Long Live by SixLeafCloverOFire

Chapter 1 - Lacking Luster

Page 1

Chapter 2 - Moxie

Page 10

Chapter 3 - Shadow of a Doubt

Page 17

Chapter 4 - Consequences

Page 21

Chapter 5 - The Puppet Master

Page 32

Chapter 6 - Doors

Page 38

Chapter 7 - Better than Houdini

Page 47

Chapter 8 - Paving the Road

Page 50

Chapter 9 - The Redemption

Page 64

Chapter 10 - Hopefully

Page 73

Chapter 11 - Cryo

Page 85

Chapter 12 - Africa

Page 91

Chapter 13 - The Fire Within

Page 100

Chapter 14 - The Raven

Page 112

Chapter 15 - Fear of the Unknown

Page 121

Chapter 16 - Target Practice

Page 130

Chapter 17 - Ace

Page 139

Chapter 1 - Lacking Luster

It has been a week since the accident and I recently removed the cast from my arm. I was glad to be back at home with my adopted parents, and not at the hospital. No, it isn’t the kind of traditional family home that you are thinking about. We own a very prestigious research facility where we and other people live. It is called Gateway Research Facility, but everybody just calls it Gateway. We also are the best orphanage in the country, caring for hundreds of children and teenagers. Our rooms are luxurious and we receive great meals. My dad and Ben–as well as others–research cures for cancer, diabetes, and other diseases. There are also other people who come here who are not orphans, and they get various tests done on them. These people must be at least 16 and have written consent from their legal guardians. These people must have physical abnormalities or diseases, and they get paid to get tested on. You wouldn’t believe how many people walk through these doors and pretend that they are sick, only so that they can receive money. Gateway is also heavily enforced and supported by a strong legal team and police. I’m convinced that this is the safest place in the whole world to live. And it’s all right here in Carmel, Indiana. I glanced down at my right arm, the one that had recently been broken, and I thought about the incident that had separated me from biological brother, Zack. It was a terrible car accident. Zack was driving and I was in the passenger seat, when a drunk driver ran a red light and slammed into the driver’s side door. Everything went in slow motion as the car flipped on its side. I got cuts on my face from the broken class and my 1

right arm got slammed against the car door. Zack was not as lucky as I was. He was in serious condition and had to be rushed to Stonebridge Hospital in Bloomington, which is over an hour away from Carmel. I was cared for at a local hospital, and had to wear an obnoxious cast. It was the first, and hopefully last, bone that I have ever broken. I sure hope that my brother is okay. Zack and I are identical twins who share a couple of unusual traits. We both have gray hair and gray eyes. While I have heard of people with silver eyes, I have never really heard of anyone my age with gray hair. People bully us at school because of it, and because they are jealous that we own a prestigious facility. Thankfully, Zack and I both took Tae Kwon Do so that we could defend ourselves. Fortunately, we have never had to use what we have learned against anybody. It would take a lot for somebody to provoke us to fight, because we do not like to hurt anybody in any way. We both also share one other strange trait. I have a scar that runs from my palm down my arm. It’s a burn scar. Zack also has a burn scar on his stomach, so luckily for him it isn’t visible. I usually wear long sleeved shirts so people don’t stare, but people sometimes question that scar on my palm. Whenever I ask my father or Ben how we got the scars, they say that we got them as a baby. I, being the curious 16 year old I am, do not accept that story. There has to be much more to the story than that. And I think that Zack is just as curious as I am to how we got these scars, but he never has really asked about it. There is another thing about my past that I would like to know. I have no idea who my biological mother and father are, and nobody else seems to know who they are, either. There seems to be no record whatsoever of our births. It is almost as if we just

appeared out of nowhere, like the greatest magic trick ever. Not even I know how we did it. So, Mr. Frost and Ben took care of us under their wing. Unfortunately Ben’s mother died when he was 10. Ben is 18 now, but still hasn’t fully recovered from that loss. Neither have I, and I never even met her. But seeing her face in pictures always brought tears in my eyes. Zack and I are so thankful that they raised us. We couldn’t ask for a better brother or father. I reached over to my phone and pressed the home button to check the time. 3:02 A.M. Hopefully the melatonin has kicked it and I am able to get some sleep. I need it. I turned off the lamp and got under my covers. I closed my eyes and felt my body melt into my bed. I had the most comfortable bed in the entire multiverse, this I knew. My thoughts slowly started to blend together until they became part of a dream. I heard knocking on the window of my room. I groggily sat up and wiped the grime out of my eyes. I looked around slowly, taking in my surroundings. This is a room fit for a king. My room has a really sweet computer and TV, along with lots of video games. This is a gamer’s dream. I hear somebody knocking politely on my door, and Ben slowly opens my door. “Hey sleepy head! It’s about time for breakfast!” He says energetically. “Oh okay, I’ll be down there soon. I just have to get ready,” I say. To be honest, I was dreading today. Winter break has now officially ended, and I’m not looking forward to school today. Even though I took the cast off last night, it still feels like I’m wearing it. I guess that it would be called a phantom cast. I have heard about people who have gotten their limbs amputated, and sometimes they can still feel their limbs. Phantom limbs. I put on

my jeans, and slid my hands into the tight pockets they have. I don’t like jeans. It’s not that I don’t like how they look, I just don’t like how they feel. I would rather wear track pants or any other comfortable pants. Anything but jeans. I quickly throw on a button up shirt, trying not to keep Ben waiting for me. I brushed my teeth quickly but carefully, because I don’t want to scarp my gums like I have done in the past. I studied my face in the mirror as I combed my hair. I stared intently into my eyes. Gray. Why couldn’t I have green eyes like Ben? Or brown curly hair like he does? Or freckles? It’s obvious that Zack and I were adopted. We look nothing like the rest of our family. Ben is almost always smiling. He is arguably the happiest person I know. Having the intellect he does must feel great. In addition I have heard rumors that Senior year is pretty easy compared to Junior year. Junior year is supposed to be especially difficult. I’m just about to start my second semester of Sophomore year, which starts in about an hour. Great. Back to getting bullied and not being able to do anything to stop it. I scanned the room, trying to see if I was forgetting anything. I walked over to my desk, grabbed my phone, and jammed it into my snug pocket. I left my room promptly and headed for the cafeteria. When I got there, I saw Ben sitting at a lunch table, texting. “How are you doing?” He asked as I sat down across from him. He politely locked his phone and placed it in his pocket. “Could be better, I didn’t get much sleep.” “Same here. How does your arm feel?” “Strange,” I reply. “It feels like I am still wearing the cast.”

“Yeah that’s normal. It should feel better in a few days, though,” Ben says with a sympathetic smile. “Hopefully,” I said. “I called the hospital last night,” Ben said after a few seconds of an awkward silence. “Really?” I replied as I tilted my head with curiosity. “What did they say?” “He’s doing better… But they still don’t want us to see him yet. They said that in about two weeks he should be healthy enough for us to visit him.” I winced at his words. I’ve been dying to see Zack. If I could, I would drive over there in a heartbeat and demand to see him. But my dad and Ben wouldn’t let me. Besides, I don’t have my license, and I don’t think I want one now, anyway. I have a reasonable fear of cars now. “I understand,” I replied in a hushed tone. “Let’s go get food.” We walked to the lunch line which had hardly any people in it. The line had died down a lot. Ben and I both got pancakes, bacon, and milk from the lunch lady. We walked back to our table and we ate in silence. “Alright, its about time to go to school.” Ben said after we finished eating. “Wait,” I replied as I stared into his eyes. “Be honest. Do you think that Zack is going to die?” Ben opened his mouth but nothing came out. He would never lie to me, and I knew that.

“Well, Aaron,” Ben began. “Through my medical training I know that people have lived through much worse. I honestly think that he will survive. In fact, I’m almost certain of it. But will he be back to his normal self? That I am not sure of.” I wish he didn’t say that last bit. I couldn’t imagine Zack being in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, or have a mental disorder. “Okay, time for school,” I said quickly, ending that conversation. I looked at my phone. It’s 7:15 already. School starts at 7:35. I always like getting to school early, so that Ben and I can hang out during passing periods before he has to go to class. That’s all we really get to see each other during school. We share none of the same classes, because as Ben takes advanced classes, I hang low and take easy classes. We went back to my room to get my things and Ben waited for me in the hall. I put on my coat and winter hat, and I grabbed my backpack. Ben and I walked down the long hallway to the exit. The bad thing about Indiana is that when its winter it snows. And by that I mean it really snows. I’m already paranoid about cars now, and it snowed a lot last night. We walked carefully over to where Ben parked and quickly got in his car. It was really cold outside. I got into the back seat of the car. After what happened with Zack and I, I’m not riding in the passengers seat for a long time. I sit my backpack next to me, and put on my seatbelt. “Is today an Alpha day or an Omega day?” I asked, curious. Our school has what is called block scheduling. On Alpha days we have four classes, and on Omega days

we have three classes and an Academic Learning class where we can do homework. So each class is extra miserable because they are each an hour and half. “Today is an Alpha day.” Ben said. I hate Alpha days. Not because of my classes, but I share my first block Algebra class with Max Evans, the school bully. As we approached the school, I unbuckled my seat and grab my backpack. We walked in school and I checked my phone. 7:28. Just on time for our 7 minute passing period. I always follow Ben to his locker, because I don’t use my locker. I think it is a waste of time, since we get to bring our backpacks to class. Ben says that carrying a heavy backpack around is bad for my back, but I think I can handle it. “So are you ready for your first week back?” Ben asked me. “Yeah, are you ready for your first week back?” I hear Max say tauntingly as he approached us. Max is a 17 year old football player who thinks he owns the place. Him and his friends target Zack and I. Sometimes they bully Ben, too. It must be my hair and eyes. Max lives somewhere in a place people would call the “hood”, so he must have a rough life. That still doesn’t give him the right to bully us. His house is really close to the school, so he just walks. “Well, lackey? I asked you a question.” Max stared at me waiting for a response. The word “lackey” means servant. Max not only gave me this nickname because he thinks he is the boss of me, but because my hair and eye color is lacking luster. “Leave him alone,” Ben responded. “What are you going to do about it?” Max asked. The answer was nothing, and he knew that. “I’ll report you to administration,” Ben replied. Max laughed at Ben’s dull threat.

“You sound so stupid when you say things like that, Benny,” Max shook his head. “You really shouldn’t make stupid threats to somebody who is stronger than you.” Ben took a step forward and I took a step back. Ben isn’t muscular or intimidating, but he would do anything to protect me. “Oh what? Are we going to fight right now?” Max asked as he shoved Ben into me. I caught Ben before he fell. Max is definitely the strongest kid in the school. He is a starter middle linebacker, just like you would expect. Ben regained his balance and pointed his finger at the security camera. “I think that that’s proof enough for administration,” Ben said. Max turned his head and looked at the big black dome. “If you tell them,” Max began, “I will weasel my way out of it, and make you both wish you were never born.” Max’s dark brown eyes looked fierce, and his short red hair made him look scarier. Surprisingly, Max is really smart and a teacher’s pet. He acts like an angel in class and makes straight As, something I can only dream of doing. But every student at Royal High knew his true colors. “You better not push me again, or I will tell.” Ben replied confidently. Max stared at Ben with cold eyes. It was tense. I thought that Max was going to punch him, and then I would have to intervene. As if a miracle, the one minute bell rang. “Darn,” Max said as he snapped with disappointment. “Things were just starting to get good. I’m not going to be late for class. Oh, but you, Aaron,” Max says as he points his dirty fingernail at me. “You’re going to be late to Algebra class every day until

school ends.” Max turned to walk away and then paused. He turned his head back around. “Oh, and, I hope your brother doesn’t die,” Max grinned as he walked away. I could feel my face flush red with anger. I took a step forward, wanting to sprint and tackle him to the ground. Ben put his hand on my shoulder. “Aaron, I promise you that I will find a way to get him to stop,” Ben said. “Ben, go to class and don’t be late. I won’t be either,” I replied. I can almost hear the fear in his voice. “Okay… But you know he will–” “Yes I know,” I said, cutting him off. “But this ends now. Now is when I stand up for myself. I, Aaron Frost, will be bullied no more.” I wasn’t looking at Ben, but in my mind’s eye I could see Ben relaxing his fearful face. I could feel him staring at me with respect and pride. “You’re brave,” Ben said. “Good luck, brother.” And with that, we both jogged to class.

Chapter 2 - Moxie

I marched into class, too angry to care about his demands. I’m not going to get detentions for being late just because Max wants me to. As I looked to my right, I saw Max laughing with his friend. He saw me and froze, and his expression slowly went blank. There was hollowness in his dark brown eyes, and it felt like he was tying my soul in a knot. I quickly looked away, and continued to my seat. After I sat down, the bell rang. I knew he was still staring at me, I could feel it. I ignored it. I’m glad I’m not late, and not only that, but I’m glad I accepted Max’s challenge. It shows that I’m confident. We all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance, just as we always do, had the shortest moment of silence, then sat down. “Alright, class has begun. I hope that everybody had a great break. And it looks like everybody made it to class on time,” Mrs. Fields says, as she looks over her attendance chart. “That makes me happy.” “It makes me happy, too, ma’am,” Max says. “I’m glad everybody is here, especially my good friend, Aaron. He must be going through a hard time right now. Did you hear about what happened to his brother?” Everybody turned to look at me. I blushed out of embarrassment, but also felt an equal amount of rage. I knew this was his way of telling me I was dead. This is the beginning of the end. Luckily I don’t share any other classes with him. As I looked around the class, I saw an old friend of mine, Chris, who I haven’t seen for years. His schedule must have gotten moved around. Perfect, I need more friends.

Lunch finally came around, after block 5. I have what is called D lunch on Alpha days. Actually, I have D lunch on both Alpha and Omega days. Lunch is separated into 4 groups and is always during the 3rd class of the day. First there is A lunch, which if you are lucky to have it, you go to lunch first for 30 minutes and then go to your 4th or 5th block class. B, C, and D, follow after each other. I’m always hungry when it comes to school lunches. I don’t normally wait in the cafeteria lines very often, but sometimes some of the open lines are short. Luckily, there were some today. I grab a hamburger (no cheese), pretzels, and chocolate milk. Of course I grabbed some ketchup, too. Some people always complain about the lunch food, but it really isn’t that bad. Well, as long as it isn’t mystery meat, that is. I spied a seat next to Chris, who was sitting all by himself. I decided to sit next to him, since I usually sit by myself, too. He smiled when he saw me. “How have you been?” Chris asked politely. “Well, I haven’t been good at all. I’m a worried, but I think I will be okay,” I said honestly. “Oh, what’s wrong?” “That Max kid, he’s a bully. I’m afraid he is going to hurt me.” “Oh, yeah I kind of figured that one out. I’ve witnessed that first hand, too. It’s not good to be afraid like that. We should stick together.” I sat quietly and nodded my head. I was thinking about how I could bust this loser without getting in trouble for it. Maybe I could record what he says on my phone and show it to the teachers? No. Bad idea. I’d get beaten up for sure. Max is smarter than

he looks, and it really does seem like he is the king of the school. It seemed like Chris was reading my heart, because he sensed something else was bothering me. “What was Max talking about? What happened to your brother? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.” Chris asked. “I don’t mind you asking. My brother and I got in a car accident and I haven’t seen him since. He is at a hospital pretty far away, and he is in critical condition. Even if I do go there, they wouldn’t let me in the room.” “Oh,” Chris says, surprised. “Well, I’m definitely sorry to hear that.” Chris looked sad, and for the first time that I could ever remember, I wanted to ask him how he has been. “What about you, how have you been?” “To be honest, not good at all. I lost my brother last year…” Chris’ voice trailed off. “Oh…” I wasn’t sure what to say, because I know he must feel even worse than I do, considering his brother is gone forever. “Hey, but thanks for asking. I really do need somebody to talk to about this. Maybe even a school counselor or something.” Not a bad idea. Maybe I could even use some counseling if I don’t feel any better. “You know, that’s actually a good idea,” I say with agreement. I’m glad I sat here. Max isn’t the only one with friends. I have them too. And I plan to make more every day if I can. One thing that kept my mind occupied is the fact I will probably get beaten up after school today if I’m not quick to Ben’s car. But then I’d only be delaying the inevitable.

“May I sit here?” A friendly girl asks us towards the middle of lunch. Our faces light up. “Sure, of course,” I say. “What is your name?” “I’m Hope,” she says as she extends her hand to both of us. We all made small talk until the lunch bell rang. All three of us agreed to meet at the same table on Alpha days. I was feeling refreshed after our conversations. I was really shy first semester and I regretted that. This semester will be different, though. Much different. I found Ben in the hall and talked to him about the people I talked to during lunch during the final passing period. For some odd reason Ben was wearing his backpack. We both keep an eye out for Max, just in case he is roaming the halls. He usually just goes straight to class, but I put him in a bad mood today. “Also, before we go to our class, I have an idea. You and I both know that Max will probably come straight to my locker after school. So that’s why I am wearing my backpack right now. After school, just meet me in the car rider zone and we’ll book it. Sound good?” Ben said proudly. “Yeah, that sounds great. But we still have to worry about tomorrow.” “I know my idea isn’t fool proof, but we’ll worry about tomorrow later. Right now just worry about your block 7 class, alright?” Block 7. One of the most annoying classes I have in my opinion, and it is right at the end of the day. I’m not even sure why I’m taking Chemistry, but I’ll deal with it.

One hour and thirty minutes pass, which felt more like five. As soon as the bell rang, I darted out of the room. I rushed down the stairs, and I exited the door. The first thing I saw made my heart jump in shock. “Going somewhere?” Max asked with a sinister tone. “I heard Ben talking to you about his pathetic escape idea. Unfortunately for you, my class was right next to where you were talking, lackey. I heard everything. And now I’m going to punish you, because all you are is a coward.” This is not good at all. I look around and don’t see Ben. I hear the doors opening behind me. It’s Ben. I must have gotten out here fast, but not fast enough I guess. “Oh, look what the cat dragged in,” Max said. “You are about to see this little lackey get hurt.” “Only if you want to go to the office,” Ben says trying to act calm. “I’ll tell you what, this little freak can follow me to the side of the school so nobody can here this little coward cry. That is, unless you aren’t man enough.” Max says, trying to tempt me. I look at him like he is crazy. “Or else what?” I said challenging him. “Or else I’ll get all my little buddies to push you both around tomorrow. You wouldn’t want all your new friends to get shoved into lockers too, would you? We’ll also bully that curly haired fiend of yours. You can’t hide forever, lackey.” Max is very clever, he knows that I put others ahead of myself. And he wasn’t kidding when he said he heard my whole conversation with Ben. The problem is that he is stronger than me.

More people are coming outside, so it was beginning to get risky for him. He was also starting to make a scene, and I could see an assistant principles in the vicinity looking over our way. “Follow me and nobody else will get hurt,” Max says with an evil grin. “Alright Ben, you can go home with out me. I’ll see you soon. I know you understand. I can’t let you or my friends get hurt for a selfish reason. I’ll stand up for what I believe in. It’s time to show some moxie.” “No Aaron, I’m not going to leave you behind. You’re my brother and I love you.” “How cute,” Max snorted. “Ben, I promise I will be alright. This is my fight. I’ll see you soon.” And with that, I followed Max. I did not look back at Ben. I didn’t want to drag him into this. Max took me to the side of the school, where nobody would see me. Nobody noticed us leave. He turned and grabbed me by the collar, and pulled me under the shade of a tree. “Do you think that you can just do whatever you want and get away with it?” Max says fiercely. “I was wanting to ask you the same question,” I said without fear. Max lets go of my shirt and stares at me with evil eyes. Max steps towards me with his left foot, revealing that he is about to punch me with his right fist. I throw up my left arm swiftly but effectively, protecting my face from his punch. I think about taking the opportunity to slug him in the stomach with my right fist, but I choose not to. It would be dangerous to do that, but then again, if I could show him I am stronger than him, he would leave us all alone.

“You think that you are tough, huh? Then hit me in the face, right now!” Max says, getting close to me and sizing me up. “All I’m trying to do is defend myself, I don’t want to hurt you.” I say quietly. “What’s that? I thought you were going to show some moxie!” “Not if it means hurting you…” my voice trails off as his right fist forcefully makes contact with my stomach. I step back, wheezing with pain. I didn’t see that one coming for some reason. I thought I was going to throw up. He then tackles me to the ground, but luckily the snow acted as a cushion. I really wanted to knock him out, as I definitely had the ability to do so. I knew how to break free, but it was best to let him win. I was not about to get in a huge fight. I thought you wanted to fight, not make snow angels, I thought to myself. I can handle what he does to me. Besides, he isn’t going to break my nose, give me a black eye, or do anything to me that would leave a noticeable mark. He fears getting into trouble with his teachers. That’s his weakness. He grabbed my right arm and put me into an arm bar, which hurt really badly. “I could break your arm if I wanted to,” Max says, putting more force onto my already injured arm. I yelp with pain. “Have you learned your lesson yet? You aren’t strong enough to fight me, so you might as well obey me, like I am your king. Actually, I am your king. And don’t you even think about telling anybody or a teacher that I did this to you. Pass that warning to Ben. And Zack too, if he ever recovers.” He released my arm, and began to walk away, but not before spitting next to my face. I watched the mucus filled saliva burned through the snow slowly. I better get back to Gateway as fast as I can. It’s going to be one long and cold walk.

