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Chapter 1

Manitou, Colorado
Present Day

A blast of air ripped through the canopy of golden aspens behind me with a thundering roar- sending a whirling tidal wave of gold and yellow to consume the entire forest.

The way the leaves encircled and showered everything in sight was breathtaking and almost magical, but the sudden gust of wind forcefully tussling me further down the path was particularly annoying.

With my back hunched and jacket tucked tightly around my neck, my teeth instinctively gritted together as I fought against the overwhelming force of wind and pivoted around to catch a quick glimpse of the weather. Towering columns of dark gray clouds have already swallowed up the sky and the entire looming majesty of the Rocky Mountains, and the sun seemed to gasp and struggle to reach out through the closing pocket of blue sky.

Fall was arriving unnervingly early.

Yet again, this was Colorado, a land of surprises when it came down to the weather.

"Matthew, I'm not done yet!" Screamed my sister, Autumn, who was ironically just as enraged and wild as the current weather of the incoming season.

However, I suppose she had a right to. Visiting the principal's office for the tenth time did not sit well with my sister, especially after the principal made it exceedingly clear to her and my family that the next chat with him would be my last.

My suspension was what he probably dreamed of the moment I was first sent to his office, and by the looks of it his little fantasy may come true. I was and always will be alright with the reality of no longer attending the hell hole that they called a charter school; however, I did not like how his portrayal of me rubbed off on my sister. Now, she paints me as some no good, empty-headed delinquent.

Almost copying Principal Geoffery verbatim, Autumn first lectured me on how I disappointed everyone's expectations by picking a fight with the captain of the football team. Then, she went on to explain the consequences of these behaviors if I continued them- failing to create anything unique that hasn't been mentioned by Mr. Geoffery.

Then somehow this led her to recount previous incidents that happened earlier today, where she found out that I had been using her face towel to wipe my feet for about four years.

Rage induced rants about messing little things up like the towel and not cleaning up my room from a maniacal sister were not exactly my favorite sorts of monologs to tune into. Especially when she constantly twists and manipulates the situation, never failing to end in the conclusion that I was a screw-up and was on a path to failure if I continued this 'radical' behavior.

Not picking up my clothes will be what puts me out on the streets. Sounds like flawless logic and reasoning to me.

"Matthew!" My sister screamed furiously above the steadily increasing, wild howl of wind. Then stretching her hand out and digging her nails into my shoulder, Autumn violently spun me around.

At that moment, I couldn't decide which was more ominous- the brewing lightning storm or the budding wrath of my sister.

Scrunching my face together with distaste but also from the wind lashing sand and dirt into my eyes, I fervently yanked myself free from her grip- tumbling back a bit but immediately regaining balance.

"Not an ideal spot to talk, Autumn." I hissed before briskly resuming my reluctant trudge home. "Spill it all out at home if you even want to have a chance of me listening."

I was going to hear the same repetitive lecture from my parents. Might as well kill two birds with one stone and save my energy by blocking them all out at once.

However, Autumn, being persistent as she always was, ran up ahead of me to block my path.

"Look," she sighed as her face softened, "I'm sorry that I was a little harsh on you back there. I just care for you and your future, alright?" Autumn's eyes fluttered down to the ground as she crossed her bare arms to shield herself from the wind. Then slowly peering up at me and rubbing my shoulder, a tiny smile cracked the edges of her hardened frown. "You are my little brother. I just want the best for you."

Twin. I corrected in my mind- a few seconds did not make her the older sister.

For a moment, all my boiling anger simmered down and was almost replaced with a moment of guilt for arguing with her, but curling my nose and digging my hands into my pockets, I walked past her without saying another word. Why did she have to be so hard to hate?

Whenever we fight, I can't stay mad at her for more than an hour.

I guess that was why everyone loved her. Autumn was just so damn likable.

Momentarily stopping in my tracks and turning my head, I sighed. "Come on, let's go home. You're going to catch a cold if you stay out here any longer without a jacket."

I took a step forward expecting her to follow me, but instead she lagged behind, causing me to spin around to see her standing awkwardly in the middle of the path with her arms wrapped in front of her.

"Actually, Carter asked me to meet him back at school. He wanted to hang out."

