《A Different Perspective》


 Glassrose

    My life has never been permanent. I don''t enjoy the life I have, because just when I''m about to, it''s ripped away from my hands and I have to start over again.- Landin


    I was sitting in a car, Kate was next to me. I was staring out the window. We were on our way to a new foster home; we had left our previous one just a few hours ago. That''s how my life has always been, I get comfy and enjoy the life I have, then it''s ripped away from me. I had gotten attached to the people I had to say goodbye to a few hours ago. I broke down in tears in the bathroom after saying my goodbyes.


    I could feel I was being watched. I turned towards Kate; she was looking at me concerned. "You okay? I know you liked our last foster home," she said.


    "Yeah, I''m just sick and tired of constantly moving, never seeing people I''ve grown attached too ever again," I said, I had finally had enough of this life I lived.


    She sighed, "I know what you mean, but think about it like this. Soon, we''ll be out of foster care."


    I looked at her with stern eyes, "Yeah, and what then? Are we gonna live on the streets? I don''t know about you, but I''m not looking forward to that," I said, looking back out the window.


    "Daniel said that-"


    I quickly turned to her, "Daniel says a lot of things."


    She looked at me and was about to say something, but then she gave me a defeated stare and turned to her window. I did the same. I could see my faint reflection in front of the gloomy countryside. My green eyes shimmering, my brown hair a mess, my black jacket and red t-shirt dirty, my heart locket hanging, and my teeth covered in plaque. I wasn''t expecting to leave today. They didn''t tell us we were leaving today, they never tell you when you''re leaving, but you can usually tell. Your bags will be packed, they''ll leave you in some place, then your social worker will come to get you. But this family was different. Our bags weren''t packed, and they didn''t leave us anywhere, it was like they didn''t know either. I''m glad it turned out that way though. At least this time I got to say my goodbyes.


    The countryside I was staring at started to slowly turn into more of a city, and before I knew it, we were sitting in traffic looking at skyscrapers. I don''t quite remember what city the social worker said we were moving too, I think he said something like "Glassrose" but I''m not sure. Whatever it was called, I had never heard of it before. One thing obvious about this city by just looking at it was that it was huge, and when I say huge, I meanhuge. The skyscrapers looked like they went on forever, and the number of people on the sidewalks was ridiculous. I had never seen so many people at once. The streets were wide and crowded and the roads looked like it they went on forever. I had been to big cities before, but this took the cake. There was a holographic billboard which I didn''t even know existed that read "Welcome to Glassrose!" in big, bold letters. I could already tell that navigating this place would be an absolute nightmare.


    After what felt like hours of navigating traffic, we finally pulled up to an apartment complex. It was tall, nearly as tall as the skyscrapers next to it. I noticed a holographic sign that read, "Cities biggest apartment complex since 2017." I chuckled,They must be proud of that, I thought. The social worker put the car in park and looked back at us, "This is it."


    I nodded before I opened the door and stepped out. It felt good to stand, but the air didn''t feel good to breathe, It felt like I was breathing in a heavy layer of chalk. Kate quickly joined my side, she looked just as nervous as I was. Even after staying in over 70 foster homes, we still felt nervous when entering new ones. We both looked at each other since we didn''t know what to do.


    The social worker stepped out of the car, "You two go on in, I got to put the car in the parking garage, then I''ll bring your bags in," he said. He got into his car, but then he quickly rolled down his window, "Oh, and before I forget, the apartments on the sixth floor. It''s room thirty-two."


    We both nodded before walking to the door. The doors slid open. Inside, it looked like a normal hotel lobby. It had carpet, it was red and black and had the classic "hotel lobby" pattern. There was areceptionist behind a desk, next to them was an elevator. Thereceptionist looked off somehow. He looked like a normal human, but the way he was standing was awkward and he didn''t seem to blink or breathe. Out of curiosity, I walked up to him. He seemed to spring to life when I stepped in front of him. He started blinking and breathing, and his body swayed as a normal human would.


    He smiled, "Hello and welcome to Skyline Tower, the cities biggest apartment complex since 2017! How may I help you?" he enthusiastically said. His voice sounded robotic but natural, like someone was reading a script dully.


