Cold sweat beaded along the sides of my forehead while I tossed and turned in my twisted sheets.

Similar to before but not quite feeling like I was being burnt alive, my body was flashed with an insufferable amount of heat, paired along with an ungodly combination of chills, which only seemed to trickle up and down my spine. As if that was not torture enough, the chills would periodically nick a nerve, causing my whole body to constrict and be imprisoned by momentary paralysis.

For a few moments, I would just have to lie there- my spirit thrashing wildly inside my body for release, but soon after I would be freed and the pent up movement would explode in a frenzy of kicking and banging my fists against the head rest.

I thought I could sleep it off and ignore it, but even when I tried waking myself up I couldn't. I was trapped in darkness, being closed in by shadows I couldn't see and bombarded by words I couldn't understand.

An ocean of black roared relentlessly beneath me, it's presence only detectable when it's waves thundered against the jagged rocks- white foam leaping out into the air like fangs snapping at my hovering feet. Everything my eye could see was dense and potent like black ink, which made it difficult to decipher how high up in the air I was, but I was able to spot a wall of mist crawl out from the horizon and stretch it's tendrils over the towering waves.

A warm gust of wind from the ocean whipped past my face and tussled my hovering body, the wind's humid touch expanding my lungs with dense, musty air and layering my body with salty spray.

The taste of the ocean lingered on my tongue and overwhelmed my senses with an overpowering amount of salt, and on top of the deafening harmony of the wild sea and wind there were multitudes of strange voices yelling at me in a different tongue and time.

This was all too much. 

Rolling my head and feeling my right eye twitch, I threw my hands up to my ears in the nightmare, which I similarly did in real life. 

"Stop it!" I yelled to the voices in fury. "I don't understand you, stop it!'

Instead, their chanting only grew louder and more uniform, forming their random, incoherent chatter into one steady stream of words.

"Osh keem Kalum. Yamor rem Othor, rem attahm Oströn."

Kalum. I heard that word before- the word I heard the wind roar each time I seemed to undergo a different phase.

"Kalum!" I exclaimed hopefully, praying that if I was able to communicate and appease the voices they would stop. "Yes, Kalum! Tell me what that means."

After demanding for an answer, I couldn't have felt more mentally challenged. I wasn't going to get an answer from the voices- one that I understood. They spoke a language entirely different from any language I have ever heard. Their words were so alien, but at the same time they held so much power and was probably one of the most beautiful sounds I listened to- so gentle and fluid. 

To my surprise, there was a deep, masculine chuckle.

"Kalum is you, my boy."

Startled by hearing a reply but also hearing the voices finally speak to me in English, I tore myself out from my nightmare and out from my bed, falling over the side like a klutz and lying on the floor amidst the shattered shards of my pride.

What the hell was that?

Fully alert and springing up to my feet, I rushed over to my dresser and snatched my phone off its charger.

The screen was cracked and shards of glass pricked my finger once I slid my thumb across it, but it did not falter me from viewing the photos I took from yesterday. The blue orb was still there and so was that face.

And on top of all that, I am supposed to be Kalum. What the hell was that even supposed to mean?

Instinctively, I started to nervously pace alongside my bed, as if that would help me answer any of my questions. Then, I snapped my head back to look at the clock, noting that the time was 4:41 A.M.- a time no one should be awake at.

It was only a dream, and since it was still so early in the morning I could be delusional.

This would not be the first time my overactive imagination got the best of me and convinced me to believe, during my early waking moments, that my dreams were real. 

My mind fought for me to reconsider the pictures on my phone and that all the pieces still did not add up, but I pushed them aside without second thought and turned my focus on obtaining a cool glass of water. All the turning and cold sweat left me parched. 

Sliding out from my bed and skillfully avoiding all the creaks that hid underneath the rickety wooden floorboards of my house, I slipped through my bedroom door and paused the moment I laid eyes on the white radiating apple of my sister and I's shared mac. It was just winking at me through the small crack in her door, beckoning for me to take it. 

There was no way that I would be able to sleep after that dream, and if I just had a quick look on the internet to find any explanation of what I saw or heard I could ease my battering nerves. 

