The Mayflower

Glinda's out with her mother for her birthday celebration. But will things go as planned or will Liam make a shocking entry?

Kaylee lifts her hand up until it's in front of her student's face as she demonstrates how to use the Light Child's powers. "Block out all emotional, physical, mental, and social depression and despair. Leave your mind open and blank." She closes her eyes and instantly sees a white light start to form in her mind, twisting and collecting until it grows bigger. Soon all she can see is the illumination. "What I'm doing now is connecting to the Light, borrowing energy from it to bring the colors to the real world."

She opens her eyes and looks at her student, Josh. His eyes grow wide with impression and surprise. "Your eyes, they're -"

"Gray? Yes, that's how you know it's working. Now look at my hand," Kaylee says. In the palm of her hand small spurts of white light should be shooting out of her palm like fireworks. "You see them?" Josh nods. "They start out in a simple white. But as you progressively get stronger with emptying your mind and finding the part of you that's a Light Child, you'll have the ability to make it grow and do more with it."

Light Children are the creatures that Kaylee and Liam were born as. They're both descendants of the Pilgrims that came on the Mayflower nearly four hundred years ago. Out of the 102 passengers aboard the ship, at least 30 of them were Light Children, and the Mayflower Compact was written not only to bring order to the people but also, hidden inside the words of the Compact, to prevent the Light Children from progressing their powers as long as they were in America.

The witch trials that happened years after did not help keep the Light Children hidden much either. Many of them died by murder, but by then there were hundreds of them across America. 

But during the Triangular Trade that happened in the 1600s and 1700s, slaves and gold were brought from Africa to the West Indies. From there, slaves, sugar, and molasses went to the Thirteen Colonies. Some of the slaves that were brought were the Dark Ones, which later became the enemy of the Light Children. They emit nothing but darkness, and they have no consideration for trying to stay hidden from mortals. They want to expose themselves and the Light Children, thinking that will help the mortals even more with wars, conflicts, and disagreements.

The Dark Ones have the power to kill the Light Children in a second, and vice versa. Like fire and ice. A war has been going on since the mid-1800s between the Dark Ones and the Light Children, and their goal is to lead the opposing team to extinction. Compromising has become just too hard and impossible for the two species, and it's brought them to the existing conflict.

Explaining all of this to Josh isn't hard for Kaylee, since she's had to explain it to dozens of other new Light Children (LC for short). But the easiness of explaining it does not always mean that comprehending it is as easy.

"The light coming out of my hand is a small form of a Protector. They shield us from the Dark Ones and are basically our main weapon. There's a lot more to it than just simple spurts drowning the Dark Ones, but we'll get more into that later, when you've had more understanding. The Dark Ones' main weapon is the Dreamers. They're large, black shadows that feed off taking happiness out of the human or being that it hunts, making the being angry and hateful. It is also capable of controlling their dreams as the Summoner commands." Kaylee tries to explain all this in the easiest way she can. Little does Josh know that the Protectors and Dreamers have their own world as well, and the LC's and the Dark Ones are just the commanders and summoners.

"I can't believe that I'm...one of you. That I'm part of this crazy world." Josh says. "This almost seems impossible. How were Light Children made? How were the Dark Ones made? And how did I get into this, how was I born like this?" Josh asks. He sits on a wooden stool in the middle of the Library that Kaylee and him have been practicing in. Other students are in the Library with them but none of them bring their tone above a whisper.

"We're not sure," Kaylee sighs as she sits down on the stool next to him. "Research has been done but it's hard doing research while trying to stay hidden from the mortals. We need the equipment they have and it's hard to get. I'd be too scared to find out anyway, what crazy chemicals mixed to make something as obscure as us. And imagine the History behind it, like who was the first woman to give birth to an LC or a Dark One."

Josh nods and lets out a heavy sigh. Kaylee studies him as he thinks this through. He's fifteen years old but has the face of a thirteen year old. Kaylee had found him in an alley, completely delusional and, to any mortal, talking nonsense. He was whispering crazy things about always seeing white light whenever he looked in his reflection and sometimes his eyes would turn gray. Kaylee had  sat next to him in the alley and told him it's normal and that there are other people like him, going through the same thing. He came with her to the institute and she's been teaching him ever since.

"Kaylee, the Mayflower came from England, and that means so did the Light Children. So how many do you think are in England?" Josh asks.

