The Shadow Wraith (A Gone AU)

Chapter 1 (Part I)

Day 2

Pearl laid in bed at 2am, trying to pretend like tonight was exactly like last night. On that quiet space between sleep and wake, she could almost dream up a new fantasy. She could pretend like when she woke up, she would face school and not a brand new world.

That morning, barely 14 hours ago, everyone over 15 had disappeared. A grey dome had surrounded Perdido Beach and there was no way in or out. They could not see through it, and so they had no idea what was happening on the outside. This cruel dome would give an electric shock if anyone tried to touch it, and as far as they knew it was a perfect sphere, a bubble to trap hundreds of teens inside.

  Chaos had broken out. Kids ran wild and some homes caught on fire. For now, some control was maintained over the frightened children by the older teens. But kids didn't want to follow rules. Soon enough, they would go do whatever they wanted.

  When the adults vanished, she wasn't stupid enough to stick around. She had went home immediately and started packing her things. Then she had raided the shops, the grocery store, the clothing stores, the bookstore, anything she could find. She had been ready to set out and leave the past behind her.

  Pearl slowly drifted into an uneasy sleep and woke up an hour later by someone entering the house. The person was fairly loud and acted as if they owned the house, but she could not rule out the possibility of a thief. Her finger brushed against the hilt of the gun beneath her pillow, just in case.

  Her room door was blocked on the outside by heavy objects and she had spent two hours trying to open it with no success. Now she was glad of them. If whoever it was came after her, they would have to spend quite some time to get rid of the blockage and give her time to be ready.

  She heard a crash on the first floor. The intruder was taking their sweet time.

  Pearl heard the scraping of a desk and rolled off her bed. Years of practice made her fast at the routine she had practiced hundreds of times. She grabbed the extra magazine in her pillow case and shoved it into her pants pocket. A knife from her nightstand was tucked into her belt. She shouldered the huge backpack that she had packed earlier tonight, which she hoped could last her at least a month. She stood right beside the door with her back to the wall, her muscles tensed and her hand gripping the gun in preparation for her ambush.

  Her door had been cleared in the time and a gun clicked on the other side of the door.

  "Come on, Pearl." Drake's amused voice came. "I know you're in there."

  She opened her mouth and took a slow, deep breath. Pearl didn't make a sound as she waited for the door.

  "Fine." Her door was thrown open. She still refused to move, instead pressed her body harder against her wall. Drake would need to come into her room to reach her.

  He waited a few moments, then rushed in and slammed the door behind him. She leapt with her gun in hand, going straight for his temple. She may not be able to shoot in this small space, but she could knock him out just fine.

  He caught her arm and jerked it sideways, slamming her into a wall. Pearl sucked in a breath through gritted teeth. She turned around and using the momentum, jabbed her knee upward towards the space between his legs. Drake sprang back but hit her bed and fell onto it. She kneed him in the stomach and ran.

  The doorknob cost her a few precious moments, but she made it to the stairs before she heard footsteps behind her. She jumped the last few steps and sprinted to the front door.

  What she saw stopped her short.