Carter. Just hearing the name made me want to strangle something.

Autumn had always insisted that they were only friends, but I knew otherwise. Ever since she first started mentioning Carter, she was constantly with him. Autumn can sing all the praises she wants about Carter, but I will never trust him.

It's not that I was being overprotective. Autumn has had many boyfriends in the past, but Carter was different. He was hiding something, and I didn't like it. 

However, knowing that I would never be able to dissuade her, I reluctantly slipped off my jacket and wrapped it around her shivering body. Autumn had a big game coming soon, and if she had to stay home and miss it she would be an absolute pain in the ass- her whining and complaining about everything.

I would have to be her personal slave and fetch whatever fitted her smallest desire. No, not going to waste my weekend on that.

Before I turned to leave, Autumn grimaced. "Even though you're pissed off, you still care." Then knuckling my head she snickered. "You're the sweetest baby brother-"

I slapped her hand away from me. 

"Keep talking like that and I'm taking my jacket back." I growled angrily, primarily upset that she was right again. No matter how pissed off I was at her, I will always still care.

Autumn snickered, and with one last knuckle to the head she sauntered back in the direction of our school. 

"Alright, I'm going. Thanks, Matt!"

Not wanting to hang around in the wretched weather for long, I made our farewell brief, fought my way through another powerful gust of wind, and picked up the pace to a light sprint.

There was still a good half an hour walk ahead of me, even jogging at this pace, but already I could feel the cold seeping through my bones and freezing the interior walls of my lungs. If anything, I was probably the one going to get sick over the weekend, and my sister would probably not even give a shit about it.

Sisters, sometimes they can be such high maintenance and a pain in the ass.

At least she wasn't as much of a pain like this infernal, bone biting cold. My mind could still not comprehend the fact that we still had a good few weeks before the official start of fall, but we already had this kind of crazy weather. I know that I had earlier blamed it on the fact that I lived in such a bipolar climate, but after seeing how fast and wild this storm was brewing seemed even weird for the usual standards of Colorado, which is saying a lot. 

Colorado is the type of place that will have a blizzard in May, temperatures that will break the nineties in January, and have a flood of rain pour out from what seemed to be a clear, baby blue sky. 

This weather, on the other hand, was on the verge of frightening. The dark clouds had swallowed the sun completely and the once beautiful, golden flakes of aspen leaves were now a spoiled, diseased yellow- streaming by like a plague of locusts. 

A light shadow of sickly gray fell upon the forest, and the wind began to howl louder than ever and roared through the pass like a beast. To add onto the scene, pecks of rain along with an occasional pelt of hail began to increasingly trickle down from the raging storm above. 

What was once beautiful before had turned into a revolting nightmare, and I only knew that I had to get out of this weather as soon as possible. 

If I had my jacket, I would have thrown the hood over my head, but I was left to my own devices, feeling the quick, shots of cold rain wash down my face and bits of hail pound off the top of my head. If I wasn't cold before, I sure as hell was now. 

And oddly enough, my body started to tingle- not that the rain was so bitter my skin felt numb and prickled to the cold like it usually would, but that there seemed to be a constant hum of energy flowing steadily through my blood stream with the pounding rhythm of my heart.

As I walked further, the hum soon turned into a buzz, which later transformed into an electrifying sting that attacked my body in a sudden flash of chaos. Thankfully, the moment was so brief that I didn't even have a chance to let out a scream, but the pain was immense.

It was as if all the blood in my body was sky rocketed to an unimaginable temperature, causing my blood to boil, turn into liquid fire, and sear the lining of my veins. The pain still echoed through every layer of my being, but it simmered down to an aching pain rather than feeling like I was being burned alive from the inside out.

Once I was able to gather some consciousness, my mouth remained open in shock as I stumbled back, taking a look at my shaking arms and hands.

Every inch of skin I could see started to swell and flush with a ghastly shade of translucent red, and the already defined veins on my wrist slowly began to rise even more- their natural blue hue becoming a disturbing black.

My mind and thoughts were racing; Fear had taken over my body entirely, and no matter how hard I willed myself to stop, my limbs had a mind of their own. It was a miracle that I was even able to stand- I couldn't stop shaking, partially because I was afraid but more in the sense that my heart had been jump started.