Kaylee shrugs one shoulder, "Our leader is in Europe right now trying to recruit them. There's got to be a lot. But the thing is, we don't know if the Dark Ones have migrated there or if they stayed in Africa where they came from originally. We're trying to get all the newbies we can, so we can teach them, but it gets overwhelming sometimes."

Josh lets out a short laugh, "Damn, I'm glad you found me. I'd be locked up right now in a mental institution if you hadn't."

Kaylee smiles, "That's what we're trying to prevent from happening to other new-comers."

After a long pause, Josh says, "This all seems like something from a fairytale."

"You get used to it." Kaylee sighs.

 

 

 

Just a dream.

Glin walks through the mall with her mom. It's the day after her birthday and, like her mom promised, they're out at the mall to "celebrate." They'd gone out to lunch and went shopping at a few places. When Glin's mom suggested they go see a movie, Glin responded with a frown and a sharp no. Her mother was short on money as it is, and this is as close to a birthday celebration that Glin could hope for.

All thoughts of Liam have left Glin's mind and she hasn't seen a single shadow since yesterday after school. But it wasn't as easy forbidding thoughts of the shadows as it was for forbidding thoughts of Liam and her dream yesterday. She ran questions through her mind all day, like why the shadows made her upset and angry, and how the shadows were there when nothing was casting them.

Finally, she lets her mind go crazy and thinks, Was it the shadows that made me dream of Liam and that light yesterday? But as soon as she thinks of that question, she tells herself to forget it and have a good time. For her mother's sake.

Just a dream.

Holding two bags in her hand, Glin says, "Thanks, mom. For taking me out for my birthday. It really means a lot."

"No problem, sweetie." Her mother smiles and wraps an arm around Glin's shoulder in a ahlf hug. After she pulls away, she continues, "Listen, I know things are hard since your father died, but I'm trying to make things better. Hell, I've been saving up to go out like this for months now. So just hang in there, kiddo, ok?"

"Mom, I understand." Glin says. "I know how hard this is, on both of us. Whatever you need to do, between work and stuff, just do what you need to do. Don't worry about me, as long as we live under a roof and have food, I'm fine."

Her mother smiles and hugs Glin again. "Alright, I have to go to the bathroom, be right back." Glin says and puts the bags down on a bench. Her mother nods and she walks off toward the bathroom.

She turns a corner and goes out of her mom's sight, the sign for the bathroom coming into view.

But before she can reach it, she sees the most insane thing. A tall man in a dark suit stands in front of a wall, with a woman with short red hair and purple highlights standing next to him.

They're talking to a shadow.

Just a dream.

If it weren't for the fact that Glin saw those dark shadow things yesterday, she would think they're just facing the wall, talking to each other. But she knows what those thin, blobs of darkness look like, and those two people are clearly talking to it.

Glin stops walking and watches as the man lifts a hand and a small image appears on the shadow. The shadow stretches into a rectangle on the wall to form a screen as a video plays on it.

"What the heck?" Glin whispers. She looks around at other people passing by to see if any of them notice this as well. None of them seem to see it.

She can't see what's on the shadow's screen but she can hear what the two are saying.

The tall man looks at the woman and says, "Looks like the Dreamers worked perfectly, despite that dumb necklace." His voice is smooth and low, not husky and rough like Glin thought it would be. He's tall and has black hair up in spikes, and Glin can see through his suit that he's fairly muscular.

The woman however, is small and petite. But Glin can tell as soon as she turns to face the man that she's older than fifteen, at the very least. She wears a necklace that looks exactly like the one Liam gave Glin yesterday only orange and a little larger.

Glin looks more closely at her features and notices that the woman looks a lot like her, but quickly forbids the thought. She's not related to that woman, she knows it.

Just a dream.

"But you don't know how much that necklace restricts you from her." The woman says to the man.

"Anja, that boy is not strong enough to give her a necklace to restrict me. You know that." The man says to the woman - Anja.

Anja just rolls her eyes. "William is not that weak."

William. As in Liam? Glin thinks. Glin's mother always told her to never talk to strangers but if these two knew something about Liam and they were controlling that shadow, talking to them is a necessity.

Just a dream.

Glin slowly walks up to them until she's a few feet away from them. She feels her hands begin to tremble. "Excuse me." Glin says. The man turns to face her and so does Anja. The man's eyes seem to grow wide and a grin crosses his face, as if he knows who Glin is. Anja just stands there, speechless.