    I shook my head, "Oh, I don''t need any help, I was just curious if you were okay. You were standing weirdly earlier," I said. I noticed that Kate was checking out the hotel lobby.


    His eyes looked disappointed, but his smile didn''t change, "Ah, you must be one of the observant ones. I was standing weirdly because I''m an android, that''s how I was programmed to stand when not interacting with humans," he said.


    My eyes widened and my jaw nearly dropped, "An android?! Since when were you guys created?" I asked.


    "2020 was when the first android was released to the public, it was made here in Glassrose," he said calmly.


    "Android''s have existed for three years?! How did I not hear about this sooner?" I asked.


    "News outlets outside of Glassrose don''t know we exist, or at least, they act like we don''t."


    My surprise was starting to fade, "Huh, interesting." I said. I looked at him in the eyes, "So, what do you go by?"


    He looked at me with what seemed to be genuine confusion, "Do you mean my model number?"


    I nearly facepalmed, "No. I meant your name. What''s your name?"


    "Oh. Well, I don''t have a name," he said with an almost sad tone.


    "Then I''ll give you one," I said. I thought for a second, then I pointed at him, "You''re Parker."


    He seemed almost uncomfortable, "I don''t think you have proper authorization to-"


    I walked over to the elevator, "You''re Parker." I looked over at Kate and called her over, "Now if you don''t mind us, Parker, we''re going to go meet our new guardians," I said as the elevator opened behind us.


    We both stepped in, "Okay. You two have a nice day," Parker quickly said.


    "We will Parker," I said before the elevator shut.


    I pressed the sixth floor, "Why were you saying his name so much," Kate asked.


    I looked over at her with a smirk, "Oh, I was just reminding him what it was," I said like it was a normal thing to say.


    I saw Kate''s mouth "What?" but I ignored her. The elevator stopped on the sixth floor and we got out. We were met with a hallway. We walked down it until we reached a door with the number 32 written on it.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    We stared at each other. "Well," I said, "Who''s going to knock?"


    "I think you should. You are the youngest," Kate said.


    "Isn''t there a saying that''s as old as time? What is it? Oh yeah, ''Ladies first.''"


    Kate crossed her arms, "That''s never applied before. You''ve always gone first."


    "Well-," I noticed Kate was staring at me, her eyes were annoyed and stern. I sighed in defeat before weakly knocking on the door.


    We waited there, Kate''s arms were still crossed. A few minutes passed, and no one had come to the door. Kate looked at me, "Maybe they didn''t hear you," she said. I sighed and knocked again, this time louder. More minutes passed, still no answer. "They''re probably not home." I noticed a small white button just next to the door, I reached over and pressed it.


    I could hear this loud buzzing, then a lady''s voice behind the door shouted, "Coming!" We stood there once again, waiting. So much time passed that the social worker had just come out of the elevator. Finally, the door gently opened. A lady in her mid-twenties stepped out. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes, she wore a dark blue top with long sleeves, a skirt with blue and red stripes and dark blue high heels. She had a big grin and happy eyes. She was about as tall as Kate with her high heels on.


    She put her hands together and gently squeezed, "You two must be Landin and Kate, I''m so happy to finally meet you!" she eagerly said. I noticed her voice was shaky,Maybe this is her first time, I thought to myself. "I''m Jane Foster, but you can just call me Jane," she said, "So, where are your bags-" She looked to the left of us, "Oh, I see Mr. Brown is carrying them in," she said. She turned around and gestured us in, "Come on in, I''ll show you to your room."


    We both walked in and were met with the living room. There was no visible TV, but there was a table with a big silver bar resting on it. A slit was through the middle of the bar. There was a digital clock hanging off the wall, a picture of Jane and a man hanged next to it. The couch sat some feet away from the table, and a coffee table was in between the two. The couch was covered in buttons. After taking in the living room, I tried to catch up with Kate. We walked by the kitchen and dining room, the only thing that caught my eye was the smart fridge, but besides that, they were just well-decorated rooms. A hallway was just next to the dining room.


    We started to walk down the hallway, "So, have you two ever been in Glassrose before?" Jane asked us. We both shook our heads, "Well then, you''ll both soon see that this city has some of the most advanced tech out there."


    "Like that android in the lobby?" I asked.