Chapter 3 - Shadow of a Doubt

In the midst of the shadows, I could only hear the faint sound of my heartbeat. I was sitting up in a bed, but I wasn’t sure where I was. The room was cold, but I was drenched in sweat. I waited for my eyes to adjust, blinking rapidly. It was very dark. The only light in the room, appeared to be a lit candle in the four corners of the room. Gradually, I began to become more aware of my surroundings. I noticed what appeared to be a door in front of me, but it was closed and something appeared to be in front of it. My heart sunk as I felt a huge feeling of dread. A tall, dark silhouette of a person sat in a meditative position at the foot of my bed. I gasp and scoot farther against the wall, my heart pumping blood so rapidly that I could feel my head pulse. I could see what I thought to be eyes opening slowly. I was too afraid to look away. I needed to keep my guard up. Seconds later, I could see the two eyes of a boy piercing my soul. I felt weak. “Where am I?” The boy asked. His hair was slicked back, and he wore a confused expression on his face. It was difficult to tell, but it looked like the boy had blue eyes. He looked around my age. “Wh–Who are you?” I whispered cautiously. The boy looked like he was going to say something, but he couldn’t seem to find the words. Finally, he spoke up. “Before I tell you who I am, tell me where we are and how I got here.”

This was bizarre. The last thing I remember was going to sleep late last night. Now I’m here, sitting in front of somebody I don’t know. Wait, I’m dreaming, I realize. But it felt so real. Curiosity overtook me, and I spoke up. “I’m dreaming,” I said. I cleared my throat because my voice was hoarse. Things felt too real. The boy looked at me like I was crazy. “Don’t you play games with me,” the boy said with a serious tone. It was strange, but his voice sounded a lot like mine. “I–I’m not playing games. The last thing I remember was going to sleep around 10:00 last night. Now I’m here.” There was a long silence in the room, and I began to feel uncomfortable. I was not afraid of this person anymore, since I realized I was dreaming. But I was very curious. “A–Aaron?” The boy asked. I suddenly had a realization. “Zack?” I asked in a surprised voice. “Is that you?” “Yes, it is me.” There was a long pause again. Things felt so real that it was creeping me out. I could feel the air grow heavy, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up like I was seeing a ghost. “I don’t feel like this is a dream anymore.” I finally said. “Neither do I,” Zack replied. “What is the last thing you remember?” “Well,” Zack began. “I remember being rushed to a hospital and being in serious pain. I thought I was going to die. I was put on anesthesia, but my mind was still awake.

I felt every stick in my face as I was being operated on. It hurt, Aaron. Badly. I was afraid. Then everything else was a blur. And now I’m here.” I could feel my head spin as I felt completely delirious. I was beginning to feel sick. This was no dream. This was real. “Zack, I’ve missed you. I’ve been worried sick about you.” “I think I’ll be okay,” he said to me. Then an interesting question came to me. He still looked like himself besides his eyes. His hair looked brighter than normal, too. It almost had a blue hue. My eyes were adjusted and I could see things clearer, now. This peaked my interest. “Why do you look different?” I asked him. “Different? You’re the one that looks different. It’s hard to tell, but your eyes and hair look reddish.” “Reddish?” I asked. “Yeah. Red like fire.” “That’s strange, your hair and eyes look bluish…” My thoughts were suddenly interrupted. I heard the door creak open behind him. I screamed out of shock as Zack jumped with fright. A dark figure entered the room and grabbed Zack. It appeared to be a woman with black hair and brown eyes, but it could have been a man with black hair. Zack struggled as the man pulled him off of the bed and onto his feet, practically dragging him out of the door. I wanted to get up and punch the man, but I was paralyzed with fear. As the door slammed shut behind them, I thought I could hear the faint scream of Zack. The candles went out. I was left in complete darkness, and I felt a painful jolt.

I awoke, gasping for air and sitting up in my bed, throwing the covers off of my body. I look at the time: 3:00 A.M. There is no way that that was just a dream. Zack is in huge trouble. I thought about the whole situation that I had for an hour, and I didn’t really want to fall asleep, but I forced myself to do so. The next morning, I woke up feeling tired. I hadn’t gotten much sleep, but at least I didn’t have any more nightmares. Thinking back on it, I felt that it was just a dream and that everything would be okay. I got dressed as I normally would. I did notice something peculiar, though. The mirror was foggy… Which was strange because there was no shower in here. I wiped the dew off of the mirror and I stared in the mirror. My eyes and hair still looked gray. I squinted, and for a split second, I thought I saw myself with red hair and red eyes. It vanished as soon as it appeared. I jumped back, surprised. I had to keep this a secret. I couldn’t let anybody know about what just happened. Nobody would believe me, regardless. I sat on my bed and thought long and hard for a while, and tried to catch my breath. I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack. I have never felt so confused or paranoid before in my entire life. It is almost time for breakfast. I better get ready, and act as naturally as possible. I don’t want to reveal my secret.

Chapter 4 - Consequences

“How does your arm feel?” Ben asked as he scooped up some milk and cereal with his spoon. “It still hurts,” I replied, rubbing it. What Max did definitely wasn’t going to help with the recovery process. “Do you want me to get you any medication?” Ben asked nicely. “No thanks,” I replied. I was busy thinking about the dream I had last night. After making some small talk with Ben and eating breakfast, we decided it was time to go to school. It’s Tuesday, no first block Algebra with Max. The ride to school was long and boring. We hit almost every red light getting there. Ben and I didn’t have much to say, but we were both thankful that today was an Omega day. We still had to be careful, though, because he creeps through the hallways a lot. Whenever we see a large group of people, we stay clear of them. A lot of times those are Max’s friends, and he is the ring leader. As we arrive at the school, Ben looks back at me. “Alright, you know the drill. Max may or may not be near my locker, but it doesn’t matter because I’m just going to start wearing my backpack around now.” “Hopefully you don’t get back pain when your older,” I say to him, teasing him. “Hey, I’m not the one with ten thousand text books in my backpack,” he says as he smirks. School was really easy today except for the fact I was tired. I didn’t get much homework. People were complimenting me, saying that I looked nice today. That made

me happy, but it was ironic because I barely even combed my hair. I pay really close attention to detail, and that is probably why I am the only one who could pinpoint what looked different about myself. When I got back to the facility, I crashed in my cell. I was still really tired. Today I’m just going to chill. I did what little homework I had to do, then I relaxed and watched T.V. in my bed for a couple hours. Eventually I checked the time on my phone. It’s 9:00 P.M. Alright, time to hit the hay. I’m exhausted. I’m going to need all the rest I can get, especially since I’ll see Max tomorrow. I’ll just enter class late tomorrow, I would much rather get a detention or even a suspension than to get beat up again. I woke up in the middle of the night, sitting up in the bed. Another strange dream. This one didn’t feel realistic, however. It was just a strange dream. Some parts of it were too crazy and random to explain, but mostly this dream took place in a theme park. One part of the dream haunts me and stands out. After riding one of the roller coasters, I found a small, dark alley. Zack was standing there, staring at me. A flash of blue gleamed in his eyes and hair. He turned around, and slowly walked into the shadows and disappeared. I tried to follow, but it felt like I was trying to run in water. Then I woke up. It was pretty unnerving. Boy, I sure am thirsty. I got out of bed and poured myself a glass of milk. I drank it slowly and put the glass in the sink. I grabbed my cell phone off of the table to check the time. 4:00 A.M.? School will be starting in a few hours. I have always resented the fact that 8 hours of sleep feels like an hour… And that an hour of school feels like 8 hours. It’s not fair really, but what can I do about it? The only thing to do is go with the flow. I fall asleep in roughly 45 minutes.

And its already time to get up, go figure. I get dressed and get ready for breakfast. I met Ben at breakfast as usual. “How is dad doing?” I asked Ben as I sat down. “He’s busy as usual. He’s trying to find the cure for cancer right now.” “Of course he is,” I replied and smiled. “Dad is always trying to solve something.” “Yeah, and same with me,” Ben said proudly. “Are you sure that you don’t want to be a doctor?” Ben asked me curiously. “It’s a lot of fun, and you get to save lives.” “No thanks, I think I’m still going to pursue engineering. I want to design the best roller coasters that my mind can create,” I said confidently. Ben smiled. “Of course you do. Ever since you rode Maverick in Cedar Point point you haven’t stopped talking about it. I don’t blame you though, that has to be the best roller coaster in the world,” Ben said. “Yeah, and some people like Millennium Force more. Don’t get me wrong, I love that ride, but Maverick just blows every other roller coaster out of the water!” I said energetically. “I couldn’t agree with you more,” Ben said. “So what are we going to do about Max today?” I asked, changing the subject. “That depends, are you going to be late to class today or show up on time?” “I’ll just be late I guess…” “Well, it’s your call. I’m not really sure what to tell you. If you are late three times, you’ll get a detention, but you know that. Otherwise Max will beat you up. It’s a double edged sword I suppose. I don’t know about you, but I know what I’d pick.” “Alright, then I’ll just arrive to class late.”

“Okay, well then if he bothers you, let me know, and I’ll think of something.” “Oh please, he’ll find some way to bully me. It’s in his nature.” We finished our french toast and it was time to get ready to go to school. For some reason I can tell today is going to be a long day. At school, Ben and I hang out in the hall until the one minute bell rings. Ben wished me luck, and left. I took a short walk before heading to class. The bell rang, and I stopped to wait until the Pledge of Allegiance was over. Then I entered class. “Ahhh, Aaron. I almost marked you absent. Is there any reason why you are late?” Mrs. Fields asked. I think for a moment. “No ma’am. No reason,” I finally say. “I see, well this is not a good way for you to start the semester. Two more tardies and you’ll be having a detention with me. Is that understood?” “Yes ma’am,” I said. This was the second time I was humiliated in front of the whole class, and this was only the first week back. “Good, I’m glad that we’ve reached an understanding.” People stared at me and smirked, except for Chris and a few of my other friends. The fastest way to get on Mrs. Fields’ nerves was to not show up prepared for class, showing up late to class, or being disrespectful. I hate algebra class. Mrs. Fields isn’t my favorite teacher, either. The class is just really boring. Not having any friends in this class and Max being here doesn’t help. Max doesn’t even look back at me. He knows he’s won. He proved his point. He’s bigger and better than me.

It didn’t feel like lunch was ever going to be here. But there I stood, waiting in line for my food. I sat down with Chris and Hope, and engaged in a conversation with them. “So Hope, what do you like to do?” Chris asked curiously. “Oh, I’m a gamer. I love video games. Yeah I know, a lot of people are surprised when I say that. I also really like to ski, and I love school,” she says as she smiles. “Really? Hey, I love video games, too!” I said, surprised. Chris looked surprised, too. Hope flicked her long blonde hair out of her face, and her light blue eyes shined brightly. She smiled. “By the way, I don’t want to sound rude, but I’m curious. Why are your eyes and hair gray? Is it genetics or did you dye your hair and put in contacts? Some kind of mutation, maybe?” She asked. I’m used to the question, and it doesn’t really bother me when people ask. “I was just born with it I guess, and people really don’t know why hair and eyes are the way they are. I guess it could possibly be a mutation. Maybe some biologist will figure out the reasoning.” I say casually. Her eyes look like they are studying me closely. She doesn’t look satisfied. “Hmmm. Well, maybe. I would love to know the answer, because I’ve never seen somebody that looks like you before. I want to be a biologist when I grow up, so I’m naturally curious. I think that it looks cool, by the way. It’s different.” “Ahhh, cool. I’m interested in biology too. I have a twin by the way, so he looks just like me. His name is Zack. I haven’t seen him in a while, because he’s at a hospital and he is injured badly…” “Oh, I’m sorry to here that. I hope he gets better.”

“Do you know when you will get to see him?” Chris asks me. “Hopefully next week.” “Alright, tell us how that goes, man,” Chris says with a smile. Lunch was really great, I got to learn more about my friends and they got to learn some things about me. The rest of the day went by like a breeze, and it was already the end of the day. Ben and I leave school swiftly but cautiously. We definitely don’t want to run into Max again. We are halfway to Ben’s car when we hear voices behind us. “Hey, is this the kid that you were talking about?” A voice said. “Well duh, he’s the only 16 year old with gray hair!” Another voice said with an accent. “That little lackey thinks that he’s safe, doesn’t he?” I heared Max’s unmistakable voice say. Great, he brought his friends. I turn around to see three tough guys walking towards us. Max was in the middle. “I thought we had a deal,” I said. “What deal?” The bully on the left said. “Max doesn’t negotiate with fools like you.” The other bully said. “Ben, Aaron, meet Thomas and Noah,” Max says as he jesters to them. “Thomas, Noah, meet the scum of the Earth. These two think that they are so great because they go to Gateway.” “Ahh, Gateway, ehh? Where those fancy rich people live? You don’t know anything, mate. You’re nothing,” Noah says to me. I could be wrong, but I think that he’s from Australia. “What do you know about Gateway, huh? And not everybody at Gateway is–”

“Rich, right? Yeah yeah, you get whatever you ask for. They problem even wipe ya bum for ya, don’t they?” Noah is getting on my nerves already. I can tell that Ben is getting angry. He starts to say something. “We don’t need you here, Ben. Get lost. We just want the old man.” Thomas said as he cut him off. “Hey! You guys can’t just bully us like that,” Ben said with authority. “What are you going to do about it?” Max says as he steps towards him. Ben puts his hands up and takes a few steps back. “That’s what I thought. Alright Aaron, let’s take a little walk.” It felt like it was Monday all over again. I’m going to have to go through this again on Friday, too. I need to stop this, because the bullying is getting worse. Max used to only pick on me once a week. Now it seems like he’s going to target me whenever he gets the chance. I can see Ben walking off, and he looks like he feels terrible. But there’s nothing he can do to help me without making things bad for him or my friends. We all walked over to the tree where Max first hit me. Almost all of the snow was melted, so it was really muddy. “You aren’t going to get away with this.” “Oh, I’ve heard that one before. Nobody cares about you, Aaron. I’m the teacher’s pet, I could tell a teacher anything and they would believe me. Unlike you. Do you think that they will believe anything you say?” “They will if you leave a mark on me.” “Right. Well then let’s find out, shall we?” Max says.

Noah is the first person to take a swing at me. It’s a high punch, aimed right at my face. I manage to dodge his punch with ease. I could tell by his technique that he didn’t know how to fight. Something deep down in me was beginning to boil, as I could feel my anger rising. I remembered the dream I had about my brother. This was it, I need to take a stand before this gets out of hand. It was time to finally use what I learned in Tae Kwon Do. Thomas was the next person to attack. He kicked with his right foot, aiming at my stomach. I sweep block his leg with my right hand as I step closer towards him with my left foot. I took advantage of his confusion, and elbow him in the face with my right arm. He dropped like a fly. Noah looked confused, but that didn’t stop him from approaching me. He punched with his left fist, which I thought was interesting and almost caught me off guard. But not quite. One simple block with my left arm was all it took, and I took the opportunity to knee him in the stomach with my right leg. He immediately falls to his knees, his hands gripping his stomach. I think I knocked the breath out of him. Last but not least, Max stood there, looking fierce, but impressed. “Well lackey, I guess you do have a little bit of moxie in you, after all.” Max turns to walk away. I could let him walk away, but I want to make sure he doesn’t bully anybody ever again. I make an effort to kick him in the back, but suddenly I feel the wrath of a back kick from Max. That caught me off guard. I knew his kick was powerful because I could feel the force. But for some reason, it didn’t hurt. I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my blood. I hunch over, pretending to be hurt, and I grunt. Max turns back around to face me.

“Big mistake, lackey. I know Jujitsu.” I could tell that Max was very experienced. He was in much better shape than me, too. I lifted my fists in front of my face with my eyes locked onto Max. “So you really want to do this, huh?” Max says, as he assumes a fighting position. Max teased me by pretending to punch me in the face a few times and gave me looks of disgust. Against my better judgment, I went in for a right hook. He blocked my punch, and kneed me hard in the stomach. It hurt, as I recovered quickly and blocked a barrage of punches a kicks. A couple of punches connected with my jaw, and I fell backwards onto my back. I looked up at him with fear. A fierce punch came straight at my face as I rolled out of the way. The sticky mud made it difficult to move swiftly, but I managed to avoid his punch. That definitely would have knocked me out. I got up slowly, completely covered with mud. Some grass stuck to my clothes and skin. Max wiped his muddy fist on his black sweat pants. “Hey lackey, that’s a nice new look for you! Should I call you mud-boy from now on? Or do you prefer lackey?” I ignored his question and got back into my fighting position. At this point, Thomas and Noah began to stand back up. They were covered completely in mud. “Get out of here, you guys,” Max said to them. “This is my fight. You dorks humiliated yourselves enough today.” Thomas and Noah stared at Max, unsure of what to do. I could tell that they didn’t want to leave, they wanted to stay and fight. “Go. Don’t make me say it again.”

Thomas and Noah walked away slowly. I could tell that Noah was angry. He shot Max a look of disgust just before walking away, and I could hear him grumbling. It was definitely a long and cold walk home for them. I watched for a few seconds as they made their way to the sidewalk. Max then turned to me. “It looks like I have underestimated you. Now, where were we? Oh yes, I was just about to tear you apart.” I was having an adrenaline rush. I could feel sweat begin to bead on my dirty forehead. I needed to protect myself. I felt confident and powerful. Max began to throw a series a punches aimed at my face. He didn’t care anymore about how badly he would hurt me. He could make up a lie to his teacher and weasel his way out, somehow. I avoided and blocked them all, and I can tell that he was getting frustrated. I use his impatience to my advantage, as he exposes a weak spot. My eyes lock onto his stomach. Now is my chance. Without hesitation, I unleash a devastating kick. It connects with Max’s stomach. At first I didn’t think that it did much damage to him, because he grabbed at my shoe and leaned forward, away from my kick. Those fears were dismissed, however, when I saw Max’s facial expression. It was twisted with pain, and he took a step back away from me, clutching his stomach. I looked down at him in disbelief, with my mouth agape. I hear somebody charge up from behind me. I turn around, seeing Noah charging at me in a fierce rampage. He must of been watching from afar, and was able to sneak up behind me. He thew a powerful punch right at my nose. I was not expecting that. That was the last thing I remembered before I passed out.

Chapter 5 - The Puppet Master

As Zack began to wake up, he became conscious of the sound of flowing water. He was laying on something comfortable, but had no blanket. He reached his hands up to his eyes and rubbed them. He paused, realizing that he was in no pain. Surprised, he slowly opened his eyes. He was no longer in a hospital, but in a beautiful place. The last thing that Zack remembered was having a dream about Aaron, and being taken away by a strange person. And now heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s here, feeling as good as new. Zack thought that he was going to die in the hospital. The car crash was terrible, and he hoped that Aaron was okay. Talking to him in his sleep really helped Zack, however, regardless of if it was real or not. Zack sat up slowly and looked around cautiously. He was laying on a couch, and in front of him there was a beautiful water fountain with a sculpture of an archangel at the top. The sculpture was huge, and he was wielding a sword and staring upwards. There was so much detail in his wings and his long hair that he was almost hypnotized by its beauty. He looked around the empty room, and there was a waterfall to the left and right of him. He was in a hotel, the most beautiful one he had ever seen in his life. The marble floor almost glowed in the soft light of this beautiful hotel, and scattered around this room was exotic foliage. Zack could see four floors, supported by marble pillars that connected from the ground floor to the ceiling. He could see many doors of each of the hotel rooms. Each door appeared to be made out of mahogany, which fit perfectly with the soft yellow walls.

The walls of the ground floor lined with the walls of the floors above it, but were white color and lined with vines. Four entries arched on the walls and were lined with gold, leading to other parts of the building. He looked up to see a flat but beautiful ceiling in this perfectly square room. Lights hanging on the pillars on the fourth floor shined on the edges of the ceiling, faintly illuminating it and revealed the beautifully painted designs. This place is ginormous, Zack thought. He stood up and slowly began to walk around, hearing the sound of his polished shoes click against the priceless floor. It wasn’t long before he could feel a presence behind him. He paused mid step, and slowly pivoted around. A man with long, dark hair was staring at Zack with his dark brown eyes. He had a strong jawline and perfectly curved, thick, brown eyebrows. His thin lips twisted into a half grin. This man was handsome. His clothes looked very expensive and dark. There was no doubt that he was rich. “Welcome, Zack,” the man said confidently. He must have saw the fear in Zack’s eyes because he was frozen in place and unable to speak. “Do not be frightened,” he began. “You have been through a lot, and I know that this must be confusing to you. Just trust me.” “Where am I? And why do I feel like I am fully recovered? Is this Heaven?” “No, we are still on Earth. And yes, you feel this way because you are fully recovered. I healed you,” he said and smiled. “As for your first question, you are in my house.” “You healed me?” Zack asked curiously. “So you are a doctor. And this is your house? This is a hotel.”

