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"HEY! Get back here and explain yourself!" Jason shouted. She weaved through the crowd expertly, and he lost sight of her. He glowered at the last place he saw her. Why did she insist on being the most maddening individual on the planet? The answer to his weeks of searching for Kyle was so close, yet somehow eluding him. He kept moving, tapping shoulders and describing her, asking if she had been seen. A few remembered which direction she went in, but someone pointed to the door. "She left?" "Dude, seriously, I'm on a date. Get lost." The guy's girlfriend grabbed his hand and led him away. Jason balled his hands into fists. How would she find him 'tomorrow'? She wouldn't know where to find him!


Silvia left the building, then turned to look at it. It was huge, like it was built on 5 football fields. There were 10 rooms per floor, and 3 floors. The first was open to walk-ins for free, and for dancing. The second was rented space for parties. The third was more expensive and furnished, but also for parties. Balconies jutted out from the second floor, and were far more susceptible to party crashers than the third. Colored spotlights illuminated the outside. The streets were filled with peddlers selling everything from sparklers to glow sticks to costume jewelry/accessories and light gems, and anything else that glowed in the dark. She loved the place, and the lively activities. About 10 teenagers were engaged in a glow-in-the-dark-hula-hoop contest, moving their hips to the beat of the music that leaked into the street, laughing and talking and yelling. "I can go on forever!" "I can do three at once!" "Show offs!" "Keep trying, you'll get it-eventually!" A costume party bar crawl went by. Silvia burst out laughing.
A Hello Kitty Darth Vader?!?! She ran up and asked to take a picture of him. Still laughing, she turned and took more pictures of the hula-hoopers and other costumes. A fairy dressed as Tinker bell, an anime character, and a Spider-man that shot Silly String from his wrists instead of webs, and a great mock sorcerer, with a glowing globe at the top of his staff and a cloak with intricate patterns of silver, black, and blue. A female ninja was anything but invisible, with only a plastic sword at her side and a skin-tight body suit with bare arms and sports gloves, and 7 inch heels. It was amazing that she could walk swinging her hips and not fall over. She had a small crowd of men following her. Silvia sniggered and took the picture, including the staring men with the open mouths. It made her smile, so she wanted to remember it. Who needs memoirs? A picture is worth a thousand words.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her shoulder. She swung her foot in a circular motion along the ground, twisting herself around, knocking her opponent's feet out from under him. He didn't let go of her shoulder, bringing her to the ground with him. She brought her elbow down, hoping to nail him in the face as she fell. He deflected her attack with his free arm. "Will you cool it?!" he growled. "Don't ever grab me like that again, Jason, or I'll use my knives on you!" Silvia got to her feet, her upbeat mood shattered. He sat up, wincing and rubbing the back of his head. "I was just trying to get your attention, before you ran off again." "What are you talking about?" He stood. "You just ran off, without telling me what I wanted to know, without asking me where you could contact me, and without even giving me a number to call. How, exactly, did you plan to find me tomorrow?" Silvia rolled her eyes. "So you're telling me that you've been looking for Kyle on foot, without asking anyone where he is, and without telling anyone your hotel address in case they found Kyle and want to tell you? If that's how you've been searching, your IQ probably recommends that you stay away from sharp objects." "So you were going to walk around and ask random strangers where I am staying?" "Watch me." Silvia ran up to a couple emerging from the building. She began by complementing the girl's outfit. "Killer look, girl." "Thanks. I put it together myself." Liar, Silvia thought. She could see the manufacturing trademark. "Say, have you seen a guy about this tall..." She came back to Jason with a smug look on her face. "127 b, StarLight 27 hotel."

Jason stared at her icily. She smirked. "You're just mad because I was right and you made a big deal out of nothing." "Why, exactly, are you withholding Kyle's location? If you hadn't, all of this could have been avoided." "I'm not. You just don't know how to look. All you have to do is gain access to a computer terminal in the Capitol center and search : Kyle; Blacksmith; Location; Area/City 2320/YRC (YearRoundCelebration) ; (and today's) Date. It's ridiculously simple." Jason frowned. "No one is supposed to access those computer terminals without permission from the Elder of the Criminal Justice System." Silvia squinted at him, trying to read his expression. Was he really that naïve? It's just a fast way to find someone. Well...better not explain. If he wasn't going to use that information, he didn't need to know. Besides, he might mention it in passing to the wrong type of person. "Alright, fine. He's staying in the same hotel you are, and...Actually, he's right next to you. Room 127a." He stared at her in shock. "Impossible." "Highly improbable, but not impossible. And if you see Justin and his crew, tell them I'll be heading back to the dragon's lair in...Oh, I'll give them...two more days to catch up. I'm going to enter an archery contest tomorrow for 60 silver mushrooms, if you really need me." She left him standing in the street and melted into the crowd.