It was an energy I felt the need to exhaust or run off, but I was held in place by my aching, weak body. In result, the energy continued to swell inside my chest, causing my heart to beat even faster. As in effort to keep up, I tried to breathe in more thinking that it would give me some stability, but instead it only overworked my lungs and made it even more painful to breathe.

However, that was the least of my problems.

As I clutched my chest tightly and stumbled back against a tree for support, I squinted my eyes in pain and glanced around the forest. The air around me was completely still and not a sound came from the trees.

Something else was coming.

Right on cue, a gentle breeze from the front of the pass caressed my face and sifted through my hair- a smell of subtle, musty mint. The sensation was slightly relaxing and cooling on the skin, but a few seconds after each wave seemed to pack a punch against my chest and made me feel heavier, as if it was stacking stones inside my body.

I grunted and collapsed on the dirt, heaving desperately for air and searching for any signs of help with blood shot eyes.

Everything around me was slowed down like it was swimming in molasses, and I helplessly laid there as some force packed more energy into my body than I could possibly handle.

I could feel the energy pushing out against my body in resistance, and if any more was to be put in I would explode like a pressure cooker. Something, I didn't know what, was being inserted into my body, and I could just feel its viscous presence integrate itself into every part of my being.

With my body now completely flat on the ground and feeling heavier than a ton, I screamed impatiently and tried to writhe out from this mysterious grip, but my efforts were fruitless. Soon after, even my screams were smothered by a thick, dense invisible fog, snaking its way from the outside, into my mouth, and through my throat.

My lungs and nose were filled with the smell of burnt mint, which thankfully soothed the inner burns from before, but it blocked out all the oxygen I needed to keep conscious.

It wasn't long before the lining of my vision started going hazy and dim, but before I could black out from the pain the energy was swept away with the howl of a sudden gust of wind.

"Kalum." The wind roared.

As the energy escaped my body, my whole being shuddered, and my chest catapulted up into an arch when I desperately wheezed for air. The overbearing pain weighing down on my chest disappeared and I was finally able to breathe, but my body went limp and thudded against the dirt- empty and useless. With the energy, it seemed that my strength had left as well because I could not even will my fingers to move.

All I could do was stare up at the gray, stormy clouds whirl above my head, feel splashes of rain drip down the sides of my face and pool on my eyes, and feel my chest strain as I gasped for air. More than anything I was confused.

Today was like any other normal day in my life. The storm was slightly bizarre, but there were no abnormal occurrences that led up to this apocalyptic and freakish event. This crazy and painful incident was something you would see from the movies or some fantasy novel, not in the freaking real world. I had to be dreaming, that was the only explanation- an extremely painful and realistic nightmare. 

Gathering enough strength to roll my head over to the side, I grunted and took in the realization of being completely alone, stranded in the middle of a storm and helpless to whatever may happen next. 

Although my heart had slowed down significantly, the panic and fear rose in my throat, making it difficult to concentrate. 

I could only hope that my mother would notice me missing, but again what was I thinking? This was a dream, right? However, I was filled with horror of the possibility that this wasn't. There had to be some way to get help. I couldn't get out of here alone. 

Then it struck me. In my right pocket, I still had my phone. I took it out of my jacket right before I handed it to my sister- thank goodness for that.

Revitalized by the hope and prospect of getting out in one piece, I gritted my teeth together as I wriggled my fingers towards my pockets. They were only inches away, but they seemed to be going nowhere. My body was absolutely useless; I might as well have been paralyzed.

"Come on!" I screamed in frustration, still not giving up. For some reason, I could still feel more coming.

The raging wind from the storm howled again, almost set as a precursor to what was to happen next. It sounded twice as violent than before, and I did not want to stick around to find out. I couldn't take much more of this. 

Again, I heard it. 

"Kalum." The wind hissed as it swept by my ears. 

When I heard it before, I thought I was imagining things, but here I was hearing the word 'Kalum' clear as day. First, I almost get burned alive from the inside out. Then I was stuffed to the point I felt like exploding. Now I'm hearing the wind talk to me.