“No, I’m no doctor. I’m better than a doctor. I’m Wiccan, and I healed you with my powers.” I chuckled, assuming that he was making a joke, but his face remained serious. “I don’t expect you to believe me,” he said in response. “But you will learn that I am telling you the truth.” “Whatever,” Zack said coldly. “And how did I get here?” “I brought you here. I need you for something important.” “Right. And does anybody know that I am here?” “No, but that is not important. What is important is why you are here.” “So you abducted me?” Zack asked with fear. “Let’s not be so quick to accuse. Remember, I healed you. Don’t worry, you’ll soon believe me. And besides, you get to stay here!” He exclaimed as he stretched out his hands. I looked around the magnificent place again. “Okay, fine. And what is your name?” “My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ace Millwood, but you may call me Master V,” He said proudly. “Master V?” Zack asked. “What does the V stand for? Vendetta? Victory?” Master V locked eyes with Zack. “Vengeance,” he replied. “Okay, Master V, you have 10 seconds to explain why I’m here before I’m leaving,” Zack said confidently. “And where will you go?” Master V asked. “Home,” Zack replied as if he asked a dumb question.

“This is home,” he said. “No, this is not my home. I live at Gate–” Zack stopped himself from speaking. This man didn’t know where he lived, and Zack certainly wasn’t stupid. “Gateway, yes, I know. You used to live at Gateway with your twin brother Aaron and your adopted brother and father.” Zack winced. He didn’t feel threatened, but he felt disoriented and lost. If this man wanted to kill him, he would have done so by now. “Like I said, I don’t expect you to believe me. But just know that you’re special, and things are going to change for you.” “Well I don’t trust you,” Zack replied and folded his arms defiantly. “Well, I wouldn’t expect you to trust a stranger. But believe me, I’m no stranger.” “Then who are you?” “I’m your master,” Master V said confidently. “I have no master,” Zack said emotionlessly. “Yeah, well, now you do. There are some things in life that you just have to accept. This is one of those things.” “I’m going to call the police right now,” Zack replied as he reached into his pocket. It wasn’t there. As a matter of fact, Zack was wearing different clothes. They looked fancy. “Now, if you will follow me,” Master V said, beaconing him to follow. Zack bolted in the opposite direction. He ran around the water fountain and made his way through the entry way. Zack continued to run straight to a closed door. He pushed as hard as he could on it, but it didn’t budge.

“Allow me to help you,” Master V said as he approached the door. Zack’s heart was racing. Master V reached his hand into his pocket. He thought he was going to pull out a gun, but was surprised to see a key made of gold. He placed it into the door and twisted his hand to the right. He swung the door open and motioned Zack out the door. “You may leave,” Master V said. “Leave?” Zack asked, surprised. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?” Zack stared out the door. There were many trees in front of him. Zack was confused, he wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted to leave but suddenly felt like he shouldn’t. Part of him felt like he was walking right into Master V’s trap, but Zack took a step back anyway. “I’m not leaving,” Zack said. “Are you sure? Just a second ago you wanted to. It’s your choice,” Master V said. “I’m not leaving,” Zack repeated. “Good,” Master V said, closing the door and not locking it. “Well there is a door here, and three other doors on the other sides of my home. You’re free to leave anytime you want. But I promise you that you won’t want to. Now, if you will follow me.” Zack cautiously follow behind him. They walked around the outer edge of the hotel until they came across a mirror. “Look into this mirror. What do you see?” Master V asked Zack, as he gestured toward it. He looked into the mirror. “I see myself” Zack replied. “Look closer.”

Zack walked closer to the antique mirror. He squinted. For a brief second, he saw himself with blue hair and blue eyes. Then it vanished. “This must be some kind of trick,” Zack replied as he turned to look at Master V. “No not a trick, not at all,” Master V said with a smile. “I told you, you are going to start changing soon.” “How do you know all of this about me?” “It’s a long story,” Master V said. “And who else is here besides you and I?” “Nobody.” “Well, why do you live in a hotel, anyway?” “It’s a long story,” Master V repeated. Zack was very uncomfortable. He knew this man was crazy, and he had to figure out a way to leave safely. He needed to find a phone so he could call the police, but he didn’t know where one was. “You’re a monster,” Zack said with disbelief. “Those are strong words against somebody who saved your life, you know. You should be thanking me. You would have died if I wasn’t there. The doctors couldn’t have saved you.” Zack felt like he was lying, but he wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. Something in his eyes didn’t seem right. There was malice hidden in there somewhere, even though Zack couldn’t see it at the surface. Zack tried his best to calm down. “You said I’m special. What makes you say that?” “You’ll find out soon.”

“I see,” Zack said disappointed. “So what do you need me to do, Master V?” “Right now I shall show you to your room. You need rest. There is a lot to do tomorrow.”

Chapter 6 - Doors

Zack followed Master V to an elevator and they stepped inside. Master V extended his bony finger with black nail polish and pressed the button to the forth floor. “Your room is on the forth floor. I think you will find yourself at home. You will start your first test first thing in the morning, so get a lot of sleep. It has been a long day for you. And same for me, too, now that I think about it.” “Test? What do you mean by test, Master V?” “Right now your job is to pass my tests. They will challenge you in many different ways, and you must find a way to pass the trials.” They exited the elevator and turned left, walking down the hall. They passed the mahogany doors with the beautiful yellow walls. Zack looked to the right over the beautiful balcony made out of black steel. He looked at the water fountain and waterfall as they passed several doors and pillars. “What time is it?” Zack asked. “It’s 9:00 PM,” he says, as they made their way to the end of the hall. “This is your room.” A golden plate was on the door, and the black letters on it spelled Zack’s name. Zack Frost. Zack extended his hand and placed it on the golden doorknob. He opened the door, and his jaw dropped. There was a beautiful bed there, fit for a king. In addition, there is a flatscreen T.V. and video games. Zack never would have imagined it was

possible, but this room is even nicer than his room at Gateway. He stepped inside and walked around. There was also a window, and outside of it there was a balcony. Zack opened the sliding glass door, and stepped onto the balcony. He looked around, puzzled. There was no city like he expected. Just trees. And it was beautiful. He almost felt like he was on a tropical vacation. Zack had no idea how this could be Indiana. Maybe it isn’t. Zack walked back into the beautiful room. There were even some exotic plants in the room. Master V was still standing in the doorway. “So, how do you like your room?” Master V asked with a smile. “It’s incredible,” he said. “Good. Here are your clothes and other items,” he said as he handed Zack a suitcase. “You may watch T.V., but I want you ready to go in the morning. Have a good night.” And with that, Master V closed the door behind him and left. He left as mysteriously as he had arrived. Zack decided to go to the bathroom to get dressed and to brush his teeth. The bathroom was flawless, and it had a waterfall for a shower. Afterwards, Zack went to his bed and laid down. He grabbed the remote that was on the table next to him, and turned the T.V. on. Zack always loved to watch T.V. in bed. He watched Spongebob for an hour, before he got bored and turned it off. He sat the remote down onto the table, and rolled onto one side. He thought about everything that happened to him today. The thoughts bounced around in his head like a pinball. Maybe this was a dream, maybe Zack was in a coma. Maybe this wasn’t real.

Despite his fears, he had a great night’s sleep. His natural instinct when he woke up was to reach for his phone. It was not there. A terrible thought washed over Zack’s head, and he began to feel intense paranoia. He anxiously lifted up his shirt, making sure that nobody put anything inside of his body while he was asleep. There was nothing. Zack had seen Iron Man before, and he didn’t want to end up like Tony Stark, hooked up to a car battery in a cave. Zack sifted through the suitcase that Master V gave him, and found some nice clothes to wear. He laid them out on the bed, and he took shower. It was probably the longest shower that he had ever taken. It was relaxing for him, especially because it was a waterfall. Afterwards, he got dressed. He didn’t know what was going to happen today, or what he was supposed to do. Regardless, he reached his hand on the doorknob and twisted. The door didn’t open. He tried twisting the other way, but that did no good. He attempted to shake the door, but it didn’t budge. Something is wrong with this door. “Master V…?” He said, his voice cracking from the dryness of his throat. He began to bang on the door. Nothing. He waited for about five minutes, and his impatience grew strong. His patience eventually lead to curiosity. Zack walked over to the balcony and opened the glass door. As he stepped onto the balcony, a fresh, beautiful breeze greeted him. he watched a hawk fly off in the distance. The sounds of natural were truly beautiful. Since his room was at the very end of the hall, he was at the edge of the hotel. The forest extended in all directions. Zack scanned the building upwards. He could gargoyles lining the top of the building. Zack began to formulate an idea in his head.

Quick note! Everything bellow this line hasn’t been edited. The rest of Zack’s narrative is written in the first person, along with Aaron’s. Do not be confused when their is an “I” in Zack’s chapter, that means he is talking about himself. When I have time, I will change it to third person and have Aaron be the only character in first person. With that note, enjoy the rest of what I have so far! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ I put my left foot upon the guardrail slowly. My left hand was on the wall, trying to find an indentation to held keep me from falling. Right here should do nicely. My right hand was clenching onto the rail, as I careful brought my right foot on the rail. I was in a squat position. As long as I don’t look down, I should be okay. Without much thought, I leaped from the rail and successfully landed onto the other balcony. Okay, now I better hope that this glass door isn’t locked. Thankfully it wasn’t. The room was plain, just like I thought. But as I walked over to the door, I noticed something that puzzled me. The door is shut. But it wasn’t yesterday night. None of the doors were shut except mine. I reached for the handle and twisted. Nothing. Okay, now I was starting to get worried. Is this some kind of mind games? Maybe. But the only option I had was to play it. What else could I do? I decided to stretch before I explored the other rooms. I wouldn’t want to fall to my death, right on the courtyard of this beautiful place. I tilted my neck and listened to it crack. I love doing that because it’s satisfying for some reason. The second and third rooms’ doors I checked were also locked. I was beginning to wonder if they would all be locked. And what kind of doors can lock from the outside, anyways? At least I wasn’t getting tired. And I was beginning to get more confidence as

I hopped from one balcony to another. I was getting quicker and quicker, but I wasn’t losing focus. That would be a very bad idea. By the time I made it to the last jump, I was annoyed. My palms were starting to sweat, and I was a little tired. I waited a second to catch my breath, before I climbed onto the rail. I took a leap of faith and landed it. Alright, this is the sixth and last door on this side of the building. There is no way it can be locked. I slid open the glass door, and noticed that this door was also shut. If my theory is correct, its going to be locked, too. But where would I go from here? Around the other side of the building? No way. I was hesitant, but I reached for the nob and twisted. It didn’t budge. I was furious, and also a little tired. I sat on the bed, and thought for a while. I tried to organize my thoughts for roughly fifteen minutes. I walked back outside onto the balcony and looked up again. Surely I’m not supposed to climb onto the roof. But maybe I could go down a level, instead. Yes, I should start there. I leaned over the rail, and saw another balcony not too far below. Soon, I found myself straddling the rail. I put my other leg over, too, getting a good footing on the outer lip of the balcony. My hands were holding onto the metallic supports now, and I looked down at the balcony directly underneath me. I fearlessly jumped off, and used me hands to swing forwards slightly so that I would land and the balcony. Luckily I made the jump. Unfortunately however, the fall was painful, and I damaged my ankle. It throbbed with pain, and I got down on one knee. My body was rushing with adrenaline. “Alright, Zack. This door will be unlocked. It has to be.” I opened the sliding glass door and I stumbled over to the shut door.

“Please open…” I said, as I reached my hand to the knob. I slowly twisted my hand as dread filled my body. It didn’t move. I was in disbelief, and began to twist the knob repeatedly with vigor. “No… Now what am I going to do?” I said with disappointment. I looked outside at the balcony as a gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the trees. I walked back out onto the balcony with an idea in my head. A tall tree stood tall next to the corner of the building. It seemed like it beckoned me to climb down it’s sturdy branches. Aaron and I used to climb trees all the time at the orphanage, but never any that were this tall. A thin ledge wrapped around the building to the other side of it. I gathered the courage to climb over the guardrail and cautiously placed one foot onto the ledge. If I fell from here, I would certainly die. But there’s no turning back now. I placed my hands on the stony walls and dug my fingers into the crevices. I used to go rock climbing at a building often with Aaron, but that was with fake rocks and a safety harness. I had nothing to protect me for this. I inched over to the corner of the building, being careful not to trip on my own shoes. My strong fingers supported me well. My heart was racing quickly as thoughts of falling filled my mind. I slowly made it to the corner of the building and wrapped one of my arms around it. I felt safer, but I was still in danger. I turned my head to see the tall tree now next to me, and it danced in the cool breeze. I allowed my right foot to extend onto the tree’s think branch. Luckily the trunk was near for me to quickly be able to grab onto. Without thinking, I reached aimlessly with my right hand as I pushed with my left hand and foot off the building. I panicked as I managed to grab onto the trunk of the tree and got a firm footing on the branch. I looked downwards. The tree is definitely climbable.

I strategically made my way down the tree, taking it one step at a time. My right ankle throbbed with pain as my arms were beginning to get tired. I watched as I made my way passed the second and first floor. I got to a safe height before jumping off onto the soft forest floor. Finally I was free. I thought about running away from this place, but I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t see any cities or roads nearby. I decided to make my way around the building and found the entrance. I entered and found Master V sitting at a table reading a book. “Ahhh, I see that you have made it,” he says without looking up. “Well done. That was your first mission.” “Mission? I could have died, you know.” “Mr. Steele, I do not underestimate you and your abilities. You shouldn’t either. I knew you would survive.” “Well,” I said trying to gather my thoughts. “I would prefer it if you didn’t put my life at risk.” “But where would the fun in that be?” Master V said jokingly. He then put on a serious expression. “But you know that you will never learn and grow without pushing yourself.” “That’s true, but there is such thing as pushing yourself too far.” “Yes I suppose there is,” Master V said as he closed his book. “But I don’t think we will encounter that problem. Now, if I am not mistaken, you look as though you need to be healed.” “Yes I do, that is correct. Now is your chance if you want to cast a healing spell or whatever it is you do. Then maybe if you are lucky, I’ll believe everything you say.”

“Indeed you will believe. And my healing ability isn’t a spell, it is my natural biological power,” Master V said as he extended his right hand. I felt my body pulsing with energy, and I could feel my heart pound. I could feel it cycle blood throughout my whole body. Slowly but surely, I could feel my legs and ankle heal. I felt renewed in my strength. Master V was smiling, as he knew that he had earned my trust and respect. “So, how do you feel?”  “I feel… Great. Thank you, Master V.” “Anytime you need it, I will give you strength.” “Thank you. And Master V, can I have something so I can kill the beasts out there? I want to go explore.” “I thought that you might ask me that,” Master V says, as he withdraws a sword and hands it to me. “Of course, wielding a sword takes time to master. But if you want to learn how to do that today, then I would be more than proud. If you want, turn it into a game. See how many beasts you can kill.” I looked down at it with awe. It was incredible, and I always wanted a sword. “One more question before I leave,” I ask, remembering something important. “Do you by any chance have my phone?” “Indeed I do,” he says as he smiles. “But my apprentice should not have his phone while he is on a mission. I will return it to you in a few days, if I think that you have earned it. Is that understood?” “Yes Master V. I understand.” “Good. Now go slay some beasts.”

Chapter 7 - Better than Houdini

Dr. Riggs was the first person to notice the black smoke that was coming out of room 938. His first instinct was grab a fire extinguisher and cautiously enter the room.

The lights were off, and none of the electronics were on. From what he could tell, there was no fire. He thoroughly scanned the room. The bed was made as if nobody had been staying here. Zack Frost was nowhere to be found. The room was completely empty. Dr. Riggs let out a string of profanities and quickly exited the room and made his way to the front desk. “Do you know where Nurse Bell is?” He asked trying not to sound frustrated. “Yes, I believe she went to the cafeteria. Is everything alright, Dr. Riggs?” The lady asked, sounding concerned. “No, but we are going to figure this out,” He replied before heading to the cafeteria. When he got to the cafeteria, he found the nurse getting some food, and approached her quickly. “Your patient, Zack Frost, is not in his room. Where is he?” Dr. Riggs demanded. Nurse Bell looked at him with a puzzled expression. “I came here to get him his food. What do you mean he isn’t in the room. Where could he have gone?” He could see the surprise in her facial expression. Her eyebrows told the truth. “I went to check on Zack. There was black smoke coming from the room. I thought there was a fire, but there wasn’t one. Nobody was in the room.” Nurse Bell gasped. “But he couldn’t have gone anywhere. He was in critical condition.” “Right,” Dr. Riggs said, with a puzzled expression. “Let’s go check the security cameras.”

“Good idea,” she said, and quickly put the tray down on a table. They arrived at the security room, and entered. Both the security guards were sweating. Dr. Riggs and Nurse Bell looked at one of the monitors, and the screen was white noise. “What happened!?” Dr. Riggs exclaimed. “We don’t know what happened. One of the monitors somehow went out.” “Well, that’s a problem. Because the patient in that room is missing.” Both of the guards looked at them with fear. “We will do everything we can to figure it out. We’ll review all of the tapes. Maybe we can find something outside of the building.” “Do so,” Dr. Riggs said impatiently. “Okay,” one of the guards said as he got to work. “It’s like he disappeared like magic,” Nurse Bell said. “I was only gone for a few minutes.” They both walked back to the front desk to make a phone call to Dr. Frost and Ben Frost, Zack’s adopted family. Dr. Riggs searched the computer, but couldn’t find their numbers. Something was terribly wrong. It’s like their names and numbers weren’t even entered in the system. In addition, the computer didn’t show Zack Frost to ever be checked in at Stonebridge Hospital. This was the most bizarre turn of events. He was going to have another operation that night but now he is gone. Vanished. “Come with me,” Dr. Riggs said to the nurse. They walked back to room 938 and entered. Nurse Bell looked around, and it looked as if she was going to cry. The windows were shut, so he couldn’t have gotten

out. Besides, this was the third story of the hospital. He averted his eyes to the camera in the room. The red light was off, but other than that, it didn’t look like it had been tampered with. This defied all logic and reasoning. He was too injured to sneak out, and even if he tried somebody would see him. He had no reason to, either. “I think it is time we call 911,” Nurse Bell said. Dr. Riggs nodded his head with agreement, but he didn’t know what they could do. Nurse Bell pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and called the police. “Yes hello. My name is Nurse Bell and a patient has vanished from our hospital today. He is not in his room and we haven’t found anything in the security cameras. No, the one in the room is out, so we have no footage. Indeed…” Dr. Riggs’ brain zoned out from the phone conversation. The gears of his mind were working in overdrive. He was trying to process the situation. It hurt him when a patient died, but eventually, it just became part of the job. It was always difficult, but this particular situation was absolutely troubling and disturbing. Nobody was watching him at a time when he most needed it. Dr. Riggs was in denial and felt defeated. But he was not going to give up. “Okay, thank you,” the nurse said as she hung up. “The police are on the way.” “Good. Now let’s try to figure this situation out. We need to contact Zack’s guardians somehow, too.”

Chapter 8 - Paving the Road

I awoke to the sound of beeping. I could hear Ben talking somewhere near, so I assumed that I was back at Gateway. The last thing I remember was being charged by Noah and getting punched in the face. My nose was hurting, and it felt like it was

broken. My arm, chest, and leg hurt too, which was strange because I don't remember getting hit there. I opened my eyes, and it hurt adjusting to the bright light that was shining in my face. I rubbed my eyes. “I think he’s awake,” I hear Ben say to somebody. I hear Ben’s footsteps as he walks over to me. “Hey buddy, are you okay?” “I think so…” I mustered out. “Do you remember what happened?” “Yeah… I do. But how did I get here?” “I carried you back to my car,” Ben said. I almost laughed, thinking that he was joking, but the look on his face told me he was serious. “But I thought you left. I thought I was going to walk back in the cold again.” A guilty expression washed over Ben’s face. I could tell that he felt bad for not standing up for me the first time Max pushed me around this semester. “Aaron, I’m so sorry. I learned from my mistake. I didn’t leave this time. I followed you guys and watched from around the corner to make sure you would be okay. I was ready to step in and fight those guys with you. But you amazed me, Aaron, you fought them all by yourself,” Ben said, looking impressed. “Yeah… I don’t think I ever told you that Zack and I took Tae Kwon Do.” “I don’t recall,” Ben said, rubbing his chin. “Yeah, I kind of keep my fighting abilities a secret.” “But why?” Ben asked curiously.

