Shining Truth

Chapter One: The Expedition

"Yui, it's time to wake up. You have a busy day today!" my mother said. I rolled off my bed, causing my mother to step back.
"What do you mean 'big day'?" I asked, making the quotation mark gesture with my hands.
"For one, you have school, it's picture day today. Second, you have to go to the doctor," she smirked. I hated the doctor and she knew it. It's creepy how they probe you with sharp needles and the fact that it's always cold in the waiting room. And for some reason, when I go for a checkup, I get sick. I suppose hanging around sick people makes you sick! Why has no one discovered this logic?
I groaned, unhappily. "Why can't you just take a picture? Why do I have to dress up for a school picture and have everyone see me like that?" I complained.
"Because. That's why,"she stated plainly, without answering my question. "Get ready, ok?" She left the room.
I stood up on the carpeted floor of my room. I hated to leave my warm bed and get dressed in the cold. It was always cold. I yawned and brushed my hair in the mirror. I brushed my teeth and went back to my room. I glanced at my pile of dirty laundry sitting in a basket. I would have to do it when I got home later. I turned on my computer and started some jams. I can't be the only person who still calls them "jams," right?
I opened my dresser and rifled through the clothes. I really need to go shopping for shirts. It was getting too warm to still be wearing all the long sleeve shirts I was sporting constantly. I sighed and moved to the draw beneath it. Inside were my three dresses. A dark blue one with ruffles laid on the top. It had a back that showed the skin underneath. No, not ever. Beneath that was a blue and white striped dress. It had a V-neck with strings to make it prettier. I liked it, but only for the strings. I finally settled on a grey dress that complemented my blue-green eyes. The dress was a gift from my great grandmother. She seemed to know my style better than anybody else in my family. She understood me. I always enjoyed talking to her. I had put on stockings with my "good" tennis shoes, the brown ones. I also had on my feather shaped necklace that was encrusted with emeralds. I always wore it. It was like my good luck charm because whenever I didn't wear it, something bad always happened to me. Like the time in third grade when I forgot to put it on before I left for school and at lunch my sour cream popped open and got everywhere in my hair, then on my way out, a kid dropped his bowl of tomato soup on me. I was completely embarrassed and called "Sour Tomato" the rest of the year.
I looked okay, at least that's what I thought and I wasn't going to let anyone change my mind. I tossed aside my PJ's and went to the kitchen, grabbing a Cookies and Cream Pop Tart on my way out. My mom had already left for work.
I walked down the steps of my house and onto the sidewalk, ripping open the package in the process. I bit into my breakfast and started walking, shifting my backpack from side to side. I looked at the flowering trees and bushes lining the street. The chirping birds were calming. There was no reason to worry now; not in a beautiful place like this. I made a mental checklist of everything I had. I do this every morning because it keeps me from constantly forgetting my stuff. I continued on my way, listening to the sound of the crickets, the sound of my shoes hitting the concrete, and the birds chirping in the trees.
At school, I met up with Elizabeth. She had been my best friend since I had first moved here, two years ago.
"Hey, Lizzy! How's it going?" I asked, suddenly in a happy mood. She was wearing a light blue v-neck shirt with white lace at the top of the neckline. She had her hair brushed and put up in a neat little ponytail, unlike my long and unruly black that I had dyed the tips into a turquoise color. She also had on a moon necklace with a glass part that contained a picture inside it of a fiery red space image. It looked good; she always wore it. We were like necklace twins. Well, in the sense that we always wore the same necklace. I laughed at the thought.
"What's so funny?" Lizzy said. I had forgotten what she was talking about. And she had kept blabbing until I had laughed.
"Oh, nothing," I lied. I glanced at her worried face.
"You seriously need to stop daydreaming! I don't know if this is good for you," Lizzy said. She looked down, her hair slightly covering her face.
"I'm not daydreaming!" I said, "I'm just thinking." We were silent except for the buzz of the students around us. The bell rang, and everyone filed into their classes.
I walked with Elizabeth to homeroom. We sat in silence, waiting for the announcement for 10th-grade pictures. The expectations of the principal for our "guests" the cameramen were really high. Why should she have such expectations? I don't know, but I think that there's something going on that we don't know about.
The intercom buzzed and we heard Mrs. Jackson's voice. She's the principal. "Mrs. Crain, the photographers are ready for your class," the intercom buzzed again and clicked off. We all rose from our seats and filed out the door to the auditorium. The cameramen were watching us closely. Creeps, I thought, Why are they staring at us that way?
I walked up to the green screen set for my picture. The photographer's name tag said, "Hello, My Name Is: Phil." I don't know why, but the name seemed strange for a photographer. He stared at me for a moment, then whispered something to his attendant, who nodded his head and walked behind a curtain, out of my sight.
"Smile for the camera!"Phil said, grinning. You could tell how fake that grin was, but I waved it off. It was his job to make us smile. I smiled, and he took the picture. Two pictures, actually. Because you always need a spare in case the first isn't very good. That makes sense, right?
I walked off the stage set, and waited for Lizzy by the door. Soon, she was with me and we were walking back to class when she said, "Did those guys seem weird to you?"
The comment shocked me. They did seem strange. She noticed, too? "Yeah, they did. But what was weird about them? I couldn't put my finger on it."
"They were whispering to each other, probably just to get the pictures ready, but it still seemed weird, they had this look in their eyes."
We heard thunder, and it began pouring rain. Lightning hit the power station outside and the power went out. It was an eerie darkness. The class had gone silent. I couldn't even hear their breathing. Wait, there was no breathing, there was no sound at all! Not even the rain or thunder! Then I heard, "You're coming with us," and then I felt something put over my mouth and I succumbed.
☯
I was looking for Yui in this dark room, the only lighting was occasionally outside. I was wondering the classroom, full of panicking students. I was close to crying. Where could she be? Did she wander off again? That girl and her daydreams! I thought. I, Elizabeth, was going to find her no matter what!
I headed towards the door, the teacher wouldn't see me, or care right now. She was also freaking out. I suppose the administrators hadn't told anyone what to do in the case of a power outage. I walked towards the door, my heart set on finding Yui. I stepped out into the hall, it was strange and unnatural that there was no one in the dark hallway. It seems like the whole school has lost power, I thought, No matter, I've got to find Yui!

In no time, I had searched the whole school, except for the auditorium. I opened the door and peered inside. The photographers were using flashlights to clean up their equipment. They had many bags, five of which were bigger than the others. That's when I saw Yui, she was knocked out and being stuffed into a large bag.