Karyn crouches under the bushes, not making a single noise. Noise could mean death. Death meant oblivion. That was what had been pounded into her every single day of her life. She was sheathed in black, and her boots were soft, not making a single noise. Noise could mean death. Death meant oblivion. The boy turned and laughed in the direction of the camp. Karyn. heard him mutter to himself.

“A Purple. Jeez Ruby, have you lost your mind? There’s only Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Blue, as far as we know. Purple.” he snorts and walks off to one of the cars, right next to where she was hiding. Karyn knew that he would check the gas before getting into the car. So she would have to be quick. She runs light footed to the car and clings to the side. He gets closer, but she stays motionless. One thought pounded through her brain. Ruby, whoever she was, wasn’t crazy. Karyn was Purple.

***

Ruby watched Liam leave. Every time he went off to gather supplies, her heart pounded in fear. She knew there was the distinct possibility he wouldn’t come back. She had just been discussing with him the distinct possibility that there could be another IAAN mutant. A Purple. The only one in the world. The only one that was able to harness the powers of Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, as well as their own power. Being able to control darkness. They could wrap it around themselves, and then become totally invisible. 

Ruby had been jealous at first. She wanted all that power. But, as she thought more, she discovered that power came at a terrible price. There was a monster sleeping in her, and in the Purple, it was a thousand times worse. Even as these IAAN escapees, they faced danger every single day. If you were the Purple, the danger would also be a thousand times worse. And she, she thought, had had enough danger to last herself a lifetime. 

***

Karyn clung to the truck, trusting the darkness to keep her hidden. The boy started whistling a tune, and she knew it was time to act. While Ruby may have understood the basics of Purple abilities, she had no idea what Karyn could do. Karyn turned into a shadow and slipped into the van, collapsing on the floor. She turned back to human. She knew that every time she turned into a shadow, there was a possibility she would stay a shadow. But sometimes it couldn't be avoided. But it seems that the boy had heard something. That was to Karyn’s advantage. She was only 15, so it was easy for people to overlook her. She reclined herself in a chair, and waited for him to find her. 

***

Karyn knew the boy saw her. He looked so much like someone else she had known, but that someone was dead. He flicked the light on and saw a girl no more than 14, sitting in his van. She was dressed in all black, except for a single purple bracelet gleaming on her wrist. Purple. He shook the thought away. He would try to handle this the Stewart way. Nice and cool.

“What are you doing here?” he asked calmly, his voice nice and level. 

“Take me to Ruby.” she saw him stiffen instinctively, like Ruby was someone he loved. Interesting… she thought. She could use that to her advantage. No one was left in this world that she loved, so no one could be used against her. But then she thought of Samantha, Zu, and Cole all those years ago, and flinched involuntarily. Except for them, there was no one left that she loved. Liam saw the flinch and took that as a sign of weakness. He forged on.

“Why do you want to see Ruby?” he challenged. 

“Because I’m the Purple you’ve been talking about.” she said, tilting her chin up. Liam cocked his head in defiance. 

“Prove it.” he almost spat the words out. Karyn just reclined back into her chair. Liam was about to snort in derision when she disappeared. His eyes widened and frantically searched the van. Nothing. Karyn had slipped out and glided to the door where Ruby had been standing. She slipped inside and found herself face to face with Ruby. She jumped back, startled. Ruby can’t see you, she told herself. You’re invisible… But suddenly, she materialized. Ruby shrieked and spun around. Her eyes narrowed and Karyn felt the prickling sensation in the back of her mind. Anger flared inside her. Ruby was trying to see inside her mind. But she didn’t know who she was dealing with. Karyn’s powers were stronger than anything. Karyn pretended to go along, weakening her mind just the tiniest bit. A smile stretched across Ruby’s strained face. Then, suddenly, Karyn forced all her mental power into one, controlled, powerful attack, and made it explode right where Ruby was groping around inside her brain. 

***

Ruby’s brain was going to explode. She never knew just one girl had thi much power. She never knew anyone could have this much power. She sank to the ground. Clutching at her head. There was a dull ringing that jounced around inside her head. Liam came storming in, and she thought, Good. Liam will take care of this  monster. 

***

Liam stared at Ruby, then back at the girl. What had happened. 

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?” he shouted. The girl smiled sarcastically at him. 

“Your girlfriend here tried to erase me from the world. So, I just severely weakened her brain. She’ll be delirious for a week or more.” Liam tried to control his fury. But the tendrils of the monster inside him wrapped around his brain. 

He made a huge chunk of wood rise up in the air, and prepared to drop it on top of the girl. Only to have it torched by an unseen fireball. 

“Stop!” Liam almost collapsed at the noise. He didn’t want to turn around. He didn’t want to see. It was the girl who finally broke the silence. 

“Cole…?” she asked weakly. Liam felt Cole flash a smile. 

“Hello, Sunshine.” 

***

Karyn couldn’t believe it. She wanted to think that the boy in front of her was dead. But she couldn’t. Because he was right there, flesh and blood. Alive. Real.

“Don’t call me that. I’m not a Yellow.” she finally choked out. “You can’t stand the name I changed to because it was your favorite cousin’s name, and she died, so that at least call me Amethyst. Even though that-” Cole cut her off with a wave of his hand. 

“Yeah, yeah yeah. That was the name of a little girl you left behind in Chicago, blah blah blah. Whatever.” 

“Excuse me?” the boy broke in. “Am I some sort of prop, or a folding stool, or what-?” Cole had almost forgotten his brother was standing there. When he spoke, his voice was husky and low. 

“Liam.” So his name was Liam. She had thought it was something like that. Liam was almost crying. 

“I tried to go back for you, but everything was so hard to see and I couldn’t find you-” he started sobbing. Cole reached for him and held him tight. 

“I know. I know. It’s okay.” 

By now a small crowd had gathered. Then Karyn saw her. Samantha. And Zu. Her heart almost broke at the sight of them. Samantha stared at her, like she didn’t recognize who she was anymore. Zu just smiled. 

A blue-haired girl chewing gum broke the silence. She raised an eyebrow and popped a bubble. 

“So, is anyone going to tell me who this girl is, why Ruby is unconscious, and Cole is back from the dead?” 

“Your girlfriend and I had a little run-in.” I said flippantly. I heard mutters among the group. “I’m Karyn.” She opened her mouth but I cut her off. 

“Yes, and I’m not going to tell you my last name. There’s no family left in this world, so that doesn’t matter anymore. As for Cole…, well, I’m going to let him tell you about that."