“Well, it may sound lame. But I just don’t like hurting people. I fight only when I have to.” “That’s very noble of you,” Ben said. “Thanks, but I kind of threw away that nobility when I chose to fight.” “No, no Aaron you didn’t. You fought to protect yourself, not to hurt others. Intention is very important.” “I suppose that’s true,” I say as I turn my head away and close my eyes. “But I still hate it. I wish we could all just get along.” I grimaced as I thought about the fight that I had with the three boys. “So do I, my friend. So do I.” “Oh, before I forget, do you have any idea why my chest, arm, and leg hurts?” I ask, turning my head back toward Ben. A wave of fear and anger flashed in Ben’s eyes. “Well, after that Noah punk knocked you out, he kept hitting you. He punch you in your arm and chest, and he stomped on your leg. I was so angry and I ran over as fast as I could. I didn’t care if he killed me. That guy was running on pure anger. Whatever possessed him to do so, I have no idea.” “Well, that would explain it. But what happened next?” I asked curiously. “Well,” Ben started. “Noah stared at me cold as I dashed toward him. He froze in his place, with his fist about to punch you in the arm again. I thought for sure he was going to kill me. But that’s when… Well, you would be surprised if I told you.” I haven’t been so eager to hear a story in a long time. I’ve never had a dad, but I assume that this was the equivalent to a father telling their son a bedtime story. I was that engaged in the story.

“Well? What happened next?” I ask. Ben shook his head in disbelief. “Max, still sprawled out on the ground and writing in pain, spoke out between breaths. ‘Wait!’ he said to Noah. ‘Let him go.’ Noah and I both eyed Max with shock. ‘What?’ Noah asked. ‘Why?’ Max responded with a groan. Noah grunted. ‘You’re pathetic. Whatever.’ Noah remarked as he stood up and walked over to me. He grabbed me by the collar tightly. ‘And as for you, I don’t want to see you two ever again.’ I felt intimidated. I managed to nod slightly and he released his grip and walk away. I could hear him mutter profanities as he left. That’s when I picked you up and took you to my car.” I was confused, but I believed Ben’s story. Every word of it. It appears that maybe Max isn’t so bad after all. Or maybe he acknowledged that he lost. “Well. I believe it, although it is surprising,” I begin. “And I want to thank you so much for everything that you did for me. I owe you.” “No bro, you don’t owe me anything. Consider it even now, okay bud?” “Okay,” I say with a sincere smile. Ben smiles back. Ben’s father, Dr. Frost, entered the room. He owns Gateway. He has my highest respect. He is the one that told me that I could finally take my cast off after eleven days. And now here I am, injured again. “Hello, Aaron,” Dr. Frost says with a warm smile. “It appears that you may have a broken nose, and I am worried about your arm. was this the arm that recovered from an injury a few weeks ago?” “No,” I say. “That was my left arm.”

“Ahh, okay. I am a little concerned about your leg, too. I think that we should get you an X-ray scheduled.” Dr. Frost put on a serious face and rubbed his 5 O’clock shadow. He adjusted his glasses a little, too. I couldn’t see his eyes because of the glare from the bright light that was hanging above my head. “Any reason why that boy would do that to you, by the way?” He asked with curiosity. “I have no idea,” I disappointed tone. “Well, don’t worry about crazy people out there. They won’t make it far in life unless they change their attitude. Anyway, I am going to have an X-ray scheduled for you tomorrow after school.” “Alright, thank you doctor.” I could see the cords jetting out of my arm, hooking up to an IV. I continued to hear the beeping noise that the EKG made. The last time I was in a hospital was just a few weeks ago when I broke my arm. I hated feeling like something was wrong with me. I was still feeling very tired and drained. “Can I take a nap while I’m here? I’m absolutely exhausted.” “Of course you can. Do you want anything to drink or eat by the way?” Ben asked me. “No thank you.” “Hang in there man,” Ben said. “I’ll try.” It’s not going to take me long to fall asleep. I’ll drift away anytime now. I think to myself as they leave the room. The perpetual beeping sound almost lulled me to sleep

and put me into a trance. My body began to feel lighter and lighter. I took a nice power nap, and I was ready to go back to my room. I opened my eyes slowly, and I felt refreshed. “Hey Ben, I think I’m ready to go back to my room. I still have a ton of homework to do. Can you get these wires out of me, please?” “Okay. As long as my dad thinks it is okay.” “Alright.” A few minutes passed and Mark entered the room. “Alright, I will send you to your room. You will find that your backpack is there next to your bed. “Great,” I say. The last thing I wanted to do was homework, even though I knew I had to do it. I got out of the hospital section of Gateway and went to my room. “Call me if you need anything,” Ben said and smiled. “Will do.” It was difficult focusing on homework but I eventually got it done. It took me a couple hours to complete. Afterwards was bedtime already. I brushed my teeth and looked in the mirror. Again, I was greeted with the slightest hint of blue in my eyes and the lightest touch of blonde in my hair. Nobody noticed. Maybe they will eventually. I got into bed and hoped for a goodnight’s rest. I thought about today and all the fighting that I did. It made my stomach turn. But I found myself mostly thinking about Hope. She seems really cool, and to be honest, she is gorgeous. I guess you could say that I like her. I thought about her until I fell asleep.

Today is an Alpha day so it is going to go by quickly. The only bad thing is I don’t have friends to sit with at lunch today. I thought I saw Hope walking in the hallway, which made me smile. I got most of my homework done in AL, so that took away a lot of my stress. Today I’m just going to relax and think for a while. Maybe I will ask Hope out tomorrow. I know I’ve only known her for such a short amount of time, but I might as well. There isn’t really a point of waiting. Maybe I’ll do just that, but it has been quite a long time since I have asked a girl out. Actually, I never really have now that I think about it. Maybe Ben can give me some advice. “So Ben, I have a question,” I say to him as he is driving me back to Gateway after school. “What’s up, man?” “So I like this girl. Her name is Hope. And I haven’t ever really asked a girl out. Do you have any advice for me?” “Ahh, okay, cool. Well, how long have you known her?” “Only like, since the start of this semester.” “Oh, well then I would slow down if I were you, bro. But if you insist, you should ask her to a restaurant. It doesn’t have to be fancy or anything. If she asks why, then just say that you want to get to know her better.” “Alright, cool. Thanks man.” “No problem, and good luck if you decide to do it. When will you see her?” “Tomorrow at lunch.” “Alright, that’s perfect then. Tell me how it goes.” “I will.”

“Oh, and Aaron?” “Yes Ben?” “Watch out for cooties.” Well laughed about that for a while. By the time we got back to Gateway, I had just remembered about the X-Ray. “Oh, Ben? When do I get my X-Ray?” “Oh, thanks for reminding me,” he says as he checks his phone. “You get your Xray in about an hour. Are you nervous?” “Not really,” I say. I had to get an X-ray when I broke my arm. It really wasn’t a big deal. “Good. The scan will take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. It’s going to be a full body CAT scan.” “I’ve never had a CAT san before. Is it scary?” I ask. “No, it’s not scary. A CAT scan is a computed axial tomography scan. It has three components. A gantry, which is a donut shaped object which is used to scan, a computer, and the operating system.” “Okay Einstein. I know what a CAT scan is. I didn’t ask you to go ‘nerd’ on me, I was just asking if it was scary or not.” “Well you don’t have to be rude, you know.” I looked up at Ben with a perplexed expression. Surely he knew I was joking. “I was just kidding, you know that, right?” “Of course I know that. I just love messing with you,” Ben said as he smiled.

The hour went by quickly and it was time for my X-ray. Dr. Frost asked me a few questions before I laid down. It was really boring, and time seemed slower than usual. Time flies when you are having fun, but when you aren’t, it seems to stretch. I felt like I was lying there for 2 hours when the CAT scan was completed. I checked my phone and only 45 minutes went by. “Okay, Aaron. We have the pictures and everything looks fine. We reviewed all of them and nothing looks abnormal. Your nose isn’t broken and none of your other bones are fractured or damaged. Thank you for your cooperation.” I took the rest of the day to finish up any homework I had left and I watched funny videos until 10:00. I was half wanting to go to school tomorrow and half not wanting to. Tomorrow was an Omega day which meant that I would see Max. I have a feeling that he wasn’t going to bother me, though. I was also worried about asking Hope out to lunch on Saturday. Maybe we could go see a movie, too. Eventually my mind settled and I relaxed. I allowed my body to dissolve into the bed, and eventually my mind did, too. I had a dream that there was a giant snake that would devour me unless I killed him. I was wielding a sword, but I didn’t want to kill him. I looked around, and we were in a colosseum. Nobody else was there, however. I’m dreaming, I realized. Instead of killing him, I dropped the sword and allowed myself to be swallowed, head first. It was really dark inside, but I wasn’t afraid. The internal walls of the snake were pushing me through his body, further and further. It was pulsating and gross. It stunk, too. Eventually I began to see light. I was eventually forced out of the snake, and like a slinky I plopped down onto moist mulch. I

looked behind me, but instead of a snake I saw a small red tunnel. I was now at a playground. It was raining outside, and the clouds were horrifyingly dark. They twisted and distorted and slid together like tectonic plates. I heard a horrible clashing noise and turning toward the road. A blue car collided head on with a semi. I could see a gas leak, too, which was not good at all. I rushed over. A young boy with red hair was sitting in the back seat. I opened the door as quickly as I could to let the boy out. “Mommy? Daddy?” He said as he just sat there confused. I unbuckled his seat belt and picked him up and carried him to a safe location. His parents were dead. The accident was so bad that there was no front end of the car anymore. “Everything is going to be okay.” I said before there was an explosion behind us. I could feel the heat coming from it. I winced with fear. This dream was getting more and more realistic. Our clothes were drenched and the boy looked up at me with curiosity. I could recognize his brown eyes anywhere. “Child…” I said in a quiet voice. “What is your name?” “Max. I am this many,” he said as he held his palm in the air. He wiggled his fingers. Fire years old. “What happened to mommy?” He asked as he tried to look behind me at the accident. I kneeled down and hugged him. Tears streamed down my face. “Everything is going to be okay…” I whispered. A vulture swooped in from the sky and landed near us. I looked up, and there was an old woman standing there holding an umbrella.

“Come here darling. You are going to live with gram gram now. I promise I will take care of you,” she said with a crooked smile. She was lying, and she looked like a disgusting witch. I held onto Max tighter, but somehow he turned and walked through my arms to his grandma. “That’s right my dear. It’s time to go home,” she said as her eyes flashed with hatred. I tried to grab the boy’s yellow shirt, but they vanished in a wisp of smoke. “No!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. The ground ripped open violently and I fell through the fissure. I fell into a small house. I looked up and the ceiling and ground above repaired itself slowly. The crack in the ceiling was laced together with a giant floating needle and thread, sealing it shut. There were pictures on the wall of different people I assumed were their family members. I looked around and didn’t see a T.V. or computer or anything. I noticed the screen door, and I could see the grandma sowing. I went out there and stood next to her as I watch an older but still young Max crash his bike into a tree in the yard. “Max!” I shouted. “Max!” I looked over at the grandma who wasn’t even paying attention. I was furious with her. “Aren’t you going to help him!?” I ask, as she continued to weave the needle in and out of the shirt. There was a sharp sting in my side with every stitch she sewed. She was completely ignoring her grandson, and it was killing me. I darted forward to check on

him, but I couldn’t run very fast. I was loosing control of my actions. I could see that his face was bleeding and he was crying. “Max!” I yelled. I felt like I needed to protect him somehow, but my vision was getting blurry. I was about to wake up from this dream, but I didn’t want to yet. I wanted to take him far away from here and have him live at Gateway with me. They would protect him there. I pressed on, but it felt like I hit an invisible wall. Everything twisted and spiraled into a singularity until I was in a black void. I looked around but I couldn’t see anything. But I could hear something. The faint stirring sound of a spoon against a glass cup. “I’m 15, and I am really suffering. I really hope that I can be happy. Maybe if I keep taking these antidepressants I’ll be okay…” I hear him whisper. I hear a gulping sound, and I realized that he had just taken the antidepressant. I understood Max now. He is afraid and alone, and his grandma doesn’t even care about him. He lost his parents at a young age very tragically and he hasn’t been able to cope with the pain. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the sky and I looked up at it. They were bright field lights. I looked back down and realized I was now standing on the sidelines of a football field. It was a football game for sure, and I watched and heard the pads of the football players clashing together. When the play was completed, I heard the coach yelling furiously. “Evans! Get off the field! You’re done, and you are a huge disappointment! If you ever throw that badly again then you’re off the team!”

I watched as spit flew out of the coach’s mouth. I could only imagine how Max felt when he walked off the field embarrassed. The number on his jersey was 74, and he looked wore out. I could hear all of the dark thoughts that were running through his mind right now. I could also hear the perpetual sound of his heartbeat which was slow and thudding. I could see parts of the skin on his face peel fall off, and a little bit of blood trickled down. Max took off his football helmet and fell down to one knee. He looked down at his hands, which were bleeding, too. The blood was painting the turf red. Suddenly, Max’s body violently bursted, and his blood was flung in all directions. His blood landed on me, and it was cold. Even though I was dreaming, I screamed with horror. All the football players on both teams were staring at me. I looked to my right and even the football coach was staring at me with his jaw dropped. I looked in the bleachers and everybody went silent. My eyes were scanning everybody’s faces. I ran away, deep within the woods, where I was getting scraped and cut by the shrubbery and tree branches. I wanted to be alone and to wake up. As I was running, I was beginning to get out of breath. My arms were flailing like crazy, trying to push everything out of my face. I tripped over a tree root and fell into the cold, muddy ground. I woke up and I burst out crying. Some people have hidden problems in their life that make them who they are. They are treated with hate, so hate is all they know. I should show Max love, whether this dream is accurate or not. Lesson learned. I will take the path of love. I need to do it fast before it’s too late for him. I decided to get out of bed and get on the computer to type what I had just experienced. The brightness of the computer made me wince. I made a new Page's document and called it "My Dreams." I wrote down all that I could remember from that dream and then went back to sleep.

The next morning I was feeling mournful. I didn’t eat much at breakfast, and I didn’t talk very much, either. Ben finally decided to break the silence in the car on the way to school. “Are you okay, dude? You seem really depressed right now.” “I think I’ll be okay. I’m just really dreading today. I had a bad dream about Max last night, and that he is going through a lot of bad things. I guess I kind of feel sorry for him.” Ben and I sat in silence for a moment. “Yeah, I understand what you mean. I’m still surprise that he told Noah to leave you alone. Maybe he isn’t so bad after all.” “Maybe not… But there’s still no telling with him. Maybe I should apologize for hurting him?” I ask. “No. I wouldn’t do that. Just leave the kind alone. I’m sure he won’t bother us anymore. It’s not like the three of us are going to become friends or anything.” “That’s true,” I say. “I’m just afraid about what he might say or do to you and I today.” “Well, whatever happens, happens. Remember that I’m always here for you, okay?” “Okay, thank you. I’m always here for you, too.” A question that I want to ask forms into my mind. I’m almost afraid to ask, however. “And Ben?” “Yes, Aaron?” “Be honest. Do you think Zack is going to make it?” He looked like he was thinking about it for a while.

“Yeah. Honestly I do. He just needs time to recover. If the hospital doesn’t give us an update soon, then we will call them, okay? Try not to worry about it. You and Zack will both live here until you graduate from High School and go to college.” “Okay, thank you Ben. I sure hope that you are right.” “Don’t worry,” Ben says and smirks. “I’m always right.”

Chapter 9 - The Redemption

I went straight to my first block class instead of hanging out with Ben. I tried really hard not to look Max in the eyes when he entered the room. He didn’t bat an eye at me, and he looked sad. I wanted to go over to him and apologize for my actions, but it really wasn’t worth the risk. The teacher was in the room, so it’s not like he could say anything rude to me. He’s the teacher’s pet. I didn’t see him talk at all the whole class.

Eventually lunch came around and I began to get butterflies in my stomach. This is it, I’m going to ask Hope out to lunch. And maybe to the movies if she would like, too. We all got our food and sat at our usual table. “So Hope, I have a question for you,” I said shyly. “Okay, sure,” she says as she smiles. “Do you want to maybe got out to lunch tomorrow?” She giggled a little bit. “Sure, I would love to! Here’s my number.” “Thank you,” I say, surprised. I pulled out my phone and put her number in my phone. I looked at Chris who smiled at me. Good. I was afraid that he also might like her and get jealous. “Oh, what’s your last name by the way?” “Miles. What about you?” “Steele,” I said and smiled. “Cool,” she said as she smiled. “I’ll text you after school today.” That made me feel good inside. I also talked to Chris so that he wouldn’t be left out. He seemed like he was in a good mood today. He talked to us about some of the new video games that he got yesterday. We all had a good 30 minute lunch and laughed together. “Alright, have a good day, guys. And I’ll text you later, Hope,” I said with a smile. “Okay, you have a good day, too,” she said. The rest of the day I was thinking about Hope and how tomorrow’s date was going to be. I was getting really excited. I could barely concentrate on my school work

because of it. Eventually block 7 was over and I darted out of the room to tell Ben about the good news. “Hey man, did you ask her or did you chicken out?” Ben asked me after school. “Nope, I didn’t chicken out,” I said as I playfully punched his arm. “She said yes, and I’ll get more details after I text her.” “Awesome, I’m so happy for you. Also, would you like to go to the library real quick? There is a good that I want to check out.” “Okay, but only because I’m in such a good mood. Make it quick,” I said jokingly. I love to read books and I love libraries. Even school libraries are nice, too. My school’s library in particular is very large and beautiful. Everything is nice and organized. It’s a great place to go for peace and quiet. We search the different isles searching for a book, and we each find one that looks good. We check them out and leave. Ben starts the car and I place my book in the back seat. I can burn through a book in just a few days depending how long it is. I honestly would probably rather read than to watch T.V. I like reading that much, unlike a lot of people. As we were driving home, I noticed something horrifying. There was thick, black smoke wildly coming out of a tall two story house on the side of the road near the school. “Ben!” I shouted. “Do you see that house on the right? It looks like its on fire. Pull over and call 911.” Ben looks over to see the smoke, and pulls over to the side of the road.

“I’m glad that you saw that, hopefully they will be okay,” he said, trying to stay calm. While Ben was distracted, I unbuckled my seat belt and bolted out of the car. I was going to check to make sure everybody was okay. At this point in time I cared more about others than myself. I focused my whole life on me, but today was going to be different. Even if I died but saved lives while doing it, then I am alright with that. But I do not want it to be in vain. By the time the fire trucks get here, it could be too late. I really hope that Ben doesn’t follow me, because I don’t want him to risk his own life to try to save me. I made it to the front door of the house, but the door was locked. I looked through the window, and from it I could see the kitchen, and flames were arching from the stove. I picked up the shovel that was in the yard, and busted the window open with one violent swing. I entered the house, being careful not to cut myself on the glass. The fire alarms in the house were ringing, and my heart and mind were racing. I glanced out of the broken window, too see Ben sprinting toward me. “Are you crazy!? He shouts at me. “Get out of there!” “No, I need to make sure everybody is safe. Don’t come in here, the last thing I want is for you to get hurt.” I say, as I searched the house carefully. I was now standing near the kitchen, and I could feel the heat of the fire on my face. It felt like my eyes were melting. I found a staircase, but it was being blocked by fire that was spreading on the carpet. “Help me!” I hear somebody scream from upstairs. “Please somebody help!” “Don’t worry! Help is on the way!” I shout back.

My mind was processing all of the information. I couldn’t didn’t see a fire extinguisher anywhere. I formulated an idea in my head, and I hoped that it helped. “Ben!” I say to him, as I approach the window. “I have an idea, is there a hose out there?” Ben looks around, and he looks panicked. “Yeah, I see one,” he says as he disappears from view “I’ll go turn it on.” He returns and hands me the nozzle of the hose, and water was flowing out. “I’m coming with you, Aaron.” He says while stepping into the room. “No! I don’t want my best friend to get hurt!” “Neither do I,” he says as he steps his other leg over. We carry the hose into the kitchen, and we aimed it at the carpet. Large amounts of water were flowing out of the hose. The fire eventually went out, which was good. I then aimed the water at the stove, but it made it worse. There wasn’t enough water to put it out, and it was feeding off of the water that it was receiving. “It’s making it worse!” Ben shouts. “Yeah! Come on, let’s go before its too late!” I say as we drop the hose. Ben follows as I make my way up the old, winding steps. We made it to the top and walked to what looked to be a bedroom. There was a balcony that faced the entry way there. I could see flames there, too. This wasn’t good, the fire was spreading rapidly. We quickly entered one of the rooms, and we found Max, sitting on his bed, unsure of what to do. He was trembling with fear. Our eyes met, and a puzzled expression sweeps over his face. “Aaron… Ben…?”