Autumn would be pissed. Tomorrow was her day with the computer, and she would be enraged if I would even move it, yelling and acting like I encroached upon her personal rights. 

Just hearing her rattle on about it already made my ears ache, so I moved passed her room to forget about it but then paused and mulled over all the questions picking at my mind.

"Fuck it." I murmured rebelliously while I snatched her laptop and scurried down the stairs like a runaway convict. 

Then throwing the lid of the computer up and fixing my concentrated gaze on the Google search bar, I interlaced my fingers together and slowly drew them closer to my mouth. This was the internet, and even a neanderthal would know that the internet contains everything created and imagined by humankind. However, I started having doubts. 

What if I found nothing? If the internet did not contain anything related to what I saw, I wouldn't know what to do- spoken like a true internet reliant teenager. 

No, there had to be something like a definition for the word 'Kalum' or some crazy theory posted on an abandoned site that sat idly on the internet stacking up dust.

Even if I did begin searching, where would I even start? I had so many questions but was clueless on how to word them.  

Blue orbs after storm. 

I shook my head and immediately backspaced what I just wrote. That wouldn't do because maybe this wasn't related to the storm at all. 

The face in the orb haunted my mind again. 

Men in orbs. 

I laughed and held my head in my hands. I don't even want to see the search results for this. 

Alien encounters. 

Thousands upon thousands of search results popped up but none seemed to even touch on the events that I witnessed. Of course, I couldn't possibly have the time to search through all of them, but they only seemed to focus on being abducted or seeing the stereotypical bug-eyed, green aliens hiding out in the forest or advancing towards them. 

Tapping and rolling my fingers on the keyboard, I slowly pressed one key after another. 

Am I crazy? 

Maybe that's just it. The stupidity of my school and everyone around me finally drove me mad. 

I sighed and let my head fall into my folded arms, groaning at the throbbing pain in my temples. It was as if all the pent-up questions were threatening to burst right out of my forehead, but I was afraid of actually searching for anything else and coming up with no answer at all. I would rather stick to crazy and insane theories that I think to exist in my imagination rather than discovering that there was nothing. 

But I just had to do it. 

After one sharp breath and stretching my fingers, I resumed the search, typed in every combination of what I saw possible, but came up with nothing after a grueling hour and a half. 

I was honestly flabbergasted at the absence of explanations but also horrified at what this could possibly mean. I looked up everything and anything I could imagine. I even started looking up fictional movies and books, and if there were any ideas that bore a slight resemblance to the blue orb I saw in the forest I would look up the author or director to research their past, praying to find any mentionings of odd experiences or inspiration in their personal lives. However, there was absolutely nothing. The only lead I was able to find and get my hopes up on was a little definition for the name Kalum. Apparently, it was a Celtic name short for the name 'Malcolm'. 

After that, I spent a good whole forty minutes looking up Celtic mythology, but it honestly came to nothing that related to my experiences. So much for that. 

As the morning sun started to rise and splash the waking world in a shower of gold, the birds squealed and jittered- eager to start a new day, but to me it seemed that their preposterous screaming and endless squawking was a hymn of mockery at my fruitless attempts of finding any answers.

The last straw of my patience finally snapped, and I slammed the laptop shut in frustration and rubbed my eyes with my thumbs in a methodic circular motion.

"Looks like someone finally learned how to wake up on their own, good job." An all too familiar voice jeered as Autumn made her grand entrance into the kitchen.

The stiff line my mouth was pressed into all morning cracked into a sarcastic and hateful grimace, her cheerful and chipper tone packing more fuel to fire the anger and irritation burning in my eyes. With my lack of sleep and hell of a situation, anything cheerful made me want to watch the world burn. 

To say the least, I was really cranky- never was a morning person, clearly.

Then feigning a look of gratitude, I replied with a bitter smirk. "Thank you, but can't say the same about you. Looks like someone hasn't learned how to not be an annoying ass." 

With her back turned to me and making her way from one side of the kitchen to the other so she could make her precious and much-needed cup of coffee, she exploded in a fit of giggles. 

"Savage!" Then once she obtained her steaming mug of burnt beans, she shuffled her way over to me with a silly grin on her face. Just seeing her presence approach my general vicinity irked me, and I could feel my insides churn when she rested her hand on my head. 

