, Jill.”

I tilted my head, “I don’t know… it definitely looks like the one I saw.”

The cat then got up and walked back towards the diner. We watched as Xavier picked it up and looked over at us. We were ready to both swing around on our heels and walk away, but we politely smiled at him then hurried on our way. His stare was on us as we did so.

After getting our snacks, we went back to my house and Sarah hung out for a while with me. The house was empty when Sarah left around eight. My grandma only stayed with me on the weekends. My mom was off in Bermuda on her silly honeymoon and was going to be gone till the end of the school year. She’d be home for graduation, but her being away still sucked. Grandma was cool and all, but because of work and her pets, staying with me at the house 24/7 was just out of the question – so she tells me and my mom.

Whatever though… the weekends were the same as the weekdays: Boring.

I take a class called AIS, it’s supposed to help you in your core classes (this one being for English) but it was more like another study hall. I was pretty much forced to take the class but it was okay, the two teachers who were in “control” of it loved me; especially after being in the damn class for all my years of high school. This was one of the classes I had with Quint. He always walked in ten minutes late (never getting yelled at for it by the way) and like normal, he’d wave a short hello to me then head to the back of the room to the round table, unrolling his magazine to look through. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ (F)indNƟvᴇl.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

I turned to my math homework and after doing only three problems, I became bored. I dropped my head to my desk and thought about doing something I hadn’t done in a while. I was going to astral project. I closed my eyes and began to concentrate. Right away my soul left its temple and the classroom became a haze. I walked around the room until Mrs. Ryan came up to me. She was calling out if I needed help, but since I wasn’t really there, I couldn’t respond to her. Well, not until she touched my arm and startled me. My chain snapped my soul back to its rightful spot and I shot back into my chair.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Y-yeah,” I began to answer, “You just scared me that’s all.”

She apologized, then asked if I needed help again. It was something she always asked, just to show why we actually had this AIS class. I told her that I was fine and she went off to another quiet student to see if they needed her. I stared at my binder, wondering if I should attempt the projecting again. But before making up my mind, I noticed Quint looking at me. I gave him an embarrassing smirk and dropped my head back to the desk. Time to venture into the hallways, I told myself, see what was going on out there. I left my temple again and went through the door and into the empty halls. While I walked up and down one hallway, I heard a familiar voice.

It was calling out for help.

I felt my soul call out to it, asking who needed help. The cry was heard again and that’s when I saw her. Dru was running towards the stairwell!

Dru!! my soul called out.

Right away my soul took off after her. A small tug was felt on my back as my soul chain tightened, then it happened: my chain snapped. Dru’s voice was no longer heard and my soul was no longer in sight. I began to panic, I didn’t want to end up like Dru. If anything, I wanted to save her. I had no idea what to do. It wasn’t until I felt someone’s eyes on me that I thought of the solution:

My soul song - DUH!

Sarah told me about the soul song, but never on how to do it. So I did what came to mind first, I whispered the words, soul song. Right away a very beautiful melody filled the room and went into the hallway. My sight followed the stream of the song and brought me back to my soul. It was ironic when I found it because my soul was being pulled towards a black figure - just like the one in my dreams. Unlike the dreams though, I didn’t hear those voices in the background. Before I could get a good look at the figure, my soul snapped back into my temple.

I sat back in my chair, curious about who that guy was and also kind of afraid to ever attempt projecting again. But I saw Dru and she was calling for help! I had to find a way to rescue her… If only my soul chain was longer…

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