“There isn’t much time,” I say. “Is there anybody else in the house?” “No, it’s just me,” he says. “Okay, let’s get out of here before the house collapses,” Ben says. “How? The fire is spreading quickly,” I say. Ben looks out of Max’s bedroom window. “I don’t see any trees that we can climb down from here. And we are much too high to jump off without injuries.” “I’ll take that risk,” Max says. “But I have an idea. Aaron, could you open my window up as high as you can? Ben, help me to lift my mattress.” I think I can see where this idea is going, but we need to be super lucky for this to work. As Ben and Max carried it over to the window, I grabbed the middle to help out. We had the mattress tilted width side up, so that we would be able to get it to fit through the window. As we approached I doubted that it was going to fit. To our luck, it did fit, and we rested it on the window sill. “Alright, we have to make sure this lands right side up. We only have one shot at this so let’s make it count. We are going to have to push it hard but not too hard.” Max says. I can see why he is on the football team, because he is an excellent leader. We countdown from 3, and then we all push at the same time. It felt like time went slow while we watched the mattress twist in the air, eventually landing on the cold, muddy grass with a satisfying plop. “Alright! Perfect. Now who wants to jump first?” Max asked. Nobody said anything at first.

“I’ll go first,” Ben said. “If I get hurt don’t worry about me. The most important thing is if you guys don’t get hurt.” Ben hesitated before jumping, but he eventually jumped. He landed on it perfectly, and we could all hear the sound of the old spring mattress. “Alright, everything is all good. Just don’t miss the mattress.” “You go on ahead, Aaron. I’ll go after you.” “Are you sure, Max?” “Yes I’m sure. And Aaron, I want you to know that I apologize for everything. You are a real hero and I would be dead without you.” I stared at him with respect until I realized it was time to go. Who knows how stable this house was. It could collapse at any second, burning us to a crisp in a plume of fire. I jumped off, and could feel the acceleration of gravity drag me to the mattress. The mattress cushioned my fall greatly, but it still hurt a little. “Are you okay?” Ben asked. “Yeah, I’m fine.” We waited, staring at the window. We wondered when the firetrucks would arrive, too. Seconds went by and we started to panic. “Is Max coming or not?” “Don’t say that, I’m sure he’s just afraid.” “But I don’t even see him at the window!” Finally we saw Max’s red hair. He peered over the window, and seconds later he jumped. He landed on the mattress, but he bounced off into the mud. “Max, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. We should get away from here. It’s too dangerous.” “What took you so long, Max?” Ben asked. “I was grabbing a picture of my mom.” “Oh.” Ben said in a hushed tone. We all walked away from the house, by Ben’s car, and we watched the house burn down. Parts of it were starting to collapse. It was about 10 more minutes before the firetrucks showed up. The police questioned us and also thanked us for being heroes. “Where are your parents, anyways?” I asked Max. “Probably out partying or something. I don’t like my stepmom and I hardly get to spend time with my dad. It’s like they don’t even know I exist,” Max said and wiped a tear from his eyes. “They are going to kill me when they find out that I left the stove on and burned the house down.” “No, they aren’t.” I say trying to comfort him. “How would you like to live with us at Gateway?” “Really? But what about my parents?” “Dude, you’re 18, you can live where you want. Besides, it doesn’t sound like they really care about you, anyways.” I know that Ben meant well, but what he said made me angry. All that did was probably make Max feel bad, and after having that dream, I feel sorry for him. Even though the dream wasn’t entirely true, the foundations of it was supported. He had a rough life, and he shouldn’t be reminded of it. Max didn’t say anything to Ben’s remark, but he nodded.

“I just hope that the picture of my mom didn’t get muddy. It’s the only picture I have of her, now.” “By the way, did you mean any of the things that you said about Gateway?” Ben asked. Max shook his head. “No man, of course not. I was actually just really jealous of you. I’ve always wanted to go there to be honest.” “Well, now you can.” We stayed around and talked to the officers for a while, and the police called and informed Max’s parents about what had happened. They didn’t answer, though, so they left a message. I felt really good about myself for what I had done. I made a brave move, and it paid off. Max was staring at me. “Is there something wrong?” “No, I’m just confused.” Max said. “What about?” “Your eyes.” “What about them?” “They’re blue.” “Yeah, and you’re hair is blonde,” Ben chimed in. Finally they realized my changed in appearance. Perhaps my eyes have become a brighter blue, and my hair has become more blonde. Whatever the reason, it made me think back to that dream I had about Zack. No. The conversation I had with Zack.

His eyes looked like they were turning red and his hair was looked like it was becoming black. I wondered if Zack was getting those traits, too.

Chapter 10 - Hopefully

“Absolutely not!” Max’s dad exclaims with fury. It was difficult enough to even get his dad to come to Gateway, but now we had to convince him that Max would be living here. Dr. Frost was the one that called his dad’s cell phone, and I could almost hear the profanities that was coming out of the

man’s mouth. Dr. Frost was patient with him, however. His parents probably thought that we were a bunch of snotty rich kids, but that’s not true at all. Max was standing away from his dad, obviously embarrassed. He hung his head low. His dad was livid, but his stepmom was just standing there going with the flow. She almost look like she was intoxicated. Everything was a blur after the house burned down, and now I was standing in the lobby at Gateway, wondering what was going to happen. “He is my son and he is happy living here with us. Isn’t that right Maxie boy?” Max’s dad says as he turns to him. “No, I’m not. You two are never home to spend time with me and you should be ashamed to call yourselves my parents.” His father’s face turned red. I didn’t know whether he was going to scold him in front of everybody or if he was going to remain calm. “Mr. Evans,” Dr. Frost says with authority, “I know all of this might be hard to hear, but we legally have the right to take your child away from you as long as he is willing, and he is. Here at Gateway we specialize in bio-meds and also conduct safe experiments with our guests. We are a home for all in need and we give everybody attention here. Any questions?” “Oh really? And what makes you think you have this kind of power?” “Because we also have a very powerful legal team, Mr. Evans. I will say it again, we are legally allowed to take him under our wing. We are better than any orphanage could ever be. He is 18 after all, he can choose where he lives, regardless.” I looked over to see Max’s stepmom, completely unamused. She just rolled her eyes and folded her arms. My body was still in shock from saving Max, so I didn’t say

very much. I just stood there awkwardly, hoping that this argument would resolve nonviolently. Mr. Evans took a step toward Max, but and Ben and his dad grabbed his arms. “Boy, you are going to be in big trouble for burning our house down. I will make you pay every last penny for it, do you hear me?” He asked, as he struggled to break free of their grip. “See? You don’t even care for your child. He could have died,” Ben says as he shakes his head. “Let’s just go, darling. The kid isn’t worth it, I never liked him anyway,” Mrs. Evans says impatiently. A few police officers entered in through the main doors. “We have a warrant for your arrest, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. We searched your car and you have drugs in there. We had reasonable cause to do that, by the way. You’re coming with us.” Mark and Ben released their grip on Mr. Evans, and one of the police officers handcuffed him. Mrs. Evans was also handcuffed, and she threatened the police officers. The police calmly recited to them the Miranda Rights, putting extra emphasis on how anything they said could and would be used against them. “I hope you are happy,” Mr. Evans said, “I hope I never see you again.” The police quickly escorted them out of the room. I could tell that Max was really sad. No child likes hearing that, even if he hates his parents. We all stood quietly in the room for a while. “Max. Welcome home. We can assure you that you will love living here. Please sign your name here,” Dr. Frost says with care.

Max filled out some forms, and it was time to escort him to his room. I was absolutely exhausted, and I could see the exhaustion in everybody else’s eyes, too. It has been a long day. Everything from asking a pretty girl out to saving an old enemy’s life took a lot out of me. “Follow me. I will show you to your room. Aaron, you can come too,” Ben says as he smiles. “Dude, just wait until you see your room. It has everything.” “Everything?” Max asks. “Everything,” I repeat. We walked down the hall, and I was curious to know which room was going to be his. We approached a room next to mine, and Ben unlocked it. “Max, you get a room next to Aaron. Is that okay?” Max entered the room, and he looked surprised. “Wow. This is more than okay. This is way nicer than the room I used to live in. And, is that a flatscreen? And also is that a Playstation I see?" “Indeed. Make yourself at home. I drive Aaron to school, so I’ll drive you, to. The cafeteria is down that hallway to the right,” Ben says as he points. “Breakfast is served every morning at 6:30. We usually go there around 7:00, so meet us there if you would like.” “Alright, thank you. And are you okay, Aaron? You haven’t said much.” “I’m still in shock from what just happened.” “Yeah, me too. And again, thank you guys so much. I would have died if it weren’t for you. Speaking of that, does anybody know the time?”

I looked at my phone. “Yeah, it’s 5:00. All of that happened in 2 hours. “Okay. I just want to go to bed right now, but I have homework to do…” his voice trailed off. “Wait, no I can’t do homework. My backpack was in my house when it burned down,” Max said anxiously. “Don’t worry dude, I think that teachers will understand this one. It’s a pretty good excuse… And besides, you’re a teacher’s pet. Just relax today and make yourself at home,” Ben said. "Alright, thank you guys. Am I aloud to play the Playstation and watch T.V.?" "Of course. Like I said, make yourself at home," Ben replies. We talked for a little while longer before we all went to our rooms. I finished the homework that I had in under an hour. I really didn't want to spend that much time on it, because I wanted to text Hope to tell her everything that just happened. After I put my books in my backpack, I checked my phone. Hope texted me, saying that I was on the news and that I saved Max Evan's life. After a while of texting, I thought it would be easier just to call her. "Hello?" "Hey Hope. So can we can pick you up tomorrow at noon to go to the movies?" "Of course. I can't wait. And you are a hero, Aaron. I want you to know that," she said in the sweetest voice. "Thank you, that means a lot to me. By the way, where would you like to eat afterwards?" "It doesn't matter to me. I think that there is a Red Robin near the movie theater."

"I love Red Robin! That would be great." "Alright, perfect. I will see you tomorrow." "Okay, and you have my address?" "Yes, I saw your text." "Alright, good, I'll see you tomorrow. Take it easy tonight, you've had a rough day." "Thanks Hope. You have a good day, too." It was only 6:30 when I hung up the phone, but I crawled into bed. I needed sleep for tomorrow's big date, and I was absolutely exhausted. I watched T.V. until I fell asleep. I woke up at about 5:00 in the morning, feeling completely rejuvenated. I couldn't remember any of the dreams I had, even though I slept heavily. I decided to play some old but fun video games for a while until it was time for breakfast. I met Ben and Max in the cafeteria eating breakfast. "It took you long enough, sleepy head," Max said, playfully. "Oh, I've been up since 5:00. I just got lost in the game I was playing." "Cool. I was playing games a lot last night." "Really? With how tired you were I would have thought you would go straight to sleep." "Me too, but you should never underestimate the power of gaming," Max said. We all laughed at his joke. "Well, I'm going to get food. I'll be right back," I said. I got some biscuits and gravy along with chocolate milk. Biscuits and gravy isn't my favorite, but it's okay. I sat down with my friends and enjoyed eating.

"So are you still going on that date today?" Ben asked curiously. "What date?" Max asked confused. "I'm going on a date with Hope." "Oh, Hope. I don't know her, but I've heard you talking about her. Well, have fun, man." "Thank you." "It still blows my mind that your eyes are bluish, now." Max states. "And that your hair is turning blonde," Ben added. "Yeah, same here." "It must be some rare genetic mutation. Maybe even one of a kind. Some people are born with blonde hair but it turns brown overtime, but I've never seen or heard of somebody born with gray hair that turns brown. Or somebody's eye color changing suddenly. We'll have to research and get some DNA samples of you, if you don't mind." "Don't worry, I don't mind. I'm just as curious as you are." "I highly doubt that," Ben says and smiles. I love the weekends and having the freedom to do whatever I want. I spend most of my free time on watching YouTube videos and playing video games. I also often listen to music and take walks. Sometimes I would hang out with other people here, and play cards or board games. I didn't know what I was going to do today before my date, though. "So what are we going to do before my date?" I ask. "Whatever you guys want to do. It doesn't matter to me," Ben replies.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to go back to sleep," Max says. "I'm still really tired and I usually sleep in on the weekends. Have fun, and tell me how your date goes, Aaron." "Okay, will do." "Aaron, if I could get a DNA sample of you, that would be great. All we have to do is pluck out a hair." "Okay, that's fine. I have time to burn." Ben and I walked to the medical area where they do different medical testing and diagnostics. Ben took a cotton swab and swabbed out a little bit of skin cells from my mouth. I had no idea that was how they took DNA samples, until now. "Okay, thank you, Aaron. I'll let you know if I find anything interesting in your genetic make-up." Dr. Frost entered the room. "Hey dad, did you notice that Aaron's eyes are bluish and his hair is blondish?" Dr. Frost studied my face for a minute. He stared into my eyes and examined my hair. "Hmmm. That is very peculiar. I am interested in this phenomenon. Did you get a DNA sample?" "Yes, I have one right here," Ben holds up the strand of my hair in a plastic bag. "Good, I will take a look at this right away." I went back to my room to play video games and watch a compilation of prank videos on YouTube. I laughed and occasionally called Ben in to show him some of the videos. I also got on FaceBook and sent Max Evans a friend request. I also took the

time to see if Hope had a FaceBook. She does, so I also added her. I don't know Christian's last name, so next time I see him I will ask. Finally it was time to get ready for the date. I wanted to get there on time, so I slicked my hair back and put on some nice clothes. I wonder what she is going to think about my eyes and hair, I thought. Ben entered my room and asked if I was ready. I nodded, but I was starting to get nervous. I knew I was going to have fun, though. I grabbed my wallet with $200 in it, which was more than enough to cover everything. "Are you nervous?" Ben asked as I got into the car. "Of course," I said honestly. "Don't worry, you'll be fine." We found her house in a nice neighborhood. Her house is a very pretty Victorian style home. I took a deep breath before I knocked on the door. Wait, I forgot to get flowers! I panicked. I reminded myself that everything was going to be okay. She opened the door. She looked beautiful, and she smiled revealing her bright, white teeth. "Hey, Aaron. You look really nice." "Thanks Hope, you do too." "You look a little different for some reason by the way. But in a good way." "Oh, it's my eyes and hair. For some reason they are losing their gray." "Interesting. Do you know why?" "Nope. I have no idea," I said. We walked back over to Ben's car, and I opened the door politely for her. It didn't take long to get to the movie theater, and we all made small talk in the meantime. We

decided on a comedy movie, which apparently is both of our favorite type of movie. We arrived, and I opened the door for her. "After you," I said politely. We decided not to get any popcorn to save our appetite. Besides, we both hate the sound of people chewing popcorn at the movies. It's distracting and annoying. Luckily, there wasn't hardly anybody in the movies, which was a plus. Zack and I used to make shadow puppets when we were only people in the theater. I sure did miss him and hoped he was doing okay. After a few laughs at some of the jokes, I became brave snd decided to put my arm around her. She smiled at me which made me happy. After the movie it was time to go to Red Robin. I was hungry, and I was probably going to order a hamburger and fries. It is my favorite thing to get there. Ben dropped us off at Red Robin. "Alright, you guys have fun. I'm going to go shopping. Just call or text me when you are done so that I can come get you." "Alright, no problem. Have fun shopping." Luckily we didn't have to wait, despite it being pretty crowded. We were seated and looked over our menus. Eventually our waitress came over to introduce herself. "Hi, welcome to Red Robbin, my name is Jenny. Can I get you started with some drinks?" "Sure, may I have lemonade, please? Thank you," Hope said politely. I have heard that the best way to judge somebody's character is to see how they treat the waitress. I could tell that Hope is well mannered. "I'll take some chocolate milk, please and thank you."

"Alright, do you need some time to look over the menu or do you know what you want?" "We need some time to look over the menu," I said. The meal was delicious. I had ordered a hamburger with fries and we also had some nice, greasy onion rings as an appetizer. Hope ordered a chicken wrap with fries, and I learned a lot about Hope. She has a younger brother and older sister, and also a German Shepard. I told her about Gateway Research Facility and why I lived there and different details about my life. We also talked about how I saved Max's life and how everybody would probably be talking about it at school. It makes me feel strange to be praised, because I would rather be humble about things. Humility goes a long way. I paid the bill and gave our waitress a generous tip. We didn't get desert because we were full. I called Ben to let him know that we were ready. Eventually Ben came to pick us up, and I opened the door for her again. We drove her home and I walked her up to her door. "I had a really great time with you, Aaron. Thank you. We should definitely do it again sometime." "I had a great time with you, too. I'll text you tomorrow. "Okay," she said and smiled. I gave her a big hug and waved goodbye to her. I haven't been on many dates before, so I hope that things go well. She is definitely a really nice girl, and I would like to get to know her more. "So, how did it go, Aaron?" Ben asked me when I got in the backseat.

"It was great, thank you. I need to start going on more dates with her." "Yeah, you should. And you know, if I charged you for driving around everywhere I would be rich by now." "Yeah, you probably would be. I'm just glad you are nice," I said thankfully. "No problem. I'll call and check on Zack when we get back to Gateway to see how he is doing. Maybe we can visit him soon." "Yeah, same here. And thank you." I relaxed in my room when we got back, and I was just thinking about Hope. Luckily there wasn't any awkward silences or anything. I also thought about my brother. I felt guilty for not spending more energy thinking about him, but a lot of things have been consuming my mind. I jumped when I heard a knocking on my door, and Ben opened it. "Aaron, I tried calling the hospital 3 times and every time I have tried it has said that the number has been disconnected," Ben said in a panicked voice. "What? Are you sure that you are calling the right number?" "Yes, I am positive. Something doesn't feel right at all. I'm worried, now." I could feel my heartbeat in my chest, and different thoughts were going through my mind. Ben is right, something is very wrong. We need to go to this hospital, wherever that is. I don't care if it is hour away, or even if it was ten hours away. "I am worried too, Ben. I think it is time to drive down there. We have time." "Okay, I agree," Ben said for a while. "I'll go get the address. The hospital is about an hour away. Let's go tell Max and my dad what's going on, and then we will leave."

The drive to the hospital felt like it took an eternity, and I got very anxious. I didn't put my headphones on and listen to music, because I spent the whole ride there wondering what had happened. We finally made it to Stonebridge Hospital, and there were a lot of police outside. "Ben, what is going on?" I asked anxiously. "I have no idea, but I don't like the look of this." A feeling of unimaginable dread washed over me. Suddenly I remembered that dream that I had of Zack. It felt so surreal that this couldn’t be a coincidence. Little details came back to me from our conversation before somebody took him away. Somebody took him away. My mind was drawn to that sentence. Something took… Oh no. That’s impossible! It can’t be! I stared completely dumbfounded at the hospital. My brother is gone. My brother is gone. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking those words. I mouthed those words in disbelief.

Chapter 11 - Cryo

I had mastered the art of the sword in only a few days. I was killing all kinds of beasts of the jungle: Leopards, cougars, panthers, etc. I could tell that Master V was very proud of me. I was getting even more muscular, too, because it isn't easy to slash a sword and carry it around all day. I was a survivor, and even better, I was the king of the jungle. No animal could stop me, despite how dangerous they were. It was difficult at

first, and I did get some claw marks, but Master V healed me. He is good at that, and I wonder what else he could do. Maybe he is right, I thought. Maybe I really am dark after all. "Come here, my apprentice, I want to put your powers to the test," Master V exclaimed, as he walked outside. I walked toward him with my bloody sword in my hands. I put it back in its case. I cannot believe I have already mastered this beautiful sword. "In what way?" I asked curiously. "I'll show you," Master V replied, wearing a grin. "You did a great job mastering the art of the sword, but just remember that a sword isn't the true weapon. It is the person behind it that is the weapon. Use it wisely." "Master V, I have been thinking. I don’t want to stay here. I mean, you have a cool place and everything, but I want to go home with my brother…” as soon as I mustered those words out, Master V extended his left hand. I instantly fell to my knees in pain. My whole body was aching. "Now now, this is home. We are going to make this world a better place, Zack. We had an agreement. All you have to do is do as I ask. Remember?" I looked up at Master V in confusion. "Yes Master V, I understand," I said quietly. My body relaxed and the pain stopped as he let his hand fall down to his side. "Good. I knew you would be complaint. Not only do I have the power to heal, but I also have the power to inflict pain. Now if you will, follow me. But first, I'll hold onto your sword."

