Chapter I

Prologue:

Noise. Noise. Noise surround the young six year old Julian Halroux as the running machines cried out with a vicious sound like a violent vacuum slurping at the dry air. It was dark and all the figures moved as shadows in quick fast paced motions as if they had no time at all. Chatter conversed in quiet aggressive tones. Nothing seemed to connect. He tries to recall what he was told, but Julian felt a pressure rise and fall over and over again like flying up in a swing and dropping again with the pain pulling at the stomach.Adrienne.

Julian whipped his head back and forth until he locked eyes on his twin sister. She wasn't looking at him. Dark shadowed figures in long coats were pulling and pushing her toward a machine similar to the one behind him. There was a tall plain woman standing motionless in the tall cylindrical device already. Julian gasped at the sight if these aggressive people just pushing his sister around like she was just another object in their experiment. Unfortunately, that's exactly what she was. That was what they both were. It was coming back to him. They were experiments.

Something pulled at Julian's arm. He shook his head feverishly, brown hair tossed in revolt. "Hurry, boy. It's time to go." A man whispered demandingly. "We haven't much time. Just remember to keep track of your thoughts, observations, and experiments. You may return in time. Good luck." With that the man swung the little boy into the machine adjacent to Adrienne's.

"Nooo!" Julian rejected, pushing away from the man. He was unsuccessful. Another sharp grip snatched hold of his arm from behind. The grip was perfectly stable around his thin wrist and in which he felt impossible to break loose from. Without looking back, he knew it must have been his 'mother figure' or the thing that was supposed to take care of him. At the same instance, another being, a girl, older than him but younger than any of the others, joined them in the small cylinder. There wasn't any more room and Julian peeked up to try and get a view of his sister, his closest and only friend, one last time. He hoped to never forget her hazel green eyes and long Strawberry blonde hair that she had fastened in a long braid down her back. She never did see him, though. She never looked over or back to him as they threw her into the separate machine.

"Time is now! Send them!" One of the shadowed men cried.

A loud banging and thumping noise resounded within the area bouncing off the metal walls. A voice called from the other side. "What's going on in here?!" The loud raspy voice questioned, murdering the hushed tones of the doctors. Without much of a fight, the metal walls ripped away from their base brutally. The men didn't stop to watch. A pad of some thin material that had been earlier referred to as paper, was sent flying toward Julian. He twisted out of the way and watched in horror. It was a zasalarin. It only lasted a moment before the door of the machine slid closed fast and the last thing he heard was the zasalarin in a deep threatening voice. He said it loud enough to be sure to announce it to all them in the room out there.

"You're dead."

Chapter I

"Spring is coming. Are you going out for any sports?" Mr. Burnock chuckled, crinkling open the Friday morning paper. Mrs. Burnock was whipping up some scrambled eggs over by the stove when their son Gabriel galloped down the stairs. Without so much of a glance, he drew the bag that was sleeping on the couch, from its position there and tossed it over his shoulder. Gabriel wasn't much of a morning person and always felt tired without the energy to even speak so early in a day.

"Yeah, not my thing, Dad." He grunted as respectfully as he could through his morning discomfort. Without waiting for a reply, he went for the front door.

"Not going to have breakfast, darling?" Mrs.Burnock questioned in her concerned light voice the way mothers sometimes do.

"Not hungry," was all Gabriel called back as he escaped passed the blooming garden of flowers out front and into the garage, carelessly hopping onto his rusty dark blue bike. He took a deep sigh as he backed out and flipped around before taking on the steep hill of the driveway. It's Friday at least, he reminded himself.

The streets were fairly clear with a few cars traveling to and from. The rocky blacktop roads were of no enjoyment to Gabriel as he biked up onto the sandy pavement. He kept a close watch on the road ahead of him where he came to an intersection. Where he stopped, there was a car parked in front of him when he first noticed his reflection. He had overslept and never took a close look, but there in the reflection he recognized the long dark hair that swooshed across his face an occasionally in his eyes, not that he minded. He recognized the same casual blue hooded sweatshirt he often wore and the dark pair of jeans he had on, but it wasn't until then that he realized he hadn't smudged his eyes with the usually eyeliner.

He was an odd boy, different, but he didn't care. He does not wear makeup all the time, nor very heavily, so it was no big deal. Gabriel sighed again, already feeling the day was setting up to be a long one.