Head ruffle in three. Two. One. 

Right on cue, Autumn dug her fingers into my mat of brown hair and added onto my bed head by disheveling it. "It's not good for little boys to have such a bad mouth, baby brother." She cooed mockingly, talking down to me like she was talking to a child. 

My neck shrunk into my hunched shoulders at the sheer sound of 'baby brother'. 

"Twin." I corrected bitterly as I shot up from the kitchen chair and marched up the stairs to escape my sister and get ready for school. We were already a few minutes late, and while her perfect record could sustain a few smudges mine could not. Knowing how much of an insufferable prick my principal was, who built a sad life on bullying teenagers, he would jump at any opportunity to suspend me. 

Enough with roasting my principal. I had to focus and save up my energy for surviving another day of school. The head douchebag and captain of the football teak- a.k.a Julian Hernandez, was probably going to be all up in my business after what happened yesterday. 

He was never the type to settle for a visit to the principal. He was more of the mass-humiliate-your-victims guy. 

The moment I set foot on the sidewalk leading up to my campus, I could feel his eyes, along with his whole band of ignorant, bandwagon cronies, follow me to the crooked steel doors of the school. As much as I hate to say it, if it wasn't for my sister walking right beside me they would have encircled me by now and started pushing me around like a hacky sack, kicking the hell out of me. 

I suppose it's some odd moral code that makes them believe wounding people is entirely ethical unless it's in front of an attractive girl. 

"Matt," my sister whispered as she leaned in closer to me, her head protectively hovering over mine. "They're not worth your time. Please, just ignore them."

Stepping away from her to preserve my manhood and to prove that I didn't need her presence as some sort of shield, I walked a bit faster. "I'll try telling that to my ribs the next time their fists lodge into it." I grumbled keenly.

Autumn was always intent on putting in the last word, so the moment I saw her open her mouth I just went for it and jogged towards my first-period class, which was held at a spot worse than the fire spitting pit of doom itself: the gym. Normally, I would put up with it and just let her spit out whatever she wanted to say, but I honestly wasn't in the mood.

This morning was a nightmare, and all the unanswered questions about the blue orb were pecking at my mind. It was giving me a migraine.

Once I was far enough away, I turned back just in time to catch Autumn's long, blonde curls shake as she shook her head in disappointment, and instead of pursuing me like she usually would she gave up and disappeared behind the creaky, stubborn front doors of our school. 

That was a first. 

However, before I could turn around completely a little flutter of yellow behind Autumn's head caught my eye. I blinked hard to reset my vision and looked again to focus on the object, but it seemed to follow after my sister and slip right between the cracks of the closing metal door. 

All I had now to rely on was a quick glance that threatened to become a fleeting and ever growing blur in my memory.

It was a golden maple leaf that bobbed up and down peacefully in the air, never once sashaying down to the ground but instead floating in midair and being pulled along by my sister. 

Narrowing my eyes in contemplation and slowly turning back around on my heels, I grasped the straps of my backpack and mulled over what I just saw- the memory becoming even more hazy and unclear the more I tried thinking about it. It just didn't make sense. The air was dead and since I walked out I didn't even feel a puff of air. The idea of the mysterious object being a balloon struck my mind, but that idea was just retarded. It was too small, and my sister was not the type to carry balloons around.

A sharp pang of pain tore through my temples, and my ears were swarmed with a deafening high pitched ring. 

I had to immediately stop walking and clasp my hands around my ears, instinctually bending over and taking a moment to somehow drown out the screaming ring that suddenly dominated my thoughts and drowned out the world outside. 

When the ringing refused to go away, I started to panic. Was this what it felt like to go deaf? I heard many horror stories of people randomly losing their perfect hearing out of the blue, and I started investing in the idea that it was happening to me. 

Thankfully, however, the ringing eventually faded away and I was able to hear the bubbly grumbles of cars pooling into the parking lot, the muddled laughter, whispers, and squeals of cheerleaders behind me blend in with the low rumble or grumpy students, and the bell inside the school screech at everyone to get into class. 

The bell. 

My eyes widened, and I quickly snapped into reality.

Holy shit, I was going to be late. 