I handed him my sword, then followed Master V cautiously, because I still didn't fully trust him. Especially after what just happened. He took me to a room with large, fancy doors on the main floor that I had never seen before. It was a very large room, but the ceiling was low and it was dark. The only light that illuminated the room came from a large, deep swimming pool in the middle of the room. The light at the bottom of the pool made the water sparkle. The strange thing I noticed was the water didn't even fill the pool completely. The first 5 feet of the pool was just air, revealing the shiny reflective metal. There were no ladders or anything that I could see, so if somebody jumped in it it looked impossible to get out. I had no idea how deep the pool was, but it definitely looked deeper than 15 feet. Four large gray gargoyles with blue eyes sat on each corner of the rectangular pool. "Now," Master V started, "Survive!" With that, he pushed me into the pool. I accelerated into the abyss, with my arms flailing wildly. I hit the water quickly, and the water was frigid. I have never felt anything so cold in my life, and my body was shaking violently. I swam up to the top, gasping for air. The cold temperature of the water stunned my body. "Master V!" I yelled to no avail. I heard the large doors close behind him. I was on my own, now. I could barely even doggy paddle. I swam as quickly as I could to the side of the pool, and my untrimmed fingernails were clawing at the metallic surface. I was desperate, and I was surprised that the water wasn't completely frozen. I had to do something quickly or I was going to die or get hypothermia.

Instinct took over my body, and I thought about ice. I thought about everything from its molecular structure to large glaciers. The water around me froze instantly, and I could see ice crystals forming under the surface. I was still cold, but for some reason I wasn't in pain. My body was no longer shaking or in shock or anything. Eventually I was just incased in a circle of water with thick ice around me. I grabbed on and pulled my body on top of it. Cold water dripped from my hair on the ice. I coughed violent. I must have swallowed some water. I gathered all of the energy I could muster and stood up on the ice. Did I do that? I thought to myself. No way. Impossible. I grabbed onto the edge of the pool, and pulled myself up to the marble floor. I laid there for a few minutes, trying to calm down as my body was filled with adrenaline. I stood up on the marble floor, and attempted to open the door. Of course, it was locked. "Dude, I passed your little test, now let me out!" I shouted. I was furious and I was tired of these games. I thought I could get used to Master V, but I now I don't think that is possible. I didn't want him to treat me like a pawn on a chessboard. I thought about what just happened. I closed my eyes and concentrated on ice. I placed my hands on the large doors and visualized ice crystals coming from my hands and freezing the door solid. My hands began to feel very cold, and I continued to concentrate. It worked, a the doors in front of me froze slowly. The wood in the doors began to expand and crack, making it unstable. I threw my shoulder into the doors and they broke, leaving splinters in my arms. Master V was standing there, with his arms folded across his chest. "Very well done, Zack, I am pleased with you. Just don't ever call me 'dude' again. That's disrespectful."

"Save it," I snarled. "I could have died." "But you didn't. I knew you wouldn't. Besides, if you did, you wouldn't be a use to me, anyways," Master V said slyly. "You are a cold man," I whispered. "Look who's talking. Besides, you should be thanking me. I have awakened your inner power. Cryokinesis, the ability to control ice. If you keep practicing, you'll be able to master that, as well." "Just get these splinters out of my arm," I said annoyed. "Fine. But only because I'm a nice guy." Master V extended his hand toward me and the giant splinters popped out of me. The pain went away. "Thank you. But please tell me when you are going to do something like that again." "Why should I? You need to be able to overcome obstacles by yourself. By the way, I think I am going to hold onto your sword until you show some respect." He held it in his hands. I was so angry that I almost decided to rip it out of his grip and kill him right then and there. But I don't know what else this man is capable of, and it isn't worth the risk of being put in that cell again. Or worse. I need to calm down and control myself. I thought about it a little bit, and I must admit that it was awesome that I was able to freeze the water and the doors. I wondered what else I could do. "Whatever. What else can my powers do?" I asked cautiously. I didn't want to do anymore dangerous tests, but I was curious. "I will show you, Zack. But be warned that I have more dangerous tests for you." "Look, I am a human being and you shouldn't treat me like this."

"I'm sorry, Zack. But you belong to me, now. I can do whatever I want with you, because I am stronger and more powerful than you." "But yet you need me," I said, with my anger rising. "Did I say that? I desire your power. But believe me, I don't need you." I couldn't tell if he was lying or not. I didn't understand what he wanted or why I was here, except for the fact that I had some sort of supernatural powers, and that he did too. I wanted to master the art of the sword, and I did. I did not however want or expect to be pushed into a deathtrap. I could have died within a few minutes. "Here is what I want you to do. Go back out in the jungle and survive." What he said relieved me, and I almost cracked a smile. I didn't want to show that I was more than happy to do that. I didn't even know what time it was, but it was probably sometime in the late afternoon. I was out in the jungle for hours until he pulled me back inside. I found different fruits that I could eat and different vegetables. They were delicious. "Okay, give me back my sword then," I said as I reached for it. "No," he said as he jerked it away from my reach. "I told you I would give it back to you after you showed some respect." I looked at him confused. What was he expecting from me this time? Was I supposed to just go out into the jungle and die? I had no way to defend myself. "Are you asking, me to die?" "No, I'm asking you to survive." "And how do you expect me to do that?" "Use your powers. You are going to master the art of cryokinesis."

Chapter 12 - Africa

My internal clock was telling me that I had been in the forest for about half an hour without a sword. I hadn't encountered any dangerous beasts yet, which I was thankful for. I have no idea how to use my powers yet, so naturally I was afraid. I jumped at every noise that I heard. I could see orangutans swinging from branch to branch, and it was putting me in a trance. There is no way I am in Indiana. But where

could I be? I couldn't be anywhere far away in such a short amount of time. Or could I be? I was starting to get hungry, so I picked some berries in a shrub and ate them. They tasted sweet, and I hoped that they weren't poisonous, because I didn't want to die. Especially not like that. I am a fighter and I will fight until death. I decided that I wasn't going to go deep within the forest, because that is where a lot of the animals were. I would be fearless with my trusty sword, and I would be the king of the jungle. But I didn't have it, so I had to be extra cautious. I explored the outskirts of the forest, trying to find something interesting. I wandered pretty far away from Master V's house, and I could barely see it. I wondered if I could create a sword out of anything, but I decided that would be too difficult. Eventually I came across a river, and I decided to play in it. I didn't care if I got muddy. I was bored and I needed something to do. I stepped on some large stones, being careful not to fall into the rushing water. I tried to keep my balance, but eventually I fell in. I laughed, and shrugged the water off. I could tell that it was pretty cold, but it didn't bother me. I could feel fish brushing up against my arms and legs, and I wondered if I could catch them. I looked at the muddy water, and I couldn't see any of the fish. I frowned. What did I have to do in order to get my sword back? Apologize? I hate apologizing, even if I'm not sincere about it. It makes me feel weak. He expected me to survive, but what else? He wanted me to practice using my new power. I didn't even really know how to use it or what it was good for.

Suddenly, I heard a noise in front of me. I looked up quickly, and saw a brown bear playing in the river in front of me. He borrowed his mouth into the river, and when his head popped back out, he was holding a large fish with his teeth. Such a large and powerful animal can be so gentle sometimes, but I wasn't going to take that risk. I decided that I was going to kill it, but how? I extended my hands against the current of the water and tried to create ice. I saw ice crystals beginning to form as I made the water around me colder. The water was moving too fast for it to solidify, so I had to think of something else. The bear saw me, and it stared into my eyes. I didn't know how to survive one on one with a bear, or how to effectively escape from one. I know that for their size, they are very fast. If I was in its territory, I knew that I was in trouble. I made my way to the edge of the wide river and got out of it slowly. The bear was still watching me, and it roared at me. I could see three cubs on the other side of the river, snuggled tightly together near their mother. This isn't good at all. The grizzly bear got out of the river onto the grassy ground. It faced me, and got uncomfortably close to me. It stood on its 2 hind legs, towering above me. I closed my eyes and I desperately tried to create a ball of ice into my hands. I focused and tried to make it dense but large. I felt something slippery and cold in my hands, and opened my eyes to see a ball of ice. It had imperfections in it, but it should do. I threw it at the bear's face, and it made contact. Some of it broke off, but I could tell that it did damage. Stunned, the bear fell over on its back. Surprised, I looked at my hands. They ached, and began to blister. I put a lot of strain on my body to create the

ice ball, but I assumed that my body would get used to it. What I did wasn't exactly natural, but supernatural. I walked over to the bear cautiously but swiftly. I didn't want it to get back up, because then I would be vulnerable. I used this time to create some sort of sharp ice dagger. It didn't look like a dagger, but it would do for now. It was sharp and dense enough to do damage if not kill the bear. I impaled the bear in the neck, searching for its juggler vein. The bear cried out in pain, and closed its eyes. It was dead, and I left the bloody ice dagger impaled in its neck. I looked at my hands, and they stung and throbbed with pain. I had blood on my hands, but it wasn't from the bear. My hands were bleeding, and I was afraid of my own power. If I wanted to survive in this forest, I would have to use my powers cautiously and with care, if at all. I couldn't even wash my hands in the river, because it was too dirty. I decided to go back to Master V's house, and was trying to formulate apologies in my mind. He is the one who should be apologizing. He can't just kidnap me and do whatever he wants. I arrived back at his house, and saw Master V sitting on the large porch outside. He was wearing some cool glasses that I would call "hater shades" and he appeared to be drinking coffee. I walked up the steps and approached him. "Zack, that was quite impressive," Master V said. "I saw everything. I was not expecting you to kill a grizzly bear." "I wasn't expecting to, either. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like killing things, but I wanted to see if I could,â&#x20AC;? I swallowed saliva and paused. "And Master V, I apologize for my disrespect." "Apology accepted. Now, I see that you have a little problem, there."

I looked down at my hands, and they were still bleeding and stinging. Some of the blood dripped off the back of my hand onto the porch. My hands were completely white, deprived of all color. I wondered if they would go numb. "Here you go, but only because you apologized to me," he said. Master V did his ritual, by extending his hand toward me. I watched as the blood on my hands hardened and turned black. I felt my blood pulse through my fingers and hands, eventually giving my hands back their color. "Again, thank you. I still have no idea how you did that." "You are really going to be surprised when I tell you this. Do you have any idea where you are?" This question has been bothering me since the beginning of this strange ordeal. I couldn't possibly be in Indiana, but I don't know any states near that has such a large temperate forest. "Indiana?" I asked in an unsure tone. Master V laughed, and he pushed some of the thick, black hair out of his face. He took off his glasses and placed them folded up on the table. "You're in Africa," he said seriously, as he looked me straight into the eyes. "The Democratic Republic of the Congo to be exact. In a secret, hidden part of this forest, isolated away from the ancient people that live here." I could tell that Master V wasn't lying, and this struck my curiosity. He has shown me things that are impossible, and this is another one of them. "How is that possible? To travel halfway around the Earth in such a short amount of time?"

"It wasn't easy. First I had to know your exact location: Stonebridge Hospital, in Bloomington, Indiana. I also needed to find a safe place where I wouldn't get caught. Then, I had to prepare a teleportation ritual which took a couple of days. I had to meditate for hours on the place that I was going to teleport to, and also had to plan a way back here. I only had a limited amount of time in that hospital before I would be forced to come back here. I'm lucky things worked the way they did. That's teleportation in a nutshell." "Wow, I didn't even know that was possible," I said. "Anything is possible with magic," Master V said and grinned. "You are the craziest dude I have ever met, but in a good way," I said, forgetting that he told me not to kill him that. "I told you not to call me 'dude' again!" He shouted with anger. He pounded his fist into the glass table and it cracked. "Hmph. You almost caused me to break me glasses," he said as he put them back on. I didn't know what to think. I knew not to call him any strange slang word again, though. I really didn't want to push this guy, or else he will put me in that cell again and never let me out. And I believed him. "My apologies. I forgot. Do you mind if I call you Venom, though?" Master V raised his thick, black eyebrow and took a drink of coffee. "Sure, that's fine. As long as you know that I am your master. And I accept your apology by the way. Now go in there and wash the blood off of your hands. I'm going to make you a feast. You must be hungry. Would you like a steak again?"

"Yes, Venom. I would appreciate that very much," I said as my belly instinctively growled. Yesterday's meal was delicious. I had some fine quality lasagna, and we ate in Venom's royal dining room. I was ready to eat again, and I could feel my mouth watering. We walked inside, and I washed my hands in the fancy, large bathroom. Then Venom and I walked to his large royal dining room next to one of the waterfalls. The room was very large and tall, and the table could fit at least 20 people. I don't know why he needs such a large table, but whatever. It looks nice. Three chandeliers hung over the table, illuminating the room, and there were windows on one side, revealing the thick forest. The red curtains had some kind of ancient design on it, which looked good with the vast, gold room. "I'll be back in a second, Zack. I'll go make the food." And with that, Venom walked off to the kitchen, wherever that was. This place is so large that it will take me a while to get used to it. Sometimes I even get lost to my room. I sat near the end of the table, next to Venom's chair. His chair is red and lined with gold, which looked like a typical king's chair. I examined the bowl of fancy, rare fruit in the center of the table, and I was tempted to eat some of it. I looked at the fancy silverware, and the black napkins were folded into triangular shapes. I felt like I was in a five star restaurant. I absorbed the atmosphere, paying attention to all the details. Even the ceiling was flawless. I looked at the stone wall behind Venom's chair, and looked at the beautiful fireplace. There was a picture above it that I hadn't paid much attention to, until now. It looked like Venom wearing a fancy suit and a beautiful woman with black hair

stood next to him, wearing a white wedding dress. Must be his wife, or ex wife that is. Or maybe she died. "Dinner is served, I cooked my finest filet for you. 11 ounces, seasoned to perfection, with a side of fries with ketchup. Your drink is the finest lemonade in the world. Enjoy!" He said, as he sat the beautiful plate in front of me. Venom pulled out his chair, and sat down, with his food. He was an excellent cook. We ate and talked for a while, taking our time. "Thank you for this wonderful meal, Venom. And how did you get the name 'Venom' anyway?" â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re most certainly welcome. And I will answer that question in the near future." "What about the girl in the picture behind you? Who is she?" A look of pain crossed his face, and I could tell that he didn't want to talk about that at all. "That was my wife, Samantha. She died years ago. I don't like talking about it or the details. But I know that she is always with me." "Oh, I am very sorry to hear that," I said, having a loss for words. Venom just shook his head slowly. "Let's just talk about your powers right now, shall we? How did it feel when you used your powers?" "It felt good, and it came natural to me I guess. Almost like an instinct took over me, and I kind of just forced the ice out of my palms. But I'm kind of afraid of my powers, because it hurt my hands."

"Well, once your body gets used to it, it will no longer hurt. You will grow stronger and you will have more control over your powers. You have even more powers in you that are yet to be awaken. Let's take baby steps until you are ready. We have all the time in the world.” “Right. And may I have my phone back please?” I asked in the most polite voice I could muster. “Patience, Zack. You still have a lot to prove to me before I can trust you with it. In the meantime, you still have the TV you can watch in your room.” “Fine. But when will I be able to get my sword back?” "You'll get your sword back after you train more with cryokinesis. I want you to be well-balanced." We finished our conversation and our food, and it was getting late. We decided to go to our bedrooms. I took the elevator up, and walked to the end of the hallway to my room. I got ready for bed, and looked at myself in the mirror. My irises were almost completely red, and my hair was almost completely black. I didn’t like the new me. It felt good to curl up in my bed, especially after a long and stressful day. I had a lot to think about, and a lot to do. I had mixed opinions about Venom. Part of me thought highly of him and another part of me despised him. I didn't have any dreams that night. Sleep was just a dark, empty void.

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Chapter 13 - The Fire Within

Ben found an empty parking spot at the hospital and parked his car. We got out of the car and rushed to the front door to see what was going on. Police were in front of the doors, and some of the officers were trying to close off the area. “What’s going on, officer?” Ben asks, concerned. “We don’t know. We were called down here because a patient at the hospital went missing.” “A patient?” I asked and gulped. There shouldn’t be anything to worry about. What are the odds that it was Zack that went missing?

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“Yes. I am not allowed to give the name of the patient at this time. I hope that you understand.” “We understand. But we are really concerned because we tried calling the hospital many times but nobody answered. Aaron’s brother was in critical condition and we have been wanting to see him and to make sure everything was okay,” Ben said as he gestured towards me. “We decided to come here immediately when I heard that the phone number was disconnected.” The police officer stood there, rubbing his beard for a few seconds. I could tell that he was thinking hard. He adjusted his glasses. “Well,” he began. “My name is Officer Ray. And yes, apparently the phones have not been working here. We are not sure why, but we are investigating.” “Could you maybe get a doctor out here, please?” I ask politely. “For what reason?” Officer Ray asks. I thought of words to say, trying to find a way to check on my brother. I needed to know or else there was no way that I was going to sleep tonight, despite of having a great date. Luckily today was a Saturday, so I didn’t have to get up early tomorrow morning. “I just want to ask them a question. Any doctor will do. I just want to make sure my brother is okay.” Officer Ray thought about it for a while, examining my facial expression. “Okay, wait here,” he said. He turned and walked through the sliding glass door. Minutes later, he came back with a tall, young doctor with short blonde hair. The doctor respectively held out his hand to me.

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“My name is Dr. Riggs. What can I do for you fine gentlemen?” He asked as he shook both of our hands. “I’m just here to check on my brother,” I began. “We tried calling but nobody answered. It took a little over an hour to get here. Maybe you know my brother, and can tell me if he is doing okay. His name is Zack. Zack Frost.” I didn’t like the look on his face. Officer Ray and Dr. Riggs exchanged glances. “We aren’t legally allowed to tell you this, but…” Officer Ray started, giving Dr. Riggs permission to finish the sentence. “Zack Frost is the one who went missing,” Dr. Riggs said in a quiet tone. My face went pale, and I could feel Ben place his arm around me, giving me a hug. I stared at Ben, and he was wearing a grim frown. It was very unnerving, because I rarely see Ben frown. He usually always smiles. “I am sorry, boys. We are doing everything we can to find him. Something is wrong with our phones here, so we haven’t been able to receive any calls. We had to use our cell phones. And I have been trying to contact you guys, but for some reason your numbers were no longer in the computer.” “How is that even possible?” Ben asked confused. “I do not know. In all of my years of being a doctor this is the first time I have ever seen or heard of this happening. We have no video footage of what could have happened, either. The cameras were disabled.” Dr. Riggs says. “Sounds like somebody broke in and took him. But why?” I asked. Images of the figure opening the door and snatching Zack away filled my mind again. I tried my best to remain calm.

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“Again, we don’t have any of the–” “How long has he been missing?” Ben interrupts. “Uhh… He has been gone for a few days now. I believe it has been since Wednesday.” Dr. Riggs says hesitantly. I was shocked, because I hadn’t heard or seen any reports of a missing patient from a hospital on T.V. “Why haven’t we seen this on the news or anything?” I asked. “Well, it has been on the news, but no names have been given out. It’s a for confidential reasons, especially because he is a minor.” Officer Rays answers. I didn’t watch news that often, anyways. I never saw a point to it, until now. “Boys, let me get your cell phone numbers or a way to contact you guys.” Dr. Riggs says. “Okay, you can have both of our cell phone numbers and also the number to Gateway.” Ben replies. “Alright, that will do,” Dr. Riggs pulls out his phone to put our numbers in, “You will be the first to know if we find anything. And feel free to call me any time. I’m always available.” We gave him our numbers and thanked him for his time. Dr. Riggs gave us his cell phone number and also his home phone number. I didn’t know what to say or do, and almost thought that this was some kind of sick joke. But it wasn’t. We said our goodbyes and left back home to Gateway. Nobody said anything for a while. “We could sue them,” Ben finally said after about an hour. “We have a strong legal team. We would win.”

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“But what good would that do? That’s not going to bring Zack back.” “You’re right… I just don’t know what to say or do.” I had to listen to my heart and what it was telling me whether or not it made since or not. Something was happening supernaturally, that I was aware of. I had always believed in supernatural things, but I had never seen anything supernatural occur before. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach, and began to feel very hot. Sweat began to bead on my forehead until I couldn’t take it anymore. “Hey, Ben? Do you mind if we pull over? I don’t feel good…” It took a lot of energy for me to even muster out those words. Ben looked back at me and could tell how bad I was feeling. “Sure, I’ll pull over here,” Ben says as he pulls over to the side of the road. There wasn’t any restaurants near by or any stores, so this would have to do. I opened the car door, and fell to my knees in the grass. I suppressed the urge to throw up. “Here,” Ben says after getting out of the car. “Drink my water. Maybe that will help.” I looked at the water bottle with weak eyes. I felt too sick to drink it. I was wondering if I had gotten car sick. My body heated up even more and I moaned with pain. “I’m… Burning up…” I managed to say. With that, Ben lifted up my shirt and poured the water on my back and on my hair. That helped cool me off a little. I waited for a little while longer, wondering if I was going to throw up. Sweat was rolling off of my cheeks, and I reached up with my hand to wipe it off.