    We reached the end of the hallway, I counted five doors in that hall. Jane walked up to the last door, "Oh honey, that''s nothing," she said. She opened the first door on the left, "Anyway, here''s your room."


    We walked into the room. There were two beds, two dressers, a doorway leading to a bathroom, a closet, and a table with one of those silver bars on it. The room was painted dark blue and there was a potted plant in the corner. A painting that said, "Welcome Home," in red letters was hanged above the table with the bar. Two windows were next to the table. The doorway we just walked through was in the middle of the two beds. Each bed had a nightstand with a lamp next to it. The beds had blue blankets and were made neatly. The room looked welcoming and homey.


    "The TV remote is on the table and the Wi-Fi password is on both nightstands," Jane said. She walked through the room''s door, "Now if you''ll excuse me, I''m going to have a chat with John," she said before shutting the door.


    I looked around the room looking for a TV, "What''s the TV remote for? I don''t see any TV," I said.


    Kate flopped down on the left bed, "It could be holographic," she suggested. I looked at her like she had told me she was god reincarnated, "You''ve seen some of the advanced tech here."


    I picked the TV remote off the table, "I guess we''ll find out," I said, pressing the power button.


    I waited, nothing happened for a few seconds, then light shot out of the silver bar on the table. A multitude of different colors shot out and formed a colorful tornado, then it formed a dark blue square with the word "WPVISON" in the middle. The company logo stayed on for a few more seconds, then the news channel popped on. I walked up to it with a gaping jaw, the news anchor that was shown was in 3D. I had seen nothing like that before. I don''t know where the sound was coming from, but it was crystal clear. The news anchor was talking about a recent murder that had happened.


    I looked over at Kate, she looked shocked as well. She jumped out of the bed and walked up to it, "When she said that this city was advanced, I was expecting barely working self-driving cars, not this," she said. She put her hand through the hologram, the TV glitched a bit, then went back to normal. "Wow," I heard Kate quietly say to herself.


    I was still in awe when my head started to ache. I grabbed my head and started to walk to the bathroom, "I''m going to use the bathroom, I have a headache" I said before walking in and shutting the door.


    The bathroom looked nice, but nothing futuristic stuck out. There was a sink, a toilet, and a huge shower. I walked up to the sink and splashed my face with cold water. These headaches had been commonplace for me, but recently they had gotten worse. I looked up at my reflection, I looked tired and weak. Besides that, everything looked normal, that is until I noticed the pair of blue eyes standing in the dark corner. I was a little scared when I first saw them, but once I realized who it was, I lost all fear.


    I sighed and turned around, "Hey James," I said.


    James stepped out of the darkness. I still don''t know why, but he looks just like me, minus the blue eyes. He crossed his arms, "Goddammit Landin, why do you have to be so observant," he said with a loud volume.


    I sat on the bathroom counter and smirked, "What were you even trying to do?" I asked.


    He sighed, "Scare you," he with a defeated tone.


    "We''ve been over this a thousand times James. You can''t scare me, we''re in the same head, that''s like trying to scare yourself."


    "I know, I''m just hoping I''ll catch you off guard one day," he said, uncrossing his arms. He walked over to me and pretended to lean on the counter, "So, what do you think of this place?"


    "It''s a lot better than I was expecting. Jane seems nice, and this city has some advanced tech. Did you even see that TV? That was crazy."


    "Yeah, I''ve seen nothing like it before." James looked at the door, "How''s your sister?" he asked out of the blue.


    "Kate? She''s fine. She took the move a lot better than I did."


    "She seems to take a lot of stuff better than you."


    I chuckled, "What can I say, she''s strong, always has been, even when we were babies," I said. I thought for a second, "Hey James, do you know why I''m getting more headaches recently?" I asked.


    He shrugged, "I don''t know," I sighed in defeat. "Maybe it''s because I''m maturing," he suggested.


    I gave him a confused expression, "What do you mean?"


    "You know, I''m starting to become more mature, like you."


    "I''m willing to take anything at this point," I said quietly.


    Me and James sat in silence for a second, then I heard a knock at the door. "You okay in there?" I heard Kate ask from the other side, "You''ve been in there for a while."


    I sat up from the counter and turned towards the door, "Yeah, I''m fine. Just freshening up," I came up with an excuse.


    "Alright, well don''t be too long. Jane needs to tell us something."