Booking it over to the gym, I ran as fast as my scrawny legs could carry me, and since I was more focused on the time I didn't think twice about the fact that I was able to run into class without breaking a sweat. 

While it didn't catch my attention, it caught my archnemesis's. 

"Look at that, Matthew Descartes running without heaving like a little bitch." Julian snarled. 

The rest of his pathetic friends laughed after his one liner like they were in some pitiful sitcom. 

I scoffed and bit the inside of my cheek to prevent me from saying anything else that would get me in trouble. It was so tempting to spill some brutal honesty and watch him fall back into place, but I could hear Autumn's voice in the back of my head pleading for me to take the higher road and be the good guy. 

But forget taking the higher road and being the good guy. I will be doing this a guy a favor by getting his head out of his ass. 

Someone has to be doing this dirty work at some point. I didn't see the problem with the time being now.

"Really? You need ten other friends, who, let's face it, are only your friends because you're the captain, to be around so you can make some pathetic one liner? That can't even offend or scare me if you said that with a knife to my throat. Good luck, moron. Take another week and come up to me with an actual insult-" 

"Matthew Descartes!" My P.E. coach roared my all too familiar name in the midst of my rant, his face fuming red while his voice echoed inside the spacious and painted walls of the gym, catching the attention of everyone inside. 

Although I practically feared no one at my school- Julian and his miserable football team, the teachers, and even Principal Geoffery, Coach Grady scared the living hell out of me. 

He was the type of man that you could look at and tell that he was in the military and has probably killed a man with his own bare hands. He also had the look that could wrench the truth out from your lying lips if you ever wanted to fake your way out from running the mile. Trust me, I know from personal experience. 

When I didn't respond fast enough, Coach Grady stormed his way towards me, the court rumbling and shaking under his pure hunk of bulging muscles and towering mass. 

This was only the first quarter of school and he was already at his wit's end with me- never a good sign. Not that I blame him. He constantly has to yell my name or throw me into after school detention for bad mouthing Julian, skipping class, lying or faking injuries to opt out of any activities that required a pinch of athleticism, or getting beat up. 

The poor man probably had nightmares of repeating my name over and over again and chasing me back into his physical education class. 

Even though he was the teacher I probably got in trouble in with the most, I had an odd respect for him. It's just unfortunate that sports are my kryptonite, and I will continue to do anything to escape. 

I mostly blame Principal Geoffrey for this mess. He knows very well that Julian and I do not mix, and making anyone's first-period class P.E. is just his big 'screw you' to the face. He literally sends all the school's delinquents, along with an occasional defenseless nerd, into this class. 

"Matthew, you have one minute before I mark you tardy. Get changed, go down to the field, and run the mile. Don't make the whole class wait for you. Again." Coach Grady growled as he stared me down, telling me with his eyes that I better not try to run away. 

No guarantees.

I was tempted, partially because I didn't feel like dealing with Julian, but I caught up with the rest of the class and found my place in the back of the crowd, dreading the shrill scream of the whistle that would commence the timed mile run. 

It was too early in the morning for this. There's a special place in hell for whoever thought that first period P.E. was a good idea. 

While I was minding my own business, kicking up the red gravel on the track and retreating into my mind to revisit the debacle that happened yesterday, Julian paid me a friendly visit by roughly elbowing me forward with his shoulders. 

"Try to run a little faster, Descartes. The class doesn't want to wait for you again." His lips curled into a malicious sneer as he put an extra emphasis on 'again'. 

Our coach threw the red whistle into his mouth and held it between his lips, taking us all in with his hardened, militant gaze, which seemed to slightly let way to a hint of disappointment. The majority of us never did well with the mile, except for the athletes. It was clear that failing at the mile was not only an embarassment for us but for him as well. 

As I saw Coach Grady's chest rise in preparation to blow the whistle, a quick flashback of running in the forest yesterday evening blazed through my mind- the stream of tree trunks passing by, the cool breeze caressing my face, and the refreshing rain pelting off my skin.

Do I still have my ability from yesterday, and would I be able to use it to beat Julian in the mile run?

I knew I was fast yesterday, but I struggled to judge whether I would be fast enough to beat him. Julian was the record holder for the mile run at our school, and it was days like this where he would proudly reinforce that fact and claim the title of best runner. 