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“How much longer until we get back to Gateway?” I decided to ask. “About another thirty minutes. Just take all the time you need, okay?”  “Okay, thanks.” I rested for a little while longer, until I felt better. I was very tired, and everything kind of hit me at once. The day started out good with the date and everything, but took a turn for the worse, and it was beginning to get late. I estimated it was around 6:00 PM, because the sun was setting. I really hate the winter and how it gets dark so early in the day. I got the courage to get in the car, and hoped that I wouldn’t get car sick on the way back to Gateway. I closed my eyes and tried to get comfortable. We’ll be back in an hour, I thought to myself. “Let me know if you start feeling sick again, Aaron,” Ben said. “Okay. Thank you, Ben,” I said in a hushed tone. Maybe I would a goodnight’s rest tonight after all. Or maybe not. We finally got back at 7:15, and I was exhausted. Ben gave me a hug and comforted me, and told me to get plenty of sleep. He promised that we would figure things out and that everything would be okay. I didn’t know whether to go to bed and cry, or to try to distract myself with video games. Max saw me walk passed his room and he opened his door. “Everything okay?” He asked, as my hand was on the knob of my door. “No… My brother is gone,” I said, trying to suppress the tears. “Gone? What do you mean gone?” “He isn’t at the hospital anymore. Something bad happened to him.”

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I could tell that Max didn’t know what to say. His brown eyes comforted me, and he gave me a hug. “Well, whatever happened. I’m sure we will find him,” he said to me in a soft tone. I started feeling sick again for some reason. My body felt like a furnace, and I thought I was going to melt. “I’m… Going to be sick…” I said as I let go of him and rushed to the bathroom. I opened the nearest stall and got down onto my knees, facing the toilet. I felt like death. Sweat was dripping down my face again, and I thought I was going to cry. I eventually threw up, and I began to feel better afterwards. I tried to calm myself down. I was breathing heavily. After I was confident that I felt better, I stood up slowly and flushed the toilet. I washed my hands thoroughly and went back to my room. I got into bed and cried for a while before falling asleep. I had no dreams that were of any significance, which surprised me. I didn’t have any nightmares. I woke up in the middle of the night and checked my phone. It was 2:00 AM. I began to think about different things, other than Zack. I needed to distract myself and think of good thoughts. I didn’t ever meet my mother, but I’m sure that she would tell me to think of good thoughts and not bad thoughts. I sat in a meditative position on my bed and let my imagination go free. I no longer felt sick. I think that I probably got car sick along with me being upset for the disappearance of my brother. I began to think about fire, which is my favorite element. Out of water, earth, and air, fire seems like the most free. It can spread, and it is hot. Fire can be both destructive and calming. It is needed for human survival. Fire can be

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as simple as a flame on a candle, or as powerful as the sun. That is why I like fire and the reason I am connected to it. Suddenly my hands felt hot. Very hot. I opened them and looked down at them, and they were very red. I could feel my heart racing. My hands felt like they were on fire. I got out of my bed so that I could go to the bathroom and run my hands under cold water. Before I got to the door, however, my hands ignited. Fire burned through my skin, peeling back my flesh. I screamed loudly, and stared at my hands with fear. My hands were blistering up and bleeding. The fire alarm went off, and the fire sprinkler system in my room deployed. My body was instantly doused, and the fire on my hands was put out. The water stung the cuts from my still bleeding hands, and my blood stained the floor. The only thing I could do is stare at my trembling hands. I had no idea what had happened. I exited the building, along with everybody else. People were in a daze, and were murmuring to each other about what could have happened. I was the only one with bloody hands and soaked clothes. People gave me concerned looks as I quickly walked past the. I thought I saw Mark standing outside and walked over to him. “Dr. Frost?” I asked, extending my hands. “Aaron? What happened? We need to bandage your hands before they get infected.” He said. I swallowed saliva. I had no idea how he was going to believe me if I told him. I decided to risk and it tell him, anyway. “My hands… They caught on fire somehow,” I replied nervously. “Caught on fire?” Dr. Frost asked confused.

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“Yes. I have no idea how it happened. But it did. That’s why we are all out here, now.” I could tell that Dr. Frost was very confused. Of course hands don’t just randomly catch on fire. I wasn’t sure whether he believed me or not, and there wasn’t going to be any video proof of it. They don’t have video cameras in our rooms, that is one of the first questions I asked Ben when I arrived here. “Are you telling me the truth?” He asked as he raised an eyebrow. “Yes I am telling the truth! I couldn’t make such a ridiculous thing up! Please believe me!” I asked desperately. Dr. Frost watched me carefully. “Okay, I believe you. But we are going to figure out what exactly happened right now.” Ben saw us and walked over. He looked confused and a little frightened. “Dad? Aaron? Do you know what’s going on?” “No,” Dr. Frost replied calmly. “But we are about to find out.” Dr. Frost got the attention of everybody outside and made a few announcements before we went back inside. He didn’t say what happened, but he said that the fire had been taken care of. I could hear some of the children whispering to each other. Everybody makes their way back inside; squeezing their way through the narrow entrance. Nobody rushes or pushes each other, despite people’s annoyance. We could hear people grumbling about how they weren’t going to get any more sleep. I ignored them. This was serious. On the way to the lab, Max finds us and asks what was going on. We all walked into the door, and the first thing Dr. Frost did was sanitize my hands and put bandages on them.

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“What happened?” Max asked curiously. “Aaron burnt his hands.” Dr. Frost replied. “You’re joking, right?” Max asked surprised. “Not according to him,” Dr. Frost says as he looks at me. “Yeah, I need to calm down. It freaked me out and it hurts really bad.” I said. Ben and Max looked at me sympathetically, not sure what to think. “Well are you going to be okay?” Ben asked, concerned. “Yeah… I think I’ll be okay,” I say. I hope that I’m going to be okay. “Now, let’s take a look at your DNA,” Dr. Frost says, changing the subject. “I’m going to try to see if I find anything strange.” Dr. Frost pulls up at picture of my chromosomes on his computer, and we all gather around curiously. “How do you get to see his chromosomes like that?” Max asked. He really loves to learn. “It’s a process called karyotyping,” Ben responded. He then went into detail about how karyotyping worked. Max looked very interested, but I wasn’t. I just wanted to know what happened to me. “I haven’t had much time to examine your chromosomes, but now is as good of a time as any,” Dr. Frost says. We all watch intently, but only Max and his dad knew what to look for. “Dad, what is that?” Max asked curiously. Dr. Frost froze. “I have no idea, but I have never seen anything like it before.”

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Dr. Frost moved the cursor around two pair of chromosomes for us to see. I squinted, but I didn’t know what I was looking for. I was never really good in biology, but that is probably because I slept a lot in that class. The teacher wasn’t terrible or anything, but he was really boring. “Whatever this is, it isn’t normal,” Dr. Frost explained. “People are supposed to have 23 pairs of chromosomes. The first 22 are called autosomes, and both male and female have these. The 23rd pair are the sex chromosomes, which decide if you are male or female. Occasionally, some people have extra chromosome called a trisomy. This results in Down’s Syndrome. However in your case, you have an extra two pair of chromosomes, which I didn’t even know was possible.” Ben looked puzzled and Max looked equally as confused. I just stared at the screen. I didn’t know whether I should feel special or like an alien. Maybe both. “Maybe that explains the eyes,” Ben says as he looks at me. Dr. Frost swiveled in his chair toward me and examined me also. “Yes, that is a possibility. But I’m still not satisfied. I’m going to go make some phone calls,” Dr. Frost says as he promptly leaves the room. I turned to Ben, trying to find words to say. “Look, I have no idea what any of this means. I just want to know what happened to me in my room today. I’m not lying when I said that my hands were on fire. Did you see the burns?” “Yes Aaron, I saw them. I know that you are scared and confused, but I promise that we will figure things out,” he said. Instead of smiling, he gave me a serious expression, and I believed him.

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“Well, I’m going to go hit the hay. Guys, let me know if you figure anything out. I’m probably going to sleep in if that’s okay. Goodnight,” Max said. “Goodnight, Max. I’m really glad that we are friends now,” I said. Ben nodded in agreement. “Hey, I’m still forever in your debt because you saved my life. You’re a better friend to me than I could ever be to you. Goodnight bro.” “Goodnight…” I replied, thinking hard. Max’s words brought back flashbacks of the fire devouring his house. Consumption. Destruction. Power. Fear. Those four words filled my mind. I could never see fire the same way ever again. I didn’t even notice Max leave the room. “Hey, you should get some sleep. Try not to worry or think about things, okay? Go get changed and go relax. I’m going to stay up with my dad,” Ben said to me. “Are you sure? Aren’t you sleepy?” I asked concerned about his well being. “Yeah, I am sleepy,” he said before yawning. “But I need to know what’s going on. I won’t be able to sleep unless I do. Besides, I’m an 18 year old. 18 year olds don’t have bedtimes.” We both laughed. I went back to my room and got changed. I thought about relaxing and watching some T.V., but I was too tired. I lied in my bed, staring at the ceiling. I had no idea what was hidden deep within me, but I was going to find out soon. I could feel it.

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Chapter 14 - The Raven

I kept thinking about what happened. I kept replaying the events over and over in my mind, trying to come up with a logical explanation. First was Max’s house fire, which already traumatized me. Then, I found out my brother went missing. Lastly,my hands caught on fire. I tried to organize my thoughts and clear my mind of unnecessary thoughts. Let’s see… I thought about fire right before it happened. I was meditating, and then suddenly my hands caught on fire. Perhaps that wasn’t a coincidence. I sat up in my bed and removed my sheets. I unwrapped my bandaged hands slowly. The wounds were getting better, but my hands still hurt. I decided to do something risky, because there was no way that I was going to go to sleep again, anyway. After calming down, I realized that I didn’t hate fire. I was just freaked out by what happened, and I still felt a very strong connection with it. I had some kind of deep bond with fire in my heart. I forgave the fire as if it was a human being. I pushed out all

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the negative thoughts about the house fire, or anything else that was scary about fire. It’s dangerous, but it is gentle, too. I took a deep breath, and removed my bandages. My hands ached, but I didn’t care. I knew that I had to try this. I cupped my hands together, and thought about holding a small flame. I could feel my hands get warmer, and my eyes were glued to the center of my palms. I visualized the flame to be just above my hands without touching my flesh. After about two minutes of concentrating, a flame appeared in my hands. My jaw dropped, then I began to smile. I have super powers. I watched the flame intently, watching it dance. I made sure that it didn’t get too large, because I didn’t want to set off the sprinklers. My hands were feeling very hot now, and they were beginning to sweat. Perspiration burned my wounds, and the wounds eventually opened again. After about five minutes of being in a trance with the small fire I created, I had a tiny pool of blood in my hands. I decided that it was time to put the flame out. I focused on the flame getting smaller and smaller, until it was no longer there. That was the coolest thing that I have ever seen in my entire life, I thought to myself. I wasn’t sure whether or not I should go and show Dr. Frost or not. It was risky, but maybe he would know how to help me. I was wide awake now, and I wasn’t even tired. I paced around the dark room for what felt like half of an hour, before I decided to quietly exit the room and go to Dr. Frost. Dr. Frost was sitting at his chair and typing feverishly on his keyboard. I assumed that he was researching something. He didn’t notice me when I entered the room.

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“Hi… Dr. Frost? Can I show you something?” My voice was quivering because I was nervous, because I had no idea how he would react to this. Or if I could even create a flame like that again. Dr. Frost jumped and turned around in his chair. “Oh! You startled me. And of course. What would you like to show me?” Dr. Frost asked curiously. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” “It’s no problem…” Dr. Frost said as he noticed my hands. “Why did you take off your bandages?” “I’ll get to that in a minute, but have you learned anything about my genes, by the way?” “No, I haven’t,” Dr. Frost said as he wiped sweat off of his forehead with his sleeve. “In fact, I’m even more puzzled than I was before, but I am determined to figure everything out,” he replied confidently. I decided that it was now or never. I needed to show him this before I changed my mind. It’s not like I was going to get sleep, anyway. “Where is Ben?” “He went to bed a little while ago. Do you want me to go get him?” Dr. Frost asked politely “No, no thanks. But what I’m about to show you might scare you. I figured out why my hands caught on fire.” Dr. Frost looked at me skeptically. “I’m listening.” Dr. Frost replied. “Don’t listen. Just watch.” I cupped my hands and concentrated. I didn’t want to create a fireball that was too large an out of control, so I focused on creating one that was small and compact. Eventually, little yellow flares could be seen, until suddenly, a

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small fire ignited. This fire was even smaller than the one I created in my room, but I could still see the heat from it. The fire was hovering just above my hands. I slowly looked up at Dr. Frost. His mouth was agape, and I could hear him gulp a few times before saying something. “This isn’t some kind of magic trick you are doing here, is it?” “No, doctor, it isn’t.” I replied nervously. Fear turned into curiosity, as Mark slowly decided to approach it. Blood was beginning to drip off of my hands onto the floor. Mark’s react reminded me of a timid dog slowly earning somebody’s trust. Dr. Frost and I just stared at the fire in my hands for a little while. I noticed that it was as if the fire itself was breathing. It grew larger as I inhaled and smaller as I exhaled. “I’m going to go get Raven,” Dr. Frost said after he calmed down. “She knows more about the supernatural than I do.” I blew out the fire in my hands. “Who is Raven?” I asked. “Raven Winchester. She’s your age. Could you go get her for me, please? Tell her that its an emergency. She’s in room 145.” I made may way through the halls, searching for room 145. I eventually found the room, but I was very hesitant to knock. I knocked loudly, but with caution. I looked through the window of the dark room, and I thought I could see some bed sheets stirring. After a short time, the lights came on. The door slowly creaked open, and a girl with black hair and different colored eyes stared at me blankly. Her eyes were probably her most interesting quality. One iris was blue, and the other iris was brown. They fit nicely on her small face. She was not very tall, either. She stood just under my height.

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“May I help you?” The girl asked, in a nice, confident voice. Her voice was powerful but gentle, for somebody so short, and it threw me off a little. “Oh, uhh… Are you Raven? Raven Winchester?” I asked, realizing the awkwardness of the situation. My face was tense. I did not like bothering people this late at night. “Yes, I am Raven. What do you need?” “Dr. Frost needs to talk to you about something. It’s important.” Raven looked at me hesitantly for a second, unsure of what to say. The awkwardness was starting to settle in deeper within my skin, so I looked down the hall to avoid her gaze. “He needs me now?” She finally asked. “Yes, yes he does. I assure you that it is very important.” “Okay. Give me one second.” Raven opened the door a few minutes later in normal clothes. She stepped out and closed the door behind her. “And you are…?” “Oh, sorry. My name is Aaron. Aaron Steele. Nice to meet you,” I said as I was about to offer her a handshake. At that moment I froze, with my hand half extended, looking at my blood-stained flesh. I blushed and withdrew my hand in embarrassment. “What happened to your hand?” Raven asked sympathetically. I turned my right palm face up and lifted my left hand face up, too. “They got burned. Let’s go to the lab, things will hopefully make more sense there.”

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We walked down the halls with our shoes echoing in the quiet halls. We made it back to the lab, where Ben and his dad were waiting patiently for us. I was not expecting to see Ben, but I suppose that it was only fair that he knew what was going on, too. I we could even figure that out, that is. “Raven, this is Aaron. Aaron has demonstrated a mystery for me tonight. I know that you research the paranormal and had some paranormal experiences before, so I thought you might be able to give us input. You’re the only person who I know to turn to, as people online wouldn’t believe a word that I’m saying, anyway. Aaron, would you mind demonstrating for her and my son?” I looked at Raven, and then at Ben. All eyes were on me, and fatigue was starting to hit me hard right now. I really needed sleep, but I had to muster up the energy to try to create a fireball again. I cupped my hands. “I’ll try, but not for very long,” I said exhausted. “Then I need to go to bed.” I took a few deep breaths by inhaling through my nose and exhaling out my mouth. This is it, this is my chance to show what new thing I can do. Within about fifteen seconds, a small flame appeared above my hands, fading into existence. I looked at it for a few seconds, and then looked up at Raven. She didn’t look afraid at all, but was even more curious than Dr. Frost was. I looked up at Ben’s face, whose eyebrow furrowed with confusion. “Pyrokineses!” Raven shouted excitedly. “That’s pyrokinesis! I never thought I would see that in real life!” Her outbursts of excitement made me lose focus, and the flame disappeared as quickly as it came. My hands luckily didn’t hurt, since I didn’t hold it for very long. We all stared at Raven, who calmed down quickly.

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“I apologize, I just wasn’t expecting that. And is that why the fire alarm went off tonight?” “Yes,” Dr. Frost and I replied almost simultaneously. Raven laughed with excitement. “For you guys that do not know, it is called pyrokinesis, the ability to control fire. I have heard rumors of people who have been able to make their life force energy to vibrate with such a high frequency that it could start a fire, but that’s it. This is much more supernatural than that.” Ben and his dad both nodded, pretending to understand what she was talking about. I barely understood what she was talking about, too. This was one strange night, and I wasn’t expecting normal days at this point. I just hope that people don’t fear me. Maybe it would be best to keep this power a secret. “This might be an unanswerable question, but does anybody know what I can do about my hands? Because they hurt and bleed every time I create a fireball.” There was a silence in the room for what felt like an eternity, and the question hung in the air. “Maybe you could try wearing some protective gloves.” Raven said, breaking the silence. “One with a material that possibly lets fire go through the pores but prevents the heat and flames from burning your flesh.” I looked up at Dr. Frost, wondering what he would say. He looked deep in thought. “Dr. Frost, do you know of any material that could possibly do this?”

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“I mean… It’s still a prototype, but perhaps. I could probably make some gloves with this special material that I discovered, but it would probably take a few days. I just don’t know if I like the idea of…” “Of…?” I asked. “This just seems dangerous,” He explained. “I don’t like the idea of you messing with anything that none of us understand yet. Please promise me that you won’t do anything dangerous or foolish, okay? Use your powers for good, and only if you really need to. I don’t want anybody in here to tell anybody about this, either. Okay?” There was another eerie silence in the room. I thought I was going to go crazy. The whole situation just now hit me hard, and I was again wide awake. I had no idea what I was going to do, or if I was even going to be able to live a normal life now. And what if I can’t control my power? Ben was still standing next to his dad, at a loss for words. His legs were crossed and he was leaning up against his dad’s desk. He then looked at me and smiled. “Hey,” Ben said kindly. “This doesn’t affect what we think of you. If anything, you are even more special now. This is all very scary, though. We are all going to support you.” “Yeah,” Raven says, nearly interrupting. “You don’t have to worry about me telling anybody, and they wouldn’t believe me, anyway. I’m definitely going to stay up all night thinking about it though, and I’m going to do research about it, too.” Raven said for a smile. Raven then talked about her story and her first supernatural encounters. I’m sure it was very interesting, but I started to zone out. I kept thinking about the new

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information that I had received, and it all proved to be perplexing. Not one thing about it made sense. Yet. Maybe in the near future we would learn more about it. “Anyway, I’m going to wrap it up now. So that is why I believe in the paranormal.” “That’s great,” I said to her politely. “Maybe we can all talk more about it tomorrow.” Adrenaline slowly left my veins, leaving my body hollow with tiredness and soreness again. “Aaron, before you go, let me bandage your hands again. And don’t take them off, okay? Come to my room any time, especially if anything bad happens.” Dr. Frost swiftly cleaned my wounds. The hydrogen peroxide burned my hands, causing me to wince with pain. He applied ointment, and then bandaged them tightly by wrapping them in gauss. “Okay, I’m calling it a night. Goodnight everybody, and try to get some sleep. There is plenty of time to think tomorrow. And most importantly, remember what I told you all.” Dr. Frost made us promise not to tell anybody as we all left the room individually. He also reminded me not to use my powers anymore, unless it was under his supervision or if we learned more about it. Raven and I split up, going down different halls. I could see Raven gawking at me like I was some kind of god. It made me feel special, but also fearful, too. I finally made it to my room, and did my best to open the door with my injured hands. I walked slowly and deliriously to my bed, where I crawled into it. Feeling the coolness of my bed and pillow filled me with relief. It felt similar to that cooling sensation of drinking water after brushing your teeth. Refreshing. I laid on top of the covers, being

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thankful for the cool air that was circulating onto my bare skin. I didn’t even bother to dress back into my pajamas. I fell asleep, with the power of fire locked tightly away in the dungeon of my heart.

Chapter 15 - Fear of the Unknown

“So what happened last night, anyway?” Max asked me, in between bites of cereal. I was feeling very groggy and tired, but I decided that eating breakfast would give me enough fuel to get through the day. Ben eyed me curiously. “What do you mean?” I asked, playing dumb. “What do you mean what do I mean? Dr. Frost said you burnt your hands. You never told us how.” “Oh… My toaster caught on fire.” I said awkwardly. I didn’t like lying, but I couldn’t expose my secret. “Right. And I own a giraffe. What really happened?” Max wasn’t buying it. I looked over at Ben for help, and I could tell that he was thinking about what to say. Hopefully he could come up with something convincing. “I can confirm that that is what happened,” Ben said. “I guess it overheated.”