However, hearing it for the second time was different. The words themselves seemed to restore me with enough energy to rise back on my feet, and something within me gently fluttered along with the wind- almost being carried by it.

Without even noticing at first, my feet stumbled towards the dark void of the forest on their own. In my mind, it made perfect sense to keep wandering in the direction my gut was pulling me but there was no reasonable explanation why. The sensation to follow it was irresistible, and the feeling it washed over me was almost indescribable. 

The closer I got to my mysterious destination, a bit of my strength returned and I was able to stand upright without crouching over like an old man. 

I let out a light scoff of relief and looked down at my hands. They still had a slight hue of red, but I could see the swollen veins on my wrist level out with the rest of my skin and turn back to its original healthy color. 

My eyes shot back up to the dense shadows of the forest in shock. I was healing. 

Not even thinking of the possible threats that lay ahead, I took another step forward and was greeted with a feeling that surged through my body like adrenaline. Unlike the previous energy that seemed to wreck havoc throughout my body, this energy seemed to heal me. 

Hooking me like a drug, I staggered forward and was consumed with an uncontrollable desire to blindly follow the call. I did my best to reason myself with common sense, but the desire was too strong and possessed me completely. 

I found myself running like mad off the trail and further into the forest- passing the thin scatter or aspens and into the dense blockade of pine. 

Normally, I would be panting out of breath and would have stopped to drape myself over a fallen tree, but this mysterious, constant flow of power granted me with a newfound athleticism. I laughed in pure elation and turned back to look at the trail behind me grow smaller and disappear behind the straggly curtain of aspens. 

Smirking, I pressed myself to run even faster. 

The cool touch of the wind and rain blowing past my face, the incredible force and strength exerted out through my arms and legs, and the slush of the forest floor folding beneath my feet was all too perfect.

Who was the straggly black sheep of the athletic Descartes family now? 

I laughed again and remained unaltered as a fallen, decaying tree blocked the path in front of me. It stood about five feet high and about sixteen long, but instead of slowing down I clenched my jaw, tightened my arms, and ran forward at it with determination. 

It only occurred to me that this idea was absolutely crazy and probably one of the most retarded things I could possibly do half way through, but with one giant leap, I dug my feet into the side, braced my arms on the top of the log, and gracefully leaped down from it in one fluid motion.

Still running, I took a quick second to look behind me and marvel over the miracle I just performed. I beamed with pride and looked at my hands in wonder. 

I was just a scrawny artist that could not even run for five minutes, not an athlete that could preform parkore stunts. Whatever happened to me changed my whole body chemistry. The question was what exactly did it do to me and what were the consequences. 

The grim thought dimmed the previous light of my victory, but before I could ponder on anything more my foot hooked under a root that protruded out from the ground, which sent me flying towards the edge of a ten foot drop. 

"Oh, shit! Shit! Shit!" I hissed as I skidded dangerously close to the edge, clawing at the mud and decomposing foliage of the forest as an effort to stop myself from sliding down the hill.

I thought it was over and that my body was going to slam against every tree on the way down, but I lunged forward with all my strength to take hold of the neck of a young sapling. Then using the forward momentum of my fall to swing my legs back over the edge, I landed on my knees and rolled onto my back. 

Pulling my hands back through my hair, I panted and shook my head. That was a close one. Just right then I could have died by snapping my neck against a tree, but I was proud over the fact that I saved myself last minute and felt like Indiana Jones.

A slight smile crept up my lips, but something beneath the hill shimmered and caught my eye. Throwing myself onto my stomach and peering over the hill, my mouth fell open in awe. 

Standing plain as day in the clearing was a blue orb of light, bobbing gently in the air and lighting everything around it an a electric blue haze. The inside of the orb was jutting and swirling in constant motion, and the outer rim spun outwards in a steady and constant pulse, rippling out the gentle, healing breeze I felt earlier in all directions.  

The moment I locked eyes on it, I knew that this was where I had to be. But why? 

I swallowed hard as I slowly backed away from the edge, as if it would see me, and quickly scrambled for my phone to take a picture of it- like any teenager would in my generation. 