I slowly turned my head towards Julian and curiously peered at him, calculating whether challenging him or not was worth a shot. 

Julian apparently noticed my inquisitive staring and crumpled his forehead to throw me a disgusted but more confused look. "Why the fuck are you looking at me? Are you gay or something, Descartes?"

Calm, collected, and unaltered by his tone and insinuation, I shook my head, a smirk slowly creeping up the edges of my face as I gained more confidence in my new ability. "No, I was just wondering what you would look like once I beat you in the mile run." 

Still looking confused as ever and trying to process what I said with the few brain cells he had left, he scoffed. "What-"

But before he could finish, the whistle cut him off, and, for the first time in my life, I went all for it. I threw my whole weight in front of me, leaped ahead with my left foot, and propelled myself forward with my arms to add more power to my aggressive burst. The explosion of energy allowed me to have a decent headstart. 

Again, flashes of my run yesterday filled me with elation and confidence, and I could feel my body flush with adrenaline, my legs powered as they slashed through the air and launched off the ground, and the rythm of my breathing acting as a metrenome for my feet.

I could feel my heart thunder against my chest as air expanded my lungs. 

Inhale. Passed one person. 

Exhale. Another person eventually straggled behind.

One by one, I crawled my way out from the huddled and centered mass of people and inched my way to the front. Before I knew it, I was almost half way around the track, only Julian by my side. ,

Unlike me, he was profusely sweating, heaving, and fighting for each and every breath. I could almost hear his chest shake and shudder as he strained his lungs for more fuel to keep him running. I quickly looked over at his poor condition and almost felt sorry for him, but then I remembered this was Julian Hernandez, who had an ego that could afford this little blow. 

"About time you catched up, buddy. It got lonely up here. But now let's have some fun." I jeered at Julian, enjoying every moment I exceeded him. 

Powerhungry and ready to test my exact limits, I pressed onwards and found myself running at a speed that I couldn't even imagine possible. My muscles only started burning once I passed the line and surpassed the open jaws of my dazed and gobsmacked, normally begruntled, P.E coach. 

Slowing down and circling around Coach Grady to see my time, I even had to shake my head and make sure I was seeing those numbers right. But there they were, popping out on screen and on the lined paper he recorded my time on. 

4:41

I ran the mile under five minutes. 

Coach Grady's eyes sparked in amazement and respect, a look that I had never seen before in my life. Still dazed, he just shook his head. "Ever thought of joining the track team, Descartes?" 

I let out a quick chortle of laughter and looked down at my arms and at my body. Honestly, I never had felt so great in my life. With this ability, I definintly would consider doing running a lot more often- maybe I will join the track team.

Joining me at 5:38, Julian hurled himself past the finish line, his eyes fixed on me the entire time and blazing with hatred. 

"What the fuck did you take? Steroids or some shit? Don't act so cocky, you little prick." Julian growled as he threw himself at me, getting dangerously close and seemed to be a second away from punching me. 

At least I know that I would be able to outrun him if I ever needed to. 

Now having some assurance, I got a little more ballsier than I should and used this opportunity to talk back. More people started to gather, but I didn't let that stop me. Matter of fact, it encouraged me more than anything. 

Payback time, Julian Hernandez.

"No, but it's sad that I actually beat the guy who probably does." I announced a bit louder with a coy smirk dancing on my lips.

 I was really crossing a line here. The light and united gasp of the crowd confirmed it.

Julian clearly had enough, and I suppose to show off and turn this exchange of words into a full on quarrel he took off his shirt as to intimidate me and prepare for a full on physical fight. However, as I highly believe, he was just doing this to show off to the girls in a crowd- like the self-absorbed douche he is. 

I couldn't help but scoff at his ridiulous show. He was pretty built, but it wasn't like he had chiseled muscles that seemed to be carved out of rock.

"Nice toned, steady, and built rib cage you got there. Really flaunt it, I'm sure the ladies love it."

Julian eyes widened, but his surprise was quickly overtaken with anger and fury. Scoffing and huffing out from his nose, he snapped his head in my direction and glared me down, his eyes darkening by the minute. "You think your so tough with your smart ass comments don't you, Descartes?"