The hall was packed as usual after first period. Everyone seemed so eager to get where they were going like a blind pack of ravaging wolves scattering about in all directions. Everyone seemed to be doing the same reckless behaviors except for two people in particular that had caught Gabriel’s eye since the first day of school. Even through the intense herds and poster covered walls, colorful blue tiles and decorative doors, there are two individuals that stood out to him. Julian Halroux, a tall pretty boy with stormy gold and green eyes that watched everything so observantly. He always looked like there was something he was searching for behind his dark lashes. There was a suspicious aura about him. And then there was Charlotte. Charlotte was stunningly beautiful and perfect in every way. Her long dark hair flowed down her back like a magical waterfall under a clear night sky. She had a flawless face, but hardly ever brought emotion to it. She often seemed to stare blankly in thought. Another strange thing that Gabriel noticed was that she followed Julian around everywhere he went like a baby duck. Everywhere he went, she went. It wasn’t as if they were all that friendly with one another, they didn’t even talk. She just followed as silent as the night. Gabriel couldn’t help but notice her eyes were a similar hazel color with the same dark ring around the iris. They might be siblings, Gabriel guessed.

From time to time, he would notice them both strolling through the crowd, less frantically than the mob that decked the school halls. Observing, that was what Gabriel was doing, too shy to actually talk to either one of them. Perhaps, he was intimidated by them. Neither of them was fondled into the norms of society and could care less what anyone else would think of them. That is what Gabriel admired about them. “Oh, well, off to second period.” He breathed lightly, turning down another busy hallway.

“So you’re Gabriel, right?” A calm and collected voice questioned maturely from behind the metal of Gabriel’s locker door. The voice spoke confidently in a way as if he already knew the answer. Gabriel shut the door lazily, revealing a tall fair skinned boy with soft strawberry blonde hair, some of which fell carelessly into his face, similar to his own, but with more dimensions within each strand. His eyes were still the same color of gold and green clouds over a storming sea, yet as calm as the tide.

“And you are?” Gabriel asked, trying to return a curiousity that would have made sense in a first meeting since Gabriel had never really met Julian before now. He tried not to be the smaller one in the conversation, like he usually ended up, always being looked down on. Julian leaned against the closed lockers besides Gabriel’s looking relatively relaxed. Standing conversational distance, Julian wasn’t really that much taller than him―three inches, maybe.

“My name is Julian Halroux.” The boy introduced. Gabriel slipped his backpack over his shoulder. He half smiled in response, nodding his head once, directing Julian to continue as he slipped both hands into his hoodie pocket.

“So, we’re going to be partners for the history project coming up and I wanted to let you know, because I won’t be there today.” He informed.

“Wait, what?” Gabriel looked at him confused and disappointed. He hated when he was stuck with a partner that never did work or ever showed up, leaving him doing the project all on his own. He thought again, realizing he hadn’t yet gone to history. “But class isn’t until last period. How do you know?”

“Uh…yeah. I’m going to be out the rest of the school day…taking care of some things.” He resisted to answer. “But I went in to check with Mr. Johnson about what I would miss and all, and that’s just what he told me.” It just brought more suspicion to Julian the way he struggled to explain, Gabriel thought. He seemed to be hiding something, but since when was Gabriel really curious about the business of others? “He said we’re doing a partner project,” He continued trying to clarify. “Due next time in class, and said we, you and I, are partners.” Julian elucidated humbly, pointing to Gabriel then himself.

Gabriel took a moment to let it sink in. It was Friday so, “Then we would have to get together over the weekend…” He spoke out loud. Julian might not have heard him if the wild horses weren’t heading to their stalls. “Or are you expecting me to do all the work during class today?” Gabriel added half jokingly.

“No, no, no.” Julian waved his hands out in front, taking a step closer to Gabriel. “Is there any other work you could work on in the meantime? I think I can make it back here after school in time and we can go back to my place and start working on it, if that’s alright with you?”

Gabriel didn’t quite know what to make of the situation. It had been a while since going over to a new house, plus he had made plans with Ben, but then again he could just talk to him about hanging out later. He would understand. “Uh, yeah, that might work.” Gabriel reached into his jean pocket to flip out his old damaged phone. “I’ll text my parents to let them―oh, and where will we meet?” His head snapped back up after Julian who was just about to turn when he paused.

“How about those benches in the front of the school.” It was more like a polite demand than an actual question; a set place with no real opinion from Gabriel. He must have known it would be an acceptable location. There was something different about Julian today, though. He seemed to carry on his own, he noticed. Charlotte. Charlotte wasn’t there today. Interesting.

