The ship came up to a dock and slowed to a stop. We all filed out slowly from a rather primitive gangplank that, I don't mind saying, made me feel very unsafe.

"Oh, Ravi, would you hold this for me for a second?" Dr. Smith said, shoving something into my hand and hurrying off. I looked at it. It was a little scroll of paper with a quill attached. I shrugged and pocketed it.

The fog had all but disappeared, leaving only a few wisps in the air. The entire island had a very drab look to it, an almost depressing air. I tried not to think about how I would be living here for who-knows how long.

Dr. Smith came off the boat and breathed in deeply through his nose. "Ah, how I've missed this place," he said fondly.

"It looks like an asylum," Liam said bluntly.

"That's because it is," a voice replied from the back of the group. We turned to look. It was Mason, the sulky kid. He had a dark look in his eyes. The truth of his words sank in. It looked like an asylum because it was. Because we were insane.

A boy with curly brown hair--Harrison, I think, the sheepy guy--shivered.

The castle-looking structure still look dreary as ever--but now held a certain eeriness to it, a certain chill.

Then laughter broke through the silence. We whirled around. It was Dr. Smith, doubled over, laughing his face off. "I suppose," he gasped, "it does look a tad dreary."

"Understatement of the year," a boy behind me muttered...Alex?

"Well then," Dr. Smith said, wiping the tears from his eyes gleefully, "shall we go inside?"

No one responded, but he started walking that way anyways. We followed warily.

"I have a theory," Spencer (the nerd boy) said.

"Pray tell," Deynan said dryly.

"I believe we are being captured by the government to use for experimentation," he said matter-of-factly.

I looked up at the creepy facility and could suddenly imagine all-too-well someone being experimented on in there.

"Wow," Liam said, "I suppose the government caused us to faint five times and see crazy images and be insane, too."

Spencer frowned and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "I'm still working on that part."

"Well I also have a theory," Xavier said, mocking Spencer by pretending to push imaginary glasses up on his nose. "I believe we're all MUTANTS that the government wants to destroy, so we have to hide here."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," I protested suddenly.

"Don't shoot down ideas unless you've got a better one," Isaac whispered in my ear. "People get mad."

Sure enough, Xavier turned to me, smirking. "Oh yeah? Why isn't it possible? Give me ONE REASON. Or a better theory."

I fought the urge to look away. "I just have a hard time believing any people as weird as this crowd are mutants."

"That's kind of the point," he replied, with a cocked eyebrow. "I bet I'm right too. Hey Dr. Smith!" he called out suddenly. "Are we all mutants that the government wants to destroy and we're hiding here?"

"You're closer than you might imagine, Xavier," Dr. Smith replied, turning his head over his shoulder, but continuing to walk. "The question is, which government?" He had an amused air to his voice.

There was silence. Then Liam spoke. "What do the Soviets want with us?" he cried dramatically. Several boys laughed lightly. I rolled my eyes, neglecting to tell him that the Soviet Union collapsed a while ago. He probably knew, but if he didn't, it just confirmed my theory that half the people here were idiots.

I rubbed my temples. Too many theories.

We finally reached the outer ring of the "castle". The stones were dark gray, and wet from the fog that was still drifting around. Two bright fires burned on torches flanking a black portcullis. Dr. Smith walked up to it and knocked twice, as if it was a normal door. In all honesty, it looked like it hurt and didn't make much of a sound at all.

Nonetheless, the portcullis began to rise. Dr. Smith looked back at us with a satisfied smile, as if he thought we would be shocked. I mentally rolled my eyes. Like I was going to fall for that. There were obviously people watching with cameras or something, and had raised when he knocked, making it look like "magic". How stupid was that? Everyone knows there's no such thing as magic.

We walked into a courtyard looking area. There were torches lining the walls, but they would probably be snuffed out soon, as the sun appeared to be rising. The courtyard wasn't as dreary as I had expected. There were little bushes around the outside, and the stone pathway that branched off in a cross looked almost clean. Dr. Smith walked decisively down the center path towards a big wooden door. In full daylight, it probably would've given off the 'grand' vibe, but in the wilted light of the morning (plus the fog) it really looked kind of lame.

Again, Dr. Smith knocked, the door opened, and he looked at us like we were supposed to be impressed. It was getting rather annoying, actually.

The inside of the building was...homier than I would've expected. Small lamps lined the walls, casting a warm golden glow over the hallways. The structure itself was as simple as Lincoln Logs: large room, hallway connecting to next large room, etc. We still hadn't turned. Finally, we came to the biggest room of all. There was another fancy-ish door on the opposite side of the room. I fought the urge to shake my head woefully. These doors were just trying too hard.

Dr. Smith walked up to the door and turned around a few feet away. "Boys," he announced, spreading his arms, "I present to you...the dining hall!" The doors behind him opened dramatically. He looked quite pleased.

I rolled my eyes.

We walked in. The dining hall was fairly spacious, all wooden. Our footsteps echoed around the hall.

"Where are the other people?" Isaac whispered behind me. I realized with a start that he was right. Were we the ONLY people in this entire "school"?

Dr. Smith sat down at a circular table near the front of the room and beckoned for us to do the same. The room was awkwardly quiet. We all sat, the scratching of the chairs on the wood conspicuously loud. There was silence.

"I would begin," Dr. Smith said, "but it is common courtesy to wait for the other students. They like to see your reactions."

I froze. I did NOT like the tone in his voice...or his words. Reactions? Reactions to what? The last time someone said they wanted to see my reaction to something was when Aasha shoved a pie in my face to wake me up on my birthday (mind you: a real pie, not whipped cream). I watched him carefully.

Just then, the doors burst open and boys came pouring through. The sudden excess of noise made me jump. The boys ranged from maybe a bit older than us to pre-college age. They wasted no time in sitting at the tables.

Then all eyes turned to us, dancing with anticipation.

"They're waiting for our 'reaction'," I realized.

"That's mildly terrifying," Isaac mused.

Dr. Smith cleared his throat and looked pointedly at the boys around the room. They didn't move. He lifted his head slightly. "You may talk amongst yourselves," he said loudly.

No one even twitched. I've NEVER seen a room of guys so quiet and still.

Dr. Smith sighed. "It never works, but I always try. Very well then." He stood up and cleared his throat. The anticipation saturated the air, seeping into the walls, the table, and began to cover my skin in a hair raising wave. "Boys, I cordially welcome you to Dr. Smith's School for Boys. As you have heard before, this is a school for the insane."

I nodded uncomfortably. What was he getting at?

"I am pleased to inform that that is a lie."

I froze. What?

He smiled warmly. "You are not going to believe me, but you are, in fact, magical creatures, called Legends."

The silence in the room was almost tangible. My brain was buzzing. Uh, what?

Then laughter broke out. It was Deynan.

"That's rich," he gasped, "oh man, that is good. You're funny bro, really, you are."

A few boys around the hall seemed to be holding in their laughter. It set an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"I take it, my dear boy," Dr. Smith said quietly, "that you are someone who does not believe in magic."

Deynan snorted. "What do you think I am, five? Heck no."

"Well," he said, placing his hand on the table and closing his eyes, "if there's no such as magic, how could I do this?"

Suddenly, light rippled across his body and faded away.

A muscular, tan, iron clad warrior had taken his place.