Chuckling, I took a step forward to show him up and grimaced. "In a way. It's always reassuing to know that your bully is an empty-headed buffoon." 

In response, Julian laughed silently to himself and cracked his knuckles- never once taking his eyes off me. "I wouldn't say I'm the idiot. It's you who never learns." 

Then busting out his fists, charging me into the metal fence that surrounded the field, he clenched his white knuckles around the collar of my shirt. From the impact of my body, the metal fence jingled and blended in with the surprised gasps and whispers of the bystanders and Julian's heavy and constrained breathing on my face. 

Silence and tention ensued, and his bloodythirsty eyes bore into mine while I glared back at him- unmoved and ufazed.

He already did this to me so many times that this was simply a routine.

"You want to say anything else?" Julian dared, his fists closing and pressing my throat in.

"Take your hands off me." I replied collectidly. 

Late as always, Coach Grady discovered our little showdown. "Matthew Descartes and Julian Henandez, back away from eachother now!" He yelled with his husky and demanding voice. 

However, his typical militant and agressive words were not enough to settle our bout. We both ignored him completely and stubbornly stayed in place. 

"You never fucking learn, do you? Maybe this time, I shouldn't just send you to the nurse but beat your ass to the hospital." 

My eyes sparked with electricity once my patience started to trinkle away, and as I clenched my fists my nerves jumped and tingled throughout my body. My hands were cold, and I had an overwhelming urge to punch the lights out of him. 

"One last chance, Julian. Take your hands off me." I growled slowly to enunciate each and every syllable.

A surge of unfamiliar anger burned through my body, and to hold back from throwing Julian away I had to clench every muscle in my body. I never felt so angry in my life, containing so much power to mow everything down in my path

"Last chance? You can't even lift a-" 

I snapped. 

Before he could finish his snarky little comment, I clamped my fingers around his wrists, jerked him back, and, meeting the whites of terrified eyes for a moment, I dug my foot into his chest and kicked him away in one, suddent gust. 

However, the power I did my best to restrain and pack into Julian's chest was enough to send Julian airborn for four feet and skidding on his back for five. And as if that was not enough to quell the obscure wrath that crazed me, I marched over to Julian's squirming body, buried my fingers into his left shoulder, and slammed his back down to the ground. 

"Yeah, I gave you a last chance." I rasped in a voice different than my own.

Still blinded by my anger, I raised my fists in the air so that it towered above his face, but before I could strike down completely and knock Julian out cold his expression caught me off guard- my fists hovering inches above his face.

Julian's mouth fluttered from between being agape to sealed shut while his face constantly twitched into different contorted and horrified angles. Once he opened his mouth, muffled and incomplete words stammered out.  

Julian seemed beyond horrified, and once I looked into his eyes I myself became afraidd. 

In the reflection of his dialted and wide brown eyes, I saw a blue light spiral out from my fists like a mist, and when I tore my attention off of Julian and looked at my hands I noticed that my fingertips had turned completely light blue. And spiraling up from my fingertips and crawling up to my elbow was a white crumbly frost that you would typically see on a window during a winter morning. 

I shot up from the ground and shook my head in panic. What the hell was happening? 

"You... you freak!" Screamed Julian as he writhed away and eventually picked himself. "What the hell are you?" He demanded with an accusing finger.

Just as his words resparked my anger, the blue flames dancing on my fingertips flared out in an agressive burst forward to parallel my feelings, causing Julian and myself to stumble backwards in absolute terror. 

I started shaking and thought back to the excruciating agony my body boiled with yesterday. 

Fear had once again consumed my mind, and as a last ditch effort to save myself I ran towards the trees and away from everybody around me. I didn't know how they reacted to this freak accident since I was more preoccupied on my current situation, but I didn't care. 

I had to find someway to fix this, and the only way I knew how was the blue orb in the forest. 

Last time, it took the pain away. I can only pray that it will take whatever the hell this was. 

Hopefully, it was still there. 

A/N: Enjoyed reading? I would enjoy it if you left a vote <3

Also, SORRY! It took me forever to write, but I got it out ;) Writers block is such a pain in the ass haha. 

Anyway, chapter dedicated to my twinsy SkarlitDawn. Just thanks for the overall support you show me man <3