    "Okay, I''ll be out in a sec," I said. I turned to James,Welp, this is goodbye, for now, I thought to him so Kate wouldn''t hear. His body started to crack like it was glass,See you soon James.


    "See ya, Landin," he said before falling apart. Whenever a piece of him hit the floor, it vanished.


    I looked back in the mirror, fixed my hair and straightened my jacket, and left the bathroom. The room was empty, so I assumed everyone was in the living room. The TV was still on the news channel, they were now reporting on another murder. Nothing seemed odd, so I didn''t listen, but I did notice the reporter. He looked just like my friend Daniel''s dad. From what I understood, Daniel was nowhere near here.Huh, wonder why he''s here, I thought to myself before leaving the room and walking into the living room.


    The rest of the day was pretty boring. Jane and our social worker told us we would be starting school in three weeks, then we moved our bags in. We ate dinner and met Jane''s husband. His name is Joseph, but he told us to call him Joe. We went to our room and hanged out for a bit. Then, at about 11:00 PM, we went to bed, or at least tried. From first impressions, this place already seemed better than most of our foster homes. But one thing was off. The entire time I was in that room I felt uneasy, but I didn''t know why. Then, as I was drifting off to sleep, I remember seeing the two red globes that had haunted me my entire life staring at me from the corner.


    They came closer to my bed. I tried moving, even screaming, but my body wouldn''t allow it. They crept even closer and closer until they were by my bed. Their body was still shrouded by darkness, but their eyes glowed a dark red. I don''t think that was their actual eye color. I could hear them breathe because of how close they were. Suddenly, the eyes came closer to my face. I tried punching it, but my body was frozen. I could feel it''s breathe on my neck.


    In it''s cold, deep voice, it whispered in my ear, "Sweet Dreams." It''s voice sent goosebumps throughout my entire body.


    I snapped out of whatever trance I was in and sat up in a cold sweat. I looked at the corner where I saw the thing, nothing. I looked beside my bed, nothing. Knowing I was safe, I took a deep breath in a poor attempt to calm myself down. I hear Kate rollover. I turned to her, she was staring at me from her bed with tired eye, "What''s wrong?" she asked in a tired voice. I must have woken her up somehow.


    "Nothing," I said. I turned away from her gaze, "Just another nightmare."

 Daniel

    Three days had passed and I was in the elevator, Kate was next to me, we were going down to the lobby to check out the city. The elevator stopped and we got out. Parker was sitting behind his desk, his eyes didn''t move so I assumed he wasn''t activated. We walked by his desk, "Hey Parker," I said to him. His eyes seemed to light up, then he looked at me and tried his best to smile. It looked more like a person awkwardly smiling than a genuine smile, At least he''s trying, I thought.


    We walked on to the streets. From what I''ve heard from Jane, we were in a less populated part of the city, and yet, the sidewalks were still crowded to hell. The entire time I was worried I would lose Kate. Eventually, we went into a mostly empty gas station. Besides for the cashier looking a bit more awkward than your average human, everything looked normal. There was one other person in there, something about him looked familiar. We walked by him, he was faced towards one of the shelves, so I couldn''t see his face but I could see that he was wearing a blue jacket and jeans. He had blonde hair. I was confident I knew him, so I tapped him on the shoulder while Kate continued to walk. He turned his head, I could see his blue eyes and blonde stubble covering his face.


    I stepped back from surprise, "Daniel?" I said.


    He rubbed his eyes and squinted at me, "Landin?"


    I took a step closer to him. My eyes weren''t deceiving me.  Before I knew it, we were hugging, "How long has it been since I''ve seen you? Six years?" Daniel said, I could tell he was happy to see me, as was I. He let go, "Why the hell are you in Glassrose?"


    "I could ask the same thing," I said, my smile was hard to hide.


    Kate came from around the corner, "Landin, what''s going on-" her expression completely changed when she saw Daniel, "Daniel?!" she said, nearly running into his arms.


    She wrapped her arms around him. Daniel returned the hug, "It''s good to see you too Kate." They stopped hugging. Kate came to my side, "Seriously though, why are two here?"


    I leaned against the shelve, "I guess I forgot to text you. Our new foster home is here," I said. I looked him in the eyes, "What about you? What brings you to Glassrose?"


