Kristen Lane
Their group was divided. Some that she knew were going with the man who for almost all her life, she had known as Principal Tefford, and now was some kind of secret agent type. Some were clearly wanting to stay - like Reagan, who took off before anyone could stop her. "What's her problem?" thought Kristen after hearing her outburst. She had thought about chasing her down with her jet speed ("And that's actually a cool nickname for me... 'Jetspeed!' Has a nice ring!" as the thought came to her mind). But then Allison literally punched through a tree (!) and had another outburst. Things were happening too fast, and she had a very important decision to make. Her first thought had been to stay. But now?
Marcel was right. They were most likely to die. She tilted her neck to look up at the tall boy and grimaced. "What if we do die if we stay here?" At first she had been thinking she'd just stay home, ignore what had been happening and try to salvage the rest of a normal high school career. But something about Allison's outburst and the reactions afterwards to made her reconsider. It's not like there were going to be any competitions any time in the near future. And it's not like she'd be able to use her jets on the track, without being disqualified immediately and having the police - or worse, the army - begin investigations into her.
Again to Marcel, Kristen said, "At first I was thinking I should stay. But now? I'm almost thinking we should go. For a lot of reasons. First, what if all of this is true, and our lives are in danger? I don't want to die. And it's not always the easiest for me to keep my exhaust pipes in me when I run, so that would be a clear give-away and could get the wrong people noticing. So hear me out. Whoever works with Mr. Tefford might know something about powers. They could help me with my exhaust pipes, and most especially, they could help you train yours. How about we go and get the equipment from Mr. Tefford?"
And Kristen stood up, heading over to where the equipment was being handed out.
Rashaad Pennel
He had to admit it. Having Allison lose her cool and destroy the tree had been something pretty cool to watch. He wished he had a video of it, but that wasn't the kind of thing that would help if someone saw it. And the reaction Atalia had was certainly nice, when she put her hand on his leg before going to talk to her friend, since it was practically on his thigh. The touch felt good. Adventurous and good at the same time. He smiled, not able to help himself.
While she was gone, Rashaad tried to sort out his options. He was on the fence. There were benefits of staying, and benefits of going. First, was the benefit of staying alive - if this whole thing were true, and that was a big if seeing how their only knowledge of it came from a guy who was an obvious mental case and saw visions or something. But if it were true? Shouldn't he go?
But on the other side, Rashaad still had the advantage no one else did. His father. If the military really was trying to kill them, surely Dad would stop it. They wouldn't let them kill his own son. Right? And if he did go, that would probably direct the military's attention even more to track him down. Would he be endangering the lives of everyone else if he did go?
Maybe it was a bit of denial. Maybe it was a lot of naivety. Maybe it was the fact that he had lost his legs when he was 8 in a car accident, and it took a lot to scare him. But as it was? He didn't want to risk anyone else's life - certainly not Atalia's. But anyone else's, too. So he came to a decision, speaking to no one in particular.
"I think I'm going to stay."