Thwock! Silvia kept her face blank, despite the fact that she had just scored a bulls-eye. She glanced to the side. One of the hunters had entered the contest against her. They were the last two out of their group of 6 contestants. The other 10 groups were completely out. 60 contestants, and they were all that remained. This was a huge event. Many other opponents failed to hit the target you were required to hit to enter. The hunter, Logan, drew the arrow to his ear and let it fly. Thwock! Another bulls-eye. The seventh in a row. The Game Master stood up and addressed everyone with a bullhorn. "THE TARGETS SHALL BE MOVED BACK 2 YARDS." Feedback screeched through the bullhorn as he turned it off. Silvia massaged her ears. She wanted to grab whoever invented that cursed object and blow out their eardrums with it. The breeze picked up. She waited for it to steady, then stared at the target, and closed her eyes. She kept the image of the target in her mind and felt the wind. She pulled the bow taut and released. Thwock! Bull-eye. She sighed. This could take a while. Then she gasped. It felt like someone had punched her in the gut, forcing the air from her. Then it happened again, and she doubled over, dropping her bow and clutching her stomach. A ripple of anxiety raced through the crowd. "Silvia?" She was vaguely aware of Logan's voice, but she was a bit preoccupied. This had happened once before, but only Cedric was present for that. Tears streamed from her eyes as she tried to restrain the phenomenon. It pushed from within, like trying to stop an adrenalin rush, or tears from falling. A hand descended on her shoulder. "Don't touch me!" she screamed. Cedric had tried to carry her to a medic, but something (he later described it as an invisible beach ball) pulsed from her and shoved him away- and nearly broke his neck. Too late, she realized that she had broken her concentration. Whatever-it-was pushed past her efforts to quell it. It was like a tidal wave exploded in her mind and washed over her. Everything turned to shades of purple, blue and silver. Music reigned supreme in her mind, and she saw a girl, but not herself. The girl turned, and in her eyes a story of tragedy flowed in tears from her eyes. Silvia could not contain it.

Jason had come to watch an archery contest, but Silvia had other ideas, apparently. She was bent over, then she straightened and inhaled deeply. Then she opened her eyes. Jason blinked, hard. He was 20 yards away, but he could've sworn her eyes were glowing purple. Plumes of purple smoke materialized, winding around her like serpents. It sparkled with silver, like someone had somehow scattered a handful of glitter into it. The smoke spread, covering the ground like the mist from dry ice. Silvia spoke, but not Silvia. Her voice was just...wrong, somehow. Multiple variations of her voice intertwined with- music?. Where was that coming from?

Moonlight Shadow
"Moonlight...Moonlight...Moonlight...Moonlight shadow
The last that ever she saw him, carried away by a moonlight shadow
He passed on worried and warning, carried away by a moonlight shadow..."

The smoke/mist shaped itself into images, of a teenage girl watching a teenage boy with a bent head pass by her. She cast a worried look after him.

"Lost in a riddle last Saturday night, far away on the other side
He was caught in the middle of a desperate fight, and she couldn't find how to push through..."

The scene changed, and the girl watched him from a distance, across a small river, behind a tree. A man raced up to him out of nowhere with a knife, looking behind every few steps. The boy looked up in time to intercept the knife coming towards him. Then the man dropped the knife, took a step back, and reached inside his overcoat. What happened was blurred, but the image of the girl silently screamed, then fell to her knees, sobbing.

"I stay, I pray, I see you in heaven far away
I stay, I pray, I see you in heaven one day..."

It switched to a future scene, of the girl visiting a grave, next to a weeping willow.

"The trees that whisper in the evening, carried away by moonlight shadow
Sing the song of sorrow and grieving, carried away by a moonlight shadow
All she saw was a silhouette of a gun, far away on the other side
He was shot six times by a man on the run, and she couldn't find how to push through

I stay, I pray, I see you in heaven far away
I stay, I pray, I see you in heaven one day..."

The girl was in her pajamas, robe and slippers, standing where she had stood at the shooting, staring at the moon, as evidenced by the blue shadows and silver on her face.

"Four a.m. in the morning, carried away by a moonlight shadow
I watched your vision forming, carried away by a moonlight shadow
Star was glowing in a silvery night, far away on the other side,
Will you come to talk to me this night, but she couldn't find how to push through

I stay, I pray, I see you in heaven far away
I stay, I pray, I see you in heaven one day..."

The girl saw an image of pure silver mist. It was her friend, just as he was before he was shot. He smiled and held out his hand. She reached for it, but he faded away before she could touch him. She covered her face with her hands, crying. The images swirled into a final scene. The girl was in a car, breaking every speed limit as she raced along a cliff overlooking a sea. Rather, the landscape images raced past in the smoke, creating the illusion. The girl's hair flew back. But she didn't look afraid.

