Billy Avalone shivered at the cold breeze as he flew through the air. Florida was much warmer than the northern states. He couldn't travel straight to California without being caught easily, so he opted for zig-zagging his way there. Which, sadly, meant traveling through colder places. He sent a jolt of white, hot electricity through his body to warm him up. You guessed it, Billy was a Gifted. His gift was creating and absorbing lightning and electricity. Pretty useful but also extremely dangerous. And he did not want to be caught and turned into a weapon against his will.

Billy didn't know exactly where he was, but he stopped at a small diner to get some food. He had stolen some money from his family before he left. Don't blame him, he loved his family, but he loved freedom even more. He folded his gray and blue wings behind his back and did his best to not attract any suspicion. If anyone asked, he got separated from his family and was looking for them. After buying a small meal consisting of bacon and toast with two cups of coffee, Billy took off. He couldn't stay around for too long, even if he wanted to explore and buy some souvenirs. Nope, not nearly enough time for everything he wanted to do, yet. Once he was safe, he'd make time to do Florida Man things.

"Ouch," Billy yelped as he hit a tree branch and plummeted to the ground. Pain flared up his back and down his left arm. "Great, out in the middle of nowhere and injured. Of course it would be me," he complained, checking his arm, hissing in pain. "Damn it."

Once Billy got his footing, he walked, too scared to test his hurting wings. He didn't want to ruin them even more and be grounded. Being grounded was worse than being hunted. It was as if someone took a part of you and destroyed it. Once grounded, you'd never be able to fly again. So yeah, Billy wasn't risking it. His feet ached as he walked for hours. His worn shoes got soaked by Billy stumbling through a creek and he was miserable. Alive, but miserable. The total opposite of what someone from Florida should be.

"You look like shit." Billy tensed and looked to his right. He locked eyes with a young girl with white wings and black hair. To her left was a young boy with dark hair and blue eyes. His wings were white with light green accents. "Do you need help?" The girl took a step toward him before the boy grabbed her arm, shaking his head. They seemed to have a silent conversation.

"Umm, hello?" Billy scoffed. "It's rude to have a silent conversation in front of someone." The boy's eyes widened. "What? It is." Billy leaned against a tree and rubbed his hurt arm. "I'm Billy. Who are you two?"

"I'm Callie!" Callie introduced herself. She turned and gestured to the boy. "This is Neil. We're traveling together to go to the–" She cut herself off, eyes widening. She didn't mean to give away that much information to a stranger.

"You're going there, too?" Billy gaped, grin growing wider. "I am, too! Ooh, what's your gift?" He sent sparkes of electricity from his uninjured hand. "Because this one is mine!"

Callie and Neil relaxed, both smiling. "I can heal people," Callie smiled shyly. "Can I?" She looked at his injuries.

"Be my guest!" Billy heartedly agreed, extending his arm as far as he could without screaming. Callie placed her hands over his arm and he could feel a sense of warmth flooding his veins. The pain ebbed in body and he felt good as new. "Woah. Now that's awesome! What can you do, Neil?"

"Hello." Neil's voice echoed in Billy's mind.

"How did you do that?" Billy's eyes widened in awe.

"My gift is telepathy," Neil informed Billy. "I can create mindlinks between people so we can still communicate but not draw as much attention to ourselves. It's how Callie and I made it so far from New York City."

"You guys came all the way from New York!? I'm from Florida," Billy explained eagerly. "We should probably get going, huh? Mind if I tag along with you guys? Safety in numbers, amirite?" He looked at the two hopefully. In all truth, he didn't want to be alone anymore.

Callie and Neil shared a look and nodded. "Welcome aboard, Billy." Callie dipped her head and the three took to the skies.

—

Two more weeks of travel and the trio met up with another gifted person in Texas. The three had been, well only Callie and Neil, complaining over the heat while Billy enjoyed the hot Texan sun. He felt like he was home again.

They had met Logan after he accidentally shifted into another person in front of them. He had been practicing and was caught by them. Poor Logan nearly had a heart attack and punched Billy in the face. Billy wore his shiner like a badge of honor.

"I was traveling with my best friend, but we got separated," Logan had explained sadly. "I don't even know if he's alive anymore." He had gotten a group hug by the three other Gifted and was officially adopted into the group. Now, four teenagers were out in the world traveling to the Sanctuary.

Logan settled into the group easily and was immediately wrapped up in their shenanigans. With his ability to shift into other people, he could easily steal some food and other supplies for the group. Neil opened up the link to Logan, and the four's plans and hijinks were silently planned. The four of them were dangerous, which was the best thing for them.

It was during one of their plans to con this guy and his kid brother when things went downhill. Just as Billy reached the older guy's wallet, the kid brother saw him and glared. Billy's limbs grew heavy and he felt this increasing pressure slowly squishing him. He couldn't scream in pain, so he writhed in silent agony.

"Jake, stop!" The kid, Jake, froze and Billy gasped as he collapsed to the ground, wheezing. "You need to be careful. You could have killed someone." Jake's eyes widened in horror.

"I'm sorry about that. I'm Austin and this is my kid brother, Jake. Who are you?"

"Billy. These are my friends, Logan, Callie, and Neil. Is he..." Billy paused and Austin sighed heavily and nodded. "Oh, well, so are we."

"Billy!" Logan, Callie, and Neil snapped in unison.

"Really? All of you?" Austin's eyes lit up. "Come with us. We are heading to the place, too. I can help you get there faster. It will be squished, but I could drive you all there."

So that's how Billy found himself squished between Logan and Neil with Jake on the floor, scowling at him. Callie got the passenger seat with Austin.

"Well, you wanted something new, Billy," Logan smirked, elbowing Billy. "Ow!" he yelled as Billy zapped him.

Austin sighed tiredly.

Hey guys!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! My underrated favs are getting the attention they deserve!

Comments and votes are appreciated. I love hearing from you all!

Have a wonderful day!

~Kat