    He rubbed the back of his head, "Well, me and my family moved here five years ago. I just never told you guys cause I never thought you two would end up here."


    Kate''s smile was evident, "Believe me when I say neither did we," she said.


    Daniel smiled before turning around and searching through the shelf, "So, how long have you two been here?" he asked.


    "About four days, but this is the first time we''ve been out of the apartment," I said.


    He grabbed a bag of chips, "How much of the city have you seen?"


    Kate snapped her fingers, "A bit of downtown and the, uh...," she turned to me, "What''s it called?" Kate looked at me like I knew what she was talking about, I shrugged. "You know, the place we''re living at?"


    "Oh, you mean Skyline Towers?" Daniel said.


    Kate turned to him, "Yeah, that place."


    Daniel walked up to the cashier, "Well then, let''s change that," he said while looking at us. He turned to the cashier, "I would like to buy this," he said.


    The cashier seemed to come to life when she heard Daniel, similar to how Parker did for me, "How would you like to confirm your purchase?" she asked him in a "too happy" voice.


    "Iris Scan," Daniel said dully.


    The cashiers'' eyes began to glow. When they started to dim, she opened her mouth, "Thank you, Daniel. Your purchase has been confirmed."


    Daniel grabbed the bag of chips and walked out, me and Kate followed. Just before I walked out of the store, I turned to the cashier,  "Have a nice day," I said to her. She just looked at me confused before the door shut in my face.


    I caught up with Daniel and Kate, they had seemed to forgot I existed. They were constantly staring at each other. After a while of amously walking the streets, the surroundings started to change. There were fewer skyscrapers and more comfy looking houses. The roads got smaller and grass was starting to bleed in. Eventually, rows of identical houses were starting to appear. We started to walk down one of these rows. The entire walk, Daniel and Kate had been talking. Whenever I tried to join their conversation I was gently ignored.


    Daniel stopped walking in front of a house, a red car was parked next to it. "And there it is," he said, looking at the house.


    Daniel walked up to the door, "What is this place?" I asked.


    He looked back at me, "My house. If you were paying attention to our conversation, then maybe you would have known that," he said with a sudden attitude. Before I could say anything back, he walked into his home, "Come on in," he shouted back at us. Kate eagerly went in.


    I sighed, then James appeared next to me. He pointed at the house, "And that''s why I don''t like him," he said. I rolled my eyes at him before following Kate''s footsteps, "What? I think it''s a valid reason to dislike someone," he said, following behind me.


    I walked into the house and was met with a living room. Despite there being two couches, it was average in every sense of the term, Look, I know he can be a bit of an ass sometimes, but that''s just how he shows his love, I thought to James.


    He walked through Daniel and pretended to flop down on the couch, "Pffff, yeah right. He''s never done that with Kate."


    Before I could think of anything to say back, Daniel started talking "Make yourself''s at home," he sat down through James, "What''s mine is also yours and all that jazz."


    James quickly floated up, "Hey! Watch it, buddy," he said to Daniel as if he could hear him. Unsurprisingly, Daniel didn''t react.


    Kate quickly took a seat next to Daniel, "Man this place looks nice," she said looking at him.


    I looked around, "Eh, not really. It''s actually pretty bland," I said taking a seat on the couch in front of them. James pretended to join me.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Kate looked at me with an annoyed expression, but when she saw Daniel''s smirk, it quickly changed, "Yeah, blame that on my parents. They aren''t exactly the best decorators," he said.


    I looked at a picture on the wall, it showed Daniel, his mom, and his dad. They seemed happy. I looked at Daniel, "Where''re your parents at?" I asked him.


    He thought for a second before answering, "My dad''s out of town and my mom is hanging out with friends out of town. Neither of them should be back until tomorrow."


    Kate looked up at him, "So it''s just the three of us until we decide to leave?" she asked.


    He cringed, "Well not exactly. You see, I''m throwing a party later tonight."


    I was slightly blown away by his statement and my face showed it, "A party!? Since when did you get enough confidence to throw one of those?" I asked.


    He smirked, "A lot of things change in six years, including confidence."


    "Yeah I guess you''re right," I said. I looked around, "Hey, where''s your bathroom at? I have a headache," I said noticing the increasing pain in my head.