Caught in the middle of a hundred and five.
The night was heavy and the air was alive,
But she couldn't find how to push through.
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
Far away on the other side.
But she couldn't find how to push through."

Her car picked up speed, and she leaned forward, as if she wanted to go faster. The curve of the cliff rushed up to her. She closed her tearful eyes and smiled.
The car sailed into space.

"Moonlight...moonlight...moonlight shadow..."

As suddenly as it had begun, the smoke/mist dematerialized and evaporated, leaving only Silvia. Her eyes lost their purple glow, then rolled back into her head as she collapsed.

That link was still functional when I posted it.
Here is the fixed link to Moonlight Shadow Remix. My apologies to whomever may read this story.

When she hit the ground, Jason immediately began sprinting towards her. Logan lifted her head, then checked for a pulse. He looked up. Jason heard several people following. He looked back to see the hunters come running, with Avery in the lead. Justin was outrunning them all, though he had yet to overtake Avery. The Game Master vaulted over the heads of several spectators and rolled as he hit the ground, and came up running. Justin ordered the hunters to line up and block anyone who just wanted to gawk, which took all their strength because there were a lot of curious people trying to get a good look at her. Avery unslung his box of medical supplies from his shoulder and began checking for a pulse and breathing. Light shined from the small pouch on her belt. He tossed it to Justin and kept his attention on the fallen girl. "She looks okay..." Tim ventured, then blocked someone who had tried to push past him. "That's when it's most dangerous. I don't know what or if something's wrong, and if I don't know that much, chances are I can't fix whatever-it-is." He took a small bottle of water out and poured a little into her mouth. She choked, coughed, then tried to sit up. Avery tried to keep her lying down, but she shoved him away and stood up. "You saw nothing!" She shouted for all to hear, then turned and ran. "Follow her," Justin ordered his smallest hunter, who was obviously an adept tracker. "From a distance, contact us later." The man nodded and sprinted after her. Jason noticed that Justin slipped her pouch into his belt, tightening the string so light couldn't escape.

Silvia plunged into one of the wooded areas within the city's bubble (mostly for oxygen purposes). She fervently hoped that no one would find her before she left the city. There were way too many witnesses for them to dismiss what they saw as hallucination. She jumped up and grabbed a branch, then swung herself into a tree. The tree's branches bent around her, responding to panicked need to hide. All the trees she had run past drooped a little, and the bushes and other plants covered the ground where she had fled, discouraging pursuers. The hunter trying to follow her was constantly tripping, and when he paid more attention to the ground, branches slapped him in the face. He gritted his teeth and kept moving. Silvia, or Vivian, as she called herself in this city, tried to catch her breath and plan her next steps. As soon as darkness fell, she would move out and mingle with the crowds as she went for the exit. She'd have to lay low for a while, but that was okay with her. She'd just find a black market site-to-site transporter, then go home, halfway around the world. She smiled. It was no ordinary home. She had carved an underground cavern for herself...Well, it was next to a river, and corrosion had done most of it for her. She sighed, finally able to breath normally. She reached for her pouch, intending to listen to music until the sky darkened. It wasn't there.

Far away, though still in our solar system, an alien about to have a discussion with another via hologram. It was vaguely humanoid, but it's legs were shaped like thick ostrich legs. It's arms tapered and split into tentacles, which were perfect for tapping touchscreens and keyboards. It's uniform was white, it was bald, and it's scales were electric blue. The spaceship it lived in was clean, dark, and made up of perfectly smooth curves and lines. The light sources were faint, and tinged green, red, and blue. The alien's eyes were huge, black, egg-shaped orbs that required very little light to work perfectly, a good thing in deep-space. It's neck was almost nonexistent, because it's head smoothly grafted to it's chest. It tapped a few buttons on it's control panel, and another alien appeared on a platform. Your time is almost up. How much data have you collected? Not enough. The humans make it hard to get new data. Elaborate. They have paradoxes and circular logic in plenty, and double-standards are a way of life for them. It is difficult to trace their meaning and/or purpose. I need more time to decode their sayings. Perhaps we have misunderstood their words. Perhaps they are not so primitive as we have thought. Their sayings often have double meanings that are wise or witty, if properly understood. But I require more time- Unacceptable. You have maxed out your time in their society. You have been denied any more renewals. Return in six weeks. The holo-image disappeared. The alien's shoulders drooped. Then it turned back to it's computer screens and continued prodding the keyboard, watching the progression of the world.

Silvia- er, Vivian- gasped in horror. Music was one of the very few pleasures she had. She hated the thought of going without it for long, and especially when she was alone in the same place for hours, without anything to help kill time. Besides that, she carried water and first aid in that pouch. The hand-crafted leather bag that Cedric had given her on her 15th birthday was unique and special. And she wanted it back.