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Chapter One

Screams could be heard from all over as the sounds of guns sounded. Children ducked under desks, covering their heads as teachers ran to their sides to protect them while others tried to stop the shooter before they were shot themselves, falling to the ground in their own pool of blood as the shooter, a fellow classmate to most, continued on his rampage as the other cried out in protest, begging not to die. This boy had no mercy though, as he shot them too.

The thirteen year old boy appeared to be smart, with thick glasses and hair that was out of date. His clothes were tight fitting jeans that hit above his ankles and a button up yellow plaid shirt tucked in to them. He obviously wasn’t popular. In fact, he was probably picked on by his peers on a daily basis. He had been pushed to his limits.

“Please don’t kill me, please don’t kill me.” a twelve year old girl chanted, tears falling frantically from her eyes.

The boy turned to the girl, pointing the gun right at her as she froze, choking on a sob. He started to pull the trigger, but instead turned his body, exiting the room in quick, furious strides, firing shots in all directions along the way, sparing the one small child her life. There were many more to be lost though...

“Hey AJ, you still with us?” Brian called out for the fourth time within two minutes.

AJ broke out of his trance as he shook his head, what he saw in his head so clear and looked around the meeting room at his friends, Kevin, Nick, Brian and Howie. They were all looking at him strangely. It was the same look he got every time he had one of his visions around them, seeing events that would be happening well in to the future. He’d been having these scenes in his head since he was eight years old. Nobody knew of his secret though, and he meant nobody. If they knew, how would they react? He figured that it probably couldn’t be good, therefore, he lived out his life with his secret tucked deep inside of him, finding ways to deal with it so that he could carry on life like any other normal person...for the most part, that was.

“Yeah, I’m with you.” AJ smiled, “Sorry. I guess I spaced out there.”

“You had that look on your face again...like you were frozen mid orgasm.” Nick piped up, “What’s up with that?”

AJ rolled his eyes at Nick’s off the wall comment. Nick always said the worst things at the worst times. It was some sort of habit of his. It never failed. He knew his friends probably thought that he was slightly crazy, zoning out at least once a week as he saw something, his pupils dilating as he froze in place, just staring in a trance of complete concentration. It wasn’t like he could stop his ability either, as much as he wished he could sometimes. Point was, he was already the crazy, rebellious one of the group. His zoning out like a loony bin didn’t help matters much..

“Better snap in to the groove of things,” Kevin suggested at AJ, “Don will be here in a few minutes to go over some things with us.”

“I think I’ll be okay now.” AJ promised, almost sure that he wouldn’t see anything else for another few days. Or at least, he hoped not.

The other four involved themselves in a deep conversation amongst one another while they waited for Don to arrive. AJ strayed himself away from the conversation though, putting himself in to his own train of thoughts, the world around him, he was oblivious to. It was as if nothing else existed as he thought about what he’d just seen.

It had all been so real, for he’d put himself right in the middle of the school shooting. He felt a chill go throughout his body as right before he’d been snapped from his trance, a blow had gone right through him. His shoulder was still sore from where the impact had been made, even though it had all been in his mind. It was always the same. Every disaster he saw, he always was hurt in one way or another, just like everyone else. The only difference was, when the real thing happened, everything was exactly as it had been in his vision, only he was not present.

AJ found himself wondering where this was going to take place at and when. He wondered how many were going to die and how many be injured. All were answers in which he’d have to wait and find out once the incident was reported on the News. AJ sighed, wishing that in the times that these things could be prevented, he would know where it was going to happen so that he could try to stop it. This was one of those times, and once again, it could be anywhere in the world. It was only the aftermath of hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, that he knew exactly where it would be, but those were things he couldn’t stop. He just saw it. God, how he would do anything to rid himself of this ‘gift’.

“Sorry I’m late,” AJ looked up to see Don breezing through the door and walking to the end of the table, placing down some folders before taking a seat, ‘Let’s get started.”

AJ shook his head, knowing he’d have to concentrate now. It was part of his job and having his mind preoccupied would not go over well with Don...or Kevin. They both hated having to repeat things. So forcing himself to pay attention, AJ tried his hardest not to let his mind wonder, however he could not get the look of fear in the poor, innocent children’s eyes out of his mind, still wondering when the secret he held about the future would happen for real.

~*~*~*~

As AJ hurried out to his car, he bundled his winter jacket around him tightly to keep in as much heat as he could. A brisk breeze blew as he dug his keys out of his pocket, fumbling with them before clicking the car remote to power unlock the doors. A shiver radiated down his spine as he climbed inside of the car, immediately sticking the keys in to the ignition and cranking up the heat before rubbing his hands together, blowing warm air in to them.