"Yes?" The man says.

"That shadow you were looking at, with the screen." Glin says. God, I must sound crazy. "What was that?"

"You could see that?" Anja says in shock. Glin notices a slight German accent in her voice and knows that there's no way her and Anja are related. But getting a closer look, Glin sees that her features are extremely close to Glin's father's . . .

Just a dream.

"Hush, Anja, let her speak." The man says. "What exactly did you see?"

"I saw a dark shadow on that wall," Glin starts, pointing at the wall. "And you made it move and there was a screen on it, playing a video or something."

The man nods. "What a pretty necklace you have. May I see it?"

Glin wraps her hand around the necklace, taken aback by his question. She remembers what she heard the man say earlier about a necklace restricting him from getting to someone. "Why?"

"Look, dear, that necklace restrains me from telling you about those shadows you were seeing." The man says. "But let me ask you this. You've seen the shadows before, haven't you? They make you mad and angry at the littlest things, and you might think they make you have weird dreams. I can tell you more but you must take off the necklace."

Glin thinks about it for a while. I need answers. It's just a necklace anyway, what's the harm he could do to me if I just take off a necklace? Glin begins to take it off but as soon as she does, she feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns to see who it is and . . .

It's Liam.

Just a dream.

"Is there a problem here?" Liam asks Glin. Anja backs up a step.

Glin brings her hands back down to her side, leaving the necklace on.

"No, no problem -" The man starts.

"I was asking my friend." Liam interrupts. He turns to look at Glin and she just stares at him in disbelief. I was just about to take my necklace off, the one Liam said I should never take off. "Glin, are you ok?" Glin doesn't move or say anything, just frowns at Liam. Liam takes in a breath and looks at the man and Anja. "We'll just be leaving then."

Liam grabs Glin's arm and pulls her away. She walks with him, speechless, and surprised. And mostly shocked at herself for doing what she was about to do. Or even thinking about it.

They get back to Glin's mother, sitting on the bench Glin left her at. "Oh, hello Liam, you found her. I was wondering where she was. You ok, hun?" Her mom asks, not seeming to take much notice to Liam's sudden appearance. Glin brings herself to nod once, then she looks back at Liam and frowns again. Where did he come from?

Liam looks at her and grins politely, "You sure you're ok?" He asks. Glin doesn't say anything, just frowns more. After the dream she had last night, and everything that happened to Glin the day before, Liam being here was no coincidence.

But she didn't get any answers. She still doesn't know what's going on.

Feeling dizzy and faint, Glin sways a little. A sudden headache washes over her and her stomach begins to ache as well. Glin takes in a deep breath, then gives Liam a sideways glance.

"Alright, we better go," Glin's mom cuts in. Glin walks toward her mom, realizing Liam was still holding on to her arm. "Thanks again, Liam."

They start to walk away and Glin doesn't look back once until they reach the door to the mall. Once they're outside, Glin looks up at the roof of the mall and sees the man with the suit and the girl with red hair and the German accent.

They look down on Glin and her mom as they leave the mall.

Just a dream.

Author's Note

I'm not too sure about this chapter. I'm thinking about rewriting it, but I need your opinion first. Should I change it or no? If there are any unanswered questions you have about the bit with Kaylee and Josh, please tell me and I'll add them to the chapter. Sorry for the long length as well.

Reviews

[Larry Dyson]

color is so the bringer of the real way of being and understanding...I would love to talk to you about the color and what you see or know of it...

[Jacques]

wow , i wished i stayed up to read this . this is you at your best and i love this world you've created and it's such a good and bad thing to visualize , this has very creative terms and i think a break has really helped refine your works . to be frank , i actually prefer the first five than this despite not reading much of this than Running : TFF , but now i'm not sure because this is a chapter which draws you in
are you sure you're not a rainbow child ??? Hahaha . it's a very awesome and well written chapter and i hope to read more soon . i could give you a thousand words to describe how awesome this chapter and the book is but i can't because i don't know that many sadly . i don't think you should re-write it . i don't have any unanswered questions but you can add them into the next chapters . so nnooo change . great write .

error ...
"No problem, sweetie." Her mother smiles and wraps an arm around Glin's shoulder in a ahlf hug. [ second paragraph . Half hug ] i thought the repition of Just a Dream was a nice touch . good , i really want Rainbow Childs and Dark Ones in OH . The Story and the bits of history we got we're niceley executed .