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“Yeah. I was making toast and I noticed that it caught on fire. It was bad enough that it set off the fire alarm, and it also burnt my hands when I tried to put it out,” I said confidently. “Okay, I believe you. I have actually heard that more people die a year from toasters than they do sharks. It’s scary, and weird,” Ben said before taking another bite. It was difficult for me to eat with a spoon while wearing these bandages, but I managed to. “How long are you going to have to wear those bandages? And what are you going to do at school?” Max asked curiously. “I don’t know,” I replied. “We’ll figure something out,” Ben added. The last thing I wanted to think about was school. So much has happened in such a short amount of time that I felt paranoid. Nothing unusual ever occurred before the car accident. Now it felt like my whole life was a miracle. “So, I still am unsure of what there is to do around here,” Max said changing the topic. I was thankful that he did so. “Well we have a gym here if you like to exercise,” Ben suggests. “Yes, and of course there is TV and video games in your room. And do you have all of your homework done by the way?” I asked. “Of course I do,” Max said proudly. “I always get my homework done as soon as I get home. That way, I don’t have homework on the weekends.” “See, that’s a great idea. I’m just too lazy to do that,” I say chuckling. “It just takes a little discipline. Then it’s a routine.”

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“You make it sound like its easy,” I said. After breakfast, Ben gave Max a tour around Gateway. Instead of tagging along, I decided to go back to my room. I still had homework to do. After a little over an hour, I completed the rest of my homework. I closed out of the playlist of music that I had on YouTube and pulled my phone out. I paused, remembering that I had Dr. Riggs number. I decided to send him a quick message to see if they had found out anything about Zack. He responded quickly, saying that they still didn’t find anything out. All of a sudden, a great idea came into my mind. “I have a question,” I began my text. “Do you still have possession of Zack’s phone?” “No, we do not have it. It went missing right after he did.” A spark of hope entered my mind. Perhaps Zack has his phone on him and they could trace it. “Would it be possible for you to trace it? It’s a long shot, but perhaps Zack has his phone.” “Unfortunately it’s impossible to trace calls that are turned off or not connected to the internet,” Dr. Riggs responded almost immediately. “Do you know if it is turned off or not?” I asked frightened. “No, we have no way of knowing because we don’t have his phone number. You can try calling him if you’d like to.” “Okay, I will.” I responded after a minute.

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I could feel my heart pounding as I was debating on whether I should make the call or not. If his phone is turned off, which it most likely will be, then it will go straight to voice mail. But if it isn’t, then there is a possibility that the phone can be traced. I regret not visiting Zack in the hospital while I still could. I should have begged Ben to take me to see him, but now it’s too late. The only thing left I can do trust the police. I could feel my hand trembling as I hovered my thumb over the “call” button to Zack’s number. I nervously pressed the button and elevated the phone to my ear. One ring. Two rings. Three. Then there was absolute silence. Someone had answered the phone. My heart skipped a beat in both excitement and fear. “Zack?” I asked in a hysterical and hushed voice. “Hello Aaron,” A deep voice responded. At first, I thought that it was Zack. But the voice of reason told me otherwise. “Wh-Who are you?” I asked with my voice trembling. “You do not know who I am, but I know who you are,” the man said coldly. My fear was replaced with anger when he said that. “Is this some kind of sick joke? Where’s Zack!?” “He’s with me, now. I’m his master.” “Zack has no master! You better let him go right now or you’ll be sorry!”

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“I’m afraid I’m not the one who is going to be sorry. For you, Aaron Steele, you are the one whose going to pay the price. You are going to pay the ultimate price for the wrongs you committed.” I could almost hear the man grinning through the phone. Images of Zack trapped in a crazy man’s basement filled my mind. I could feel his hunger, pain, and fear. And now he was threatening to hurt me, too. There was a long, deadly pause as I thought about what to say. “You fiend…” I finally replied. “That’s funny,” the man said amused. “Zack called me the same thing. He learned his lesson for that.” Another long pause went by. My hands felt very hot, and I suppressed the urge to burn through the gauze. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, and most of all, I wanted this man in prison for life. But I stood there silently, as if I was turned to stone. “What do you want from us?” “I have almost everything I need. The only thing I left I want is for you to die,” the man said sinisterly. “What did I ever do to you?” I replied trying to suppress the fear in my voice. It wasn’t working to well. “You wouldn’t remember, and you would believe me if I told you. But I will get my desire.” This man had to have escaped from a mental hospital. No sane man would say all of these crazy things. He was not right in the head, and that frightened me more than

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anything. I pushed away every image of a broken Zack that entered my mind. I needed to be strong. “What is your name?” I finally said. “I have many names. But you may call me Venom. We will meet face to face. But in meantime, enjoy your life while you still have it.” There was a click and the man who called himself Venom was gone. I dropped my phone on the ground. I crawled into my bed and weeped. My mind was racing like an endless roller coaster. Thoughts of what this man could look like flooded my mind along with of a sea of hopelessness. An unmeasurable amount of tears were shed before I picked my phone off of the ground. I had missed calls from Dr. Riggs and text messages. “We have a greater problem on our hands,” I began typing with red hazy eyes. “Somebody answered the phone, and it wasn’t Zack.” A minute passed before Dr. Riggs called me. “Hello?” I asked with a parched throat. “Hi, Aaron? What do you mean somebody answered his phone?” “Some crazy person… I don’t know. But he has Zack. I don’t even want to know what he has done to him. And he threatened me, too. I’m scared.” A long silence passed. “We’ll be right there. I’ll send police officers right over for questioning. I’ll be there, too. Stay strong. And you are at Gateway correct?” “Yes doctor, that is correct,” I replied, with my voice still sore from crying.

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“We will do everything we can to get the call traced and to get your brother back. That I can assure you.” After my phone call with Dr. Riggs, I solemnly left my room. I haven’t felt this depressed in a long time. I found Dr. Frost and Ben in his lab on the computer. Ben looked tired and his dad was typing feverishly on his computer. Ben looked up and noticed I had been crying. “What’s wrong?” He asked. “We have more problems than we could have ever imagined,” I began. I sat down and told them everything. I told them about my dreamlike conversation I had with Zack, and the strange figure that took him away. I told them about the mysterious phone call that I just had, and how I thought that it was the man I saw in my dream. As I was telling them my story, I barely looked up at them in the eyes. “I… I need to think this through,” Ben said as his eyes went dark. Dr. Frost was wearing a mournful and unsettling frown. I hated being a bearer of bad news. “Well, as cliché as it sounds, it is good that we have each other. Maybe we could hire a private investigator after we trace the call. And just know that I believe every word you say.” “Everything has happened so fast. I don’t even know what is real anymore. And I have these strange powers that Raven said was pyrokinesis. I just can’t take it…” I said as I collapsed from the chair onto my knees. I was clutching my face tightly with my hair woven between my fingers. Ben walked over and knelt down beside me for comfort.

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“This is confusing for all of us, but I promise that we will get through this,” Ben said gently. I looked up at him with a miserable expression with my lip still quivering. I nodded my head slowly, trying to believe his words. We made our way to the front desk where we were greeted by Dr. Riggs and three police officers. I noticed Officer Ray was one of them. “May I see your phone?” Dr. Riggs asked me politely. “I left it in my room. Let’s go get it,” I replied. We walked down the halls and made our way to my room. I was beginning to calm down. I was very thankful for the support that I was given in a time of need. We entered my room and I picked my phone up off of the floor and handed it to Dr. Riggs. Dr. Riggs and the officers examined it and unlocked the phone. “And you say that a kidnapper answered the phone when you called your brother?” A police officer asked me. “Yes,” I began. “The man sounded crazy. I fear that he escaped from an insane asylum or something. Or that he is a murderer or predator,” I said as I shuddered at that thought. “Well we are going to trace the call and hope for the best,” another police officer said. “Do you know what cell phone provider you brother uses?” Officer Ray asked me. “Yeah, it’s AT&T. The same I use.” “Can you tell us what Zack’s phone number is?” Another officer asked.

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I gave them Zack’s phone number and Dr. Riggs wrote it down on a piece of paper. Officer Ray pulled out his phone and Dr. Riggs handed him the paper. “What are you doing?” I asked curiously. “I’m calling AT&T. This is how you trace calls,” Officer Ray replied. Officer Ray dialed a number into his phone and held it up to his ear. “Hello this is the police. We need the location of Zack Steele’s cellular phone.” Officer Ray read Zack’s phone number aloud. “What? Are you sure?” Officer Ray asked panicked. “Can you double check?” There was a long pause in the room. There was a huge pit in my stomach as I realized something must be wrong. Officer Ray looked panicked and Dr. Riggs and the other officers looked equally confused. “Alright. Alright. Thank you,” he replied and then hung up the phone. “Well, where’s the location?” Dr. Riggs asked. “Africa,” Officer Ray replied.

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Chapter 16 - Target Practice

My hands were aching from all the cryokinesis training. I found a shack in the woods and decided to enter it. This is the area I decided to train for the rest of the day, and maybe even future days to come. It isn’t always pleasant in these conditions. It is very hot, but luckily I can cool myself off with my power. The downside is it takes quite a bit of concentration for something as simple as that. I had to be on guard at all times. I encountered dangerous animals often, so I always have to use my sight to see any motion in the woods. I also have to listen for noises. Sometimes even a fruit falling from a tree into the damp dirt gives me a jolt to the heart. I don’t like killing animals if I don’t have to. That’s why I’m glad I found the shack. Rays of light shined through the cracks of the old, decaying wood. I felt sweat bead on my forehead and I wiped it off with the back of my hand. The amount of dust

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particles in the humid air was unbelievable. I was hacking like a smoker would. I could have sworn I could see my breath when I sneezed a few times; almost as if I was cooling down the air in the room. I looked to my left at the dirty window. This place is disgusting, but I like it because of the privacy and lack of danger. There were cobwebs all along the seams of the ceiling. In addition, there was a large, plump spider web in front of the dirty window. I recognized it as a black widow; I could tell by the red hour glass on its back. It was waiting patiently for anything to fall into its web. Perhaps I am like a tiny insect and Venom is a powerful black widow. I paced around the room, taking a break from all of my hard training. Training is very difficult and I have to take breaks frequently. I also have to be careful not to make my hands bleed, because then I would have to go get healed from Venom. I didn’t want to travel back and forth a whole lot, because they distance is quite far away from his house. I couldn’t even see his house if I wanted to because of the thick jungle. Unfortunately, the old wooden door was broken and ajar, so any sort of animal can make its way in the shack. I didn’t like that, even though it wasn’t likely that that would happen. I was curious to know what a shack would be doing out in the middle of the jungle. It appears to be used as some kind of storage room. There was an old pool table towards the corner of the room and some shelves with boxes on them. I faced towards the back of the room. A single target creaked back and forth from the hinges on the ceiling. I looked down at the dirty floor under it and saw small puddles from my training. I had created ice cycles for what felt like an hour, and threw them at the target. The ice would often hit the target on an angle and fall onto the floor. Some of the ice

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cycles shattered on impact, and sometimes I missed the target altogether. I wanted to create the perfect ice cycle. One that is a perfect cone shape and is compact and aerodynamic. My goal was to get an ice cycle to pierce through the bullseye of the target and stay there. The tricky part is making sure that it isn’t too heavy and isn’t too light. I clenched my fists repeatedly to get some circulation back into my fingers. My hands looked raw, but I could tell I was starting to develop some kind of immunity to this weakness. I decided to try to spear the target a few more times before I start my trek back to Venom’s house. I cupped my hands and concentrated on creating an ice cycle. My hands stung as a thin layer of ice began to take the form of a cylinder. I concentrated on making the base thicker and bring the tip to a point. After a minute of concentration, I ended up with a misshapen narrow piece of ice and burning hands. I shook my head and frowned. This was the worst one I had created yet. I dropped the cycle on the ground and watched it shatter. I decided to take a break and meditate. I haven’t tried meditating before, but now would be a better time than ever. I sat in a criss cross position on the dirty wooden floor. I didn’t mind getting dirty, my clothes were pretty much ruined anyway. I began fall into a deep trance and lost track of time. My mind was completely relaxed, and I felt euphoric and recharged. I opened my eyes slowly and examined my hands. They looked a little better than they did earlier, besides the back of my hands. Not surprisingly, the back of my hands got really chapped when I started training cryokinesis. Regardless, Venom can always heal any of my cuts and wounds when I get back.

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I stood up slowly and stared at my target, feeling rejuvenated. I hated watching the target sway back and forth after failing to penetrate the target, almost as it was mocking me. But now it was completely still and quiet, almost as if it could see the confidence in my eyes. This is it, this is my chance to prove myself. I will not fail again. I cracked a smile on my face and raised my right pointer finger at the target. “You aren’t going to beat me this time. I’m not going to get impatient or hasty, and I am confident,” I spoke lively. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath; inhaling through my nose and exhaling out my mouth. I cupped my hands and focused on the shape of a sharp dart-like object. I could almost feel as the water molecules flowed out of my hands and froze. The ice expanded in my hands as I struggled to compress it with my mind. I realized that training cryokinesis is as much of a mental strain as it was a physical one. After a few minutes I opened my eyes and looked at my hands. My jaw dropped as I marveled at the masterpiece that I had just created. Only a little bit of my blood stained the cold ice cycle that I had made, and the ice cycle looked beautiful carved. I don’t think I have seen anything more perfect before in my life. It looked like it would take a long time for somebody to sculpt something like this. I pressed my right index finger against the sharp tip. Ouch. This is definitely going to work, albeit I don’t miss. I really hope that I don’t. I took another deep breath. I gripped the ice cycle tightly with my right hand. I slowly moved me hand back to my right ear, and I threw it like a dart. I watched as the ice flew threw the air and penetrated the target. Bullseye. The target swung rapidly back

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and forth with the ice cycle impaled in it. Some of the blood had splattered onto the target, making it look like I flicked red paint at a canvas. I stood there looking with pride and with my hands on my hips. Today has been a great day to train. My body trembled with excited meant and I cheered with joy. “Yeah! I finally did it, didn’t I!? I just made the perfect ice cycle!” I exclaimed. “No, how about I call it the ice dart! I sure do wish Aaron was here to…” my voice trailed off. “See this. I miss him,” I whispered honestly to myself. I don’t know what Venom doesn’t like about my brother but I’m going to find out today. It’s the least he can do for repaying me for my valiant training. If not, maybe I could use my cool new trick on him. I decided to shrug it off for now, and instead think about how proud I should be about myself. As I was walking toward the exist with a skip in my step and a grin on my face, I paused. I pivoted my feet toward the window. I stared at the black widow. I wanted to try one more thing before I left. I walked backwards until I got to the end of the shed. My eyes were locked onto the spider with a smile on my face. I took a step forward to give myself room to throw an ice ball. Ice balls aren’t as difficult to make as ice darts, however they cause more strain on my body. I cupped my hands and concentrated. I ignored the almost unbearable stinging in my hands as the ball began to get larger and larger. I almost dropped it as if I was holding something very hot. Luckily I held onto it. Blood dripped off of my hands as I stared at my beautiful creation. Viola, a perfect ice ball. I smirked. I threw the ice ball as if I was a baseball pitcher at the black widow. To my surprise, the glass behind it seemed to shatter into thousands of pieces. I watched the ball bounce off the dirty terrain before rolling into a tree. I didn’t know ice could be so dense. The black widow was gone.

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I rushed out the door and over to the tree where I stared at the mysterious ball that I created. The black widow was flattened belly-up on the bloody ice ball. But not just my blood. Blue blood slowly spread across the surface of the ice. I’ve always hated spiders, but I definitely felt sorry for this guy. He didn’t see it coming at all. I watched as the blue blood slowly made it’s way to my crimson blood on the ball. I watched with awe as the blood met and wed together, creating a bright purple color. Suddenly I felt very confused and delirious. This was all a lot to take in, and I was feeling a million emotions at the moment. I was proud of myself and excited, but I missed my brother. It also felt like I just did a magic trick that not even I knew how I did it. It was very overwhelming, but exhilarating at the same time! I walked away with a smile on my face. I knew that Venom would be proud of me. I pushed leaves out of my face as I tried to take the same path that I had taken to get here. The last thing that I wanted to do was get lost. I was hoping I was leaving traces of blood on the leaves so I could find my way back next time I came here. It would be easier to find my way here, too, as I could always check the leaves to see if I was going in the right direction. I felt like Hansel and Gretel. Luckily I encountered no dangerous animals. The noticed the sun rising higher in the sky, peeking at me through the think canopy. I listened to the insects and birds sing as it seemed like they were cheering me on. I got confused a few times and had to think about which way lead back. I believe I have encountered this rock with the moss on the way here, so I have to be going the right direction. I think I must turn… Right. Finally I could see Venom’s unmistakable house. The only way I could tell was because I could see streaks of white as the leaves rustled in the wind. I felt like I was

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the king of the jungle now, and that I could even fight lions. But perhaps slaying a lion doesn’t make one powerful, but taming a lion would. Better yet, taming an army of lions. Then you would be an unstoppable force who gained the trust of powerful beasts. “Zack and the lions,” I whispered to myself and grinned. I finally made it to his house after a few more minutes, and walked up the familiar porch steps. Surprisingly, Venom wasn’t sitting there waiting on me. I shrugged it off and decided to walk inside. I made it to the main room would the water fountain and waterfalls. I looked around but I didn’t see him. “Oh Venom!” I called out with pride. “Guess who just perfected a new technique?” I waited for a while but I could hear him coming. The only thing I could hear was the echo of my voice and the sound of rushing water. After a few more seconds, I heard a door creak open and heard footsteps. I turned my head and watched him into the room. “Welcome Zack. You’re late.” “I didn’t know that I had to be here by a specific time,” I replied, agitated. Venom walked closer to me. Something about his expression told me that he was tired. Something about the way his eyes looked told me that something was wrong. It almost looked like he was crying, but of course he couldn’t have been. He’s Venom. He’s Master V. He’s Ace Millwood. He would be the last person I would ever expect would cry. “Well it appears that you haven’t been paying attention to your master, then. If you’re late again you’ll feel the wrath of my left hand again. And you know how bad that hurts.”

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I didn’t like the way he was acting toward me at the moment, but I decided to swallow my pride and humble myself. “Yes, Venom,” I replied. “I lost track of time.” “Apology accepted. So you said that you learned a new technique?” Venom asked curiously. “Yes I have, but can you please heal me first? My body is really sore right now, especially my hands.” “Indeed,” he replied. I watched as he slowly raised his right hand toward me. I cracked a smile. I don’t care how many times he does this, it’s awesome every time. I waited however for a few seconds and didn’t feel any different. My smile fell flat. Venom raised his right hand to his face and rubbed his eyes with his pointer finger and thumb. “My apologies. It is difficult for me to concentrate when I am troubled.” “Troubled?” I asked. “With what?” I replied with shock. I would have assumed that he was getting revenge on me because I was late, if it wasn’t for his tired eyes and strange body language. “Today is my 20th anniversary with my beloved Samantha,” he replied. “Samantha? Oh, your wife that I saw in that picture,” I said. “My condolences.” “She hasn’t left me,” he snapped. “She’s always by my side. I’m just disappointed that I haven’t avenged her yet.” “She was killed?” I asked shocked. “Yes, by the most disgusting worm in this entire planet.”

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“And… How did she die?” I asked cautiously. I didn’t want to put him in a worse mood than he already was. But instead, after a moment, his face brightened. “I’m glad you asked, I wanted to talk to you about that. How about I make use some lunch and I can tell you all about it.” “Umm, sure, that would be great,” I replied. Venom gave me a smile before turning away and walking toward the general direction of the dining room and kitchen. Before I followed him, however, something caught my eye. I shifted my eyes to the right, and saw a dark figure standing behind a pillar. He appeared to have a white face, white irises, and black lipstick. He wore a black top hat and and black clothes. He then drifted away into the shadows. I stood there confused, unsure if what I saw was real or in my imagination. “Are you coming?” Venom asked as he looked back. I snapped out of my trance and stepped back into the real world. “Oh, uh, yes,” I replied as I caught up to him. My legs and hands still ached from a long day in the woods, and I felt like I was starving. I felt my stomach twist and turn as my mouth began to water. I peered down at my dirty, bloodstained hands. I wondered if they would get infected. Maybe if I was luckily and listened to Venom’s story, he would be able to concentrate on healing me. In my gut, something was nagging me that I was going to find out some very serious and important things that I may or may not be able to handle. I had so many questions that have mostly been left unanswered. But I was about to learn about my master’s secret. And something tells me it’s very dark.

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Chapter 17 - Ace

Venom eventually came out of the kitchen with our food in his hands. He sat down across from me and handed me my plate. Fish. With some vegetables and mashed potatoes. The dish was huge, but I knew I could eat it all. “And what would you like to drink?” He asked politely. “I will take a lemonade, please,” I replied. He went to the kitchen and returned with two glasses of lemonade. He handed me one. “Now, Zack, what I am about to tell you is very serious,” Venom began. “And it will answer most of your questions. Unfortunately, however, is it might give you more questions.”

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