“What? Really dude?! But I’ve been waiting this whole week to show you this game!” Ben cried dramatically. He often got carried away in his bizarre gestures― no wonder he loves his theatre classes. “Dawn of Courage is this awesome fantasy role playing game where you get to run around killing warlocks and monsters, etcetera. Plus there is a multiplayer mode where we can fight in different maps with the main characters.” He blabbed on, Gabriel only partially listening. It was getting late and he wondered if Julian would ever show up. At least Ben and Joshua had fantasy club today after school and there was someone he could talk to while waiting for the time to pass.

“Doesn’t that sound fun?” Ben smiled with his palms up to emphasize.

“Gabe, are you sure this guy is even coming?” It was Joshua. He slid a hand through his long black hair and peered down at his watch. “We’re gonna be late to fantasy club, ya know?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Ben waved his hand that gave the sign that looked like ‘it’s no big deal’. He turned his brown eyes back down to Gabriel. He was unusually tall amongst Gabriel and Joshua, who would have been considered average height, but maybe a little on the shorter side for Gabriel. Darn genetics.

“So, when do you think you can hang out, then?”

Gabriel chuckled lightly and shrugged his shoulders. It was funny how different Ben and Gabriel were, yet they were such close friends. Ben’s light hair was always neatly brushed, so soft looking and neatly parted. He dressed more formally than most, yet showed no trace or clue to hint that he loved fantasy, science fiction, comics or video games. No one would have guessed without knowing him. Gabriel, on the other hand, just let his hair do what it wanted, long and unkempt as it swung across his cheeks and forehead in a way of its own, but no longer than his neck. His blue eyes were often traced with a thin line of eye liner and wore casual dress. He, too, was into video games and fantasy, but not quite like Ben. He enjoyed interesting stories or plots with more mythological beasts or characters.

“Gabe, I think Ben and I are gonna start heading to the club. Good luck with your friend there. Hope he comes soon.” Joshua stated politely.

Ben agreed with a nod and turned between Josh and Gabe a few times before speaking again. “Ah, well, I hope we can hand out Saturday, maybe, then?” He left it at that, turning to walk beside Josh. “We can all chill at my place if that sounds cool?” He turned to call back to Gabriel, walking backwards not without care.

“We’ll figure it out, don’t worry.” Joshua laughed, but there was a tinge of irritation that followed. “Okay, we have to go. Come on Mister Benjamin Davinae,” he urged, pushing Ben back around to walk forward.

Gabriel relaxed his hands in his pocket, watching his friends dally away, waving, laughing and just being silly all the way back through the building doors. The sun was starting to yawn and teased the sky with its lasting light as the colors began to change, blue exiting the scheme and painting shades and tints of pinks, purples, and yellows, with a faint trace of red by the horizon behind the trees that lined the sidewalks and streets around the school.

What in the world could Julian have been doing? He was so busy that he couldn’t finish the school day and now is more than forty minutes late. Gabriel sat down on the wooden bench behind him, a feeling of defeat washed over him to some extent. He hadn’t been sitting before because he had been all day during school hours, though now it was just getting ridiculous. Everyone had either gone home or joined their clubs, leaving him a single flower in a desert of nothing but sand. Though, that wasn’t completely true. He had a nice large oak tree to comfort him with its widespread wings that shadowed over him, blowing ever so slightly in the cool beginning of March breeze. That’s just the way it was with the southern states weather.

“Gabriel, I’m so sorry.” He heard a voice breathe heavily. He shook his view from the large oak above him to notice a thin boy sprinting towards him. His hair looked even redder in the fading light as it flipped backward in the wind just before he came to a stop in front of Gabriel.

Gabriel stood up in relief. “I didn’t think you were ever gonna come.” His voice seemed disappointed, without energy to whine or complain much. What a waste of time that would have been had he not shown up, Gabriel thought.

Julian looked like a silhouette for the most part, but when they broke away to head back to wherever Julian was taking them, Gabriel noticed something. A long needle of red was slashed across his cheek from his ear to the bridge of his nose. It was a deep wound that looked as though it might scar. A soft gasp left Gabriel’s lips before he could catch it, and then quickly added, “You’re face― what happened? You’re bleeding…” He turned, lightly pushing on Julian’s arm, watching his face to direct his attention.

Julian made a small noise of discomfort as he brought a placid hand to his cheek with his other arm and turned away, but continued walking straight. “We can take my car.” He said, avoiding the before conversation.

“Julian, it looks deep. You might―.”

“It’s fine. Just forget about it.” He added aggressively.

If the situation made him that uncomfortable, he would leave it alone, though his curiosity was closer to a bull’s eye than ever before. Something interesting was finally starting to happen in this boring day to day life of his.

Author's Note

Any thoughts?