Glancing out of the windshield, he noticed a few snow flakes beginning to fall. AJ rolled his eyes. Snow...just his favorite thing in the world. Not. If he never saw another snow flake again in his life, he could honestly say that he wouldn’t miss the stuff. Sure, it was pretty to look at, and peaceful even. It only came when it was cold outside though. AJ hated the cold. He scowled deeply when the snow picked up, white surrounding him and sticking to his car, piling up neatly.

“Perfect.” AJ mumbled, just wanting to get back to his house. Thankfully, they all lived in the area of where the meeting had been held. For once, he could go back to the leisure of his own home. That would end in less than a week though...

Deep in thought, AJ jumped when he heard somebody pounding on his window, his car shaking slightly. He looked around, seeing Howie on the passenger side, bundled up just as he had been minutes prior. His car was just starting to warm up and he wasn’t looking forward to opening the window or door, letting a fresh gust of the chill air inside. Just shrugging, he turned away, but Howie continued to pound, his persistence annoying. Grumbling, AJ unlocked the door, motioning him inside. Howie opened the door and got in quickly, closing the door behind him.

“Thanks,” Howie breathed gratefully, “The others left already and my car won’t start.”

AJ just nodded, “No problem.” he hunched over, peering out of the window. Nothing but gloomy white skies surrounded them. He could see that a blizzard was coming in. The blizzard he’d seen just two weeks ago in one of his visions. If it had been accurate, which they always were very precise, by the next morning, there would be three feet of snow on the ground. And by the rate that the snow was picking up, he knew that three feet wouldn’t be hard to accumulate. With a sigh, he put his car in to first gear, taking it slowly out of the parking lot in case the roads were already slippery.

“So what did you think of the meeting?”

“Huh?” AJ turned his head for a second to glance at Howie. He realized he’d spaced out again, thinking of one of his most recent visions. This one, right where he was at. Damned his luck. If he wasn’t cursed with some bizarre power, it had to follow him.

“The meeting?” Howie repeated, shaking his head at AJ, “Do you agree with how things are going to go?”

AJ shrugged, “I don’t know. I mean, things seem kind of rushed to me. We’re heading off to Europe for part of the rest of our tour in three days. We have to tour all of Europe in three weeks?” AJ shook his head, “We have one night off for the entire thing...we gonna be beat!”

“Yeah...” Howie’s voice trailed off, “I agree. Kev was throwing a fit while you were taking off.” he laughed, “Should have seen it.”

AJ smirked. Leave it to Kevin to freak out and go ballistic if he didn’t agree with how things were being set up. His tantrums, as convincing and scary as they could be, never changed anything though. They just made him look like a complete ass. Some things would never change...

“So, anyways...what was with you?” Howie asked, “In the meeting. You were hardly paying attention.”

AJ sighed, “I was just thinking about something.” he gulped with a convincing smile. It wasn’t a complete lie. He was thinking...about something he had seen in his mind. God, how he wished he could tell Howie about himself. His best friend in the entire world, and he couldn’t even be as open as he would like to be.

“Thinking about...”

“Stuff...hoping that everybody stays safe while we’re in Europe.” AJ chose his words carefully. Again, it wasn’t a total lie. He did hope that everybody was safe while they were away. Particularly those young children...

“There you go again,” Howie laughed, “You’re always off in your own world...and stuff like that.”

AJ smiled, pulling on to Howie’s road, “Maybe I’ve been hanging around Nick too long.”

Howie laughed, unbuckling his seatbelt as AJ pulled in to his driveway, “Maybe...” his voice trailed off, his hand lingering over the door handle, ‘Thanks for the ride, man. I’ll see you in a few days.”

“See ya,” AJ replied, “Gonna get your car any time soon?”

“I’ll call a tow truck for it,” Howie shrugged, “See ya.”

He opened the door and stepped out in to the falling snow, which was picking up speed even further. AJ watched his friend run up to his doorstep and unlock the door, going safely inside before backing out of the driveway and driving away. He had a ten mile drive to get home, but with the way the roads were getting, it would take him at least twenty-five minutes. All he wanted to do was get back before things got too bad out. The only thing he didn’t know what how much time he had before the conditions were considered Level 2 or 3. Only he knew just how much snow they were going to get, the damage it would cause in the end. Only him...and he had to keep it in.


Thanks to those of you who read and reviewed the sneak peek. Here is Chapter 1 in full. Please leave a review and I will be back soon with Chapter 2!