Holding the camera steady and snapping multiple photos zoomed in and at different angles, I didn't want to stay any longer and wait for something to happen. So thanks to my newfound ability, I ran away as fast as I could and burst through the front door of my house without breaking a sweat, which surprised my mother. 

"Matthew!" She exclaimed as she raised her head above her laptop and tipped down her reading glasses, exposing her kind brown eyes flutter in concern. "Did something happen in school today?"

I momentarily stopped dead in my tracks, flashed with an unwelcomed montage of my day fighting with the principal and the school's head douchebag, but the phone clenched in my fists and the startling pictures inside reminded me that more urgent matters were on hand. 

"Mom," I exclaimed with urgency, marching towards her, "did you hear anything about the storm today?" 

Her face fell into absolute bewilderment. "Yeah, it's terrible." She said as her eyes momentarily wandered away to process my mysterious behavior. "The news said- my god, Matthew, you are sopping wet!" 

I furiously shook my head to dismiss the problem and slammed my phone down on the counter in front of her to expose the phenomena in front of me. 

"Did they say anything about this?" I demanded. 

My mother's gentle brown eyes furrowed together to shoot me a scolding look. "Matt, calm down!" She hissed. Then rolling her head and pulling back a few strands of her blond hair behind her ear, she threw up her hand and narrowed her eyes as she moved her head closer to the screen. "What am I even supposed to be looking at?" 

I scoffed. "You're kidding, right? This!" I exclaimed while I zoomed the picture in with my two fingers.

The blue orb was so bright it was popping off the screen. I can't see how she would miss it, even if she needed a new prescription of reading glasses.

There was a moment of silence as she took another couple of seconds to analyze the bizarre photo I set in front of her. 

"A picture of the forest floor and wet leaves, how exciting. Matthew, honestly, stop playing around, get some dry clothes on, pack an umbrella, and do some homework for once in your life, alright? Please, don't make me repeat myself." She ordered, glaring up at me unamused and tired of all the shinagins I put her through on a day to day basis. 

Shaking my head, I frantically snatched my phone from the counter and looked at the photo myself, zooming the photo in and out in a frenzy. The blue orb was right there- it took over three fourths of the photo. To miss it, you had to have been blind. 

I desperately shoved my phone back in her face. "The blue orb thing! It's freaking right there!" 

Rolling her eyes and shooting out of her seat, she shoved my arm aside. "Matthew," she scolded as she shot me a dirty look, "you're testing me. This isn't funny. Go upstairs, now." 

Not wanting to get in trouble but not wanting to give up, I slowly shuffled my feet back towards my room upstairs but remained facing her. Holding up my phone and vigorously pointing towards it, I gaped at her in disbelief. 

"It's right there! How can you not see it?" I yelled desperately, finding my sanity in question. 

Her eyes fumed and sparked with anger. "Now!" She growled with her finger sharply extended towards the direction of my room. 

Defeated, I retreated to my room and held my head in my hands as I swiped through all the photos of the blue orb in my phone. It was pronounced and visible in each and every photo. I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming, but it was still there. I took a ten minute nap to hopefully wake up to a normal picture, but it was still there. I even tried shutting off my phone and checking the screen for cracks, but it was still there. 

Ruffling my hair in frustration, I zoomed in and out of the first photo I took. It didn't make sense that my mother didn't see a thing, but I know that she was the no-nonsense type and told it to me the way it was.

Wait.

When I was recklessly zooming in and out, I noticed an odd pattern and shape in the core of the orb. 

I hunched my shoulders forward and held the screen closer to my eyes as I zoomed in. There was not much to look at it since it looked like a simple blue and white blip on the screen, but my fingers went ice cold and the phone fell right between my finger tips- the screen shattering against the wooden floor. 

There was a face. Right in the middle of the dot there was a man's face with his hands holding onto a ledge, staring straight at me. 

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Vote if you enjoyed and comment if it fancies you ;) haha. 

Sorry, it took me forever to update haha. I just felt like my writing skills have not been up to game recently, since I haven't written in forever, but I just fought through it and thought what the hell. This is only a rough draft. 

It's 3 AM right now, so sorry for the errors and the crap fest, but hopefully the storyline is interesting enough :)

Again, thanks so much! Have a wonderful day ;)

















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