    He sat up and pointed up a staircase, "It''s up there, it should be the first door on the left."


    I sat up, "Thanks," I said. Daniel nodded before sitting back down.


    Following Daniel''s instructions, I walked into the bathroom. At this point, my headache wasn''t too bad, but it was getting worse by the second. The bathroom looked like your typical bathroom but something about it made me feel uneasy. I looked into the mirror, my tired eyes stared back. I couldn''t quite put my finger on it, but something looked off about my reflection. I tried calling James out, but that only caused my headache to get worse. I heard a noise I can''t quite describe behind me. I quickly turned around, nothing caught my eye at first. But then I noticed this small picture sitting on top of the toilet. Even though the rest of the room stood still, the picture shook like a light earthquake was going on.


    I took a step closer to it, my brain screamed at me in response. Every being of my soul told me to stop in my tracks, but nonetheless, I took another step forward. The ground started to shake, lightly at first, but then the ground shook like a bomb was going off. I nearly lost my balance a few times. Another step. The picture started to shake more than the ground. It looked like it was flickering in and out of existence. I could hear faint whispering in my ears. The words they were saying were impossible to make out, but it creeped me out nonetheless. I looked around, the bathroom walls looked like they wanted to collapse. The door I walked through was gone, replaced by darkness. The mirror was cracked and my reflection had red eyes replacing my normal green. My jacket was torn and looked ancient and my skin was pale. I looked back at the picture, it had appeared to get closer. Despite my distance from it, the image was impossible to make out. The pain in my head was unbearable at this point. I reached out for it, something screamed at me from behind. I turned around, my reflection wasn''t mimicking my movements. It looked at me with scared eyes. I looked back at the picture and grabbed it. Everything stopped.


    It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulder. Finally, I could see what the picture showed. A girl with blonde hair and green eyes and a man with brown hair stood next to each other, a man reassembling me stood in the middle of the two, he had dark red eyes. They looked happy. I looked back at my reflection, whatever was attempting to be it stood close to the mirror, its head down. You could see it''s eyes glow red. I walked up to the mirror to get a closer look, they looked ashamed almost. Suddenly, the walls collapsed like shattered glass. I looked down at the floor, it started to break into pieces. Darkness was behind both of them. I looked back at the mirror only to see that it had vanished, the thing stood in its place. It looked up at me with a smile I''ll never forget. I started to back away but the floor was getting smaller and smaller.


    I was backed into a corner as the thing slowly but surely made it''s way to me. It got to the point where I could feel it''s breath on me. Without any warning, it grabbed me by my throat and lifted me up like I was nothing. It got only a few inches away from my ear, "You Are Nothing," it whispered in it''s chilling voice. I tried to fight back as it lifted me above the endless nothingness below me, but I was too weak to do anything to it. I looked at it with desperate eyes, it laughed before dropping me into the nothingness.


    My eyes shot open as I gasped for air. I jumped up from the cold tiled floor and looked around, I was back in the bathroom. I looked on top of the toilet, the picture was nowhere to be found. I looked at the mirror, my green eyes stared back.  Everything was in order. I noticed thumping music and the beer cans that lay scattered across the floor. I pulled out my phone and looked at the time, "8:00 PM" it read. 8:00 PM!? When did this happen?  I thought.


    I opened the bathroom door, two people were making out on the other side. I stared at them, it looked like they were ignoring me. Is this the party? I thought. I walked down the stairs, the living room was crowded with people. I pushed my way through the crowds keeping an eye out for Daniel or Kate. The music was so loud that I couldn''t hear myself think and the people reeked of alcohol. Some of them looked twice my age, others looked younger. I struggled to make my way into the kitchen. I could barely make out Kate and Daniel having a chugging contest, it was impossible to tell what they were drinking. A crowd surrounded them I tried calling both of their names out, but the blaring music overpowered my voice.


    Daniel finished first. He slammed the bottle of whatever he was drinking onto the floor, it shattered everywhere. Kate dropped her bottle. Both of their faces were red and they looked overjoyed. They stared at each other in the eyes as they slowly approached each other. I could guess what was about to happen so I pushed my way through the crowd as fast as I could. Right before their lips intertwined, I grabbed Kate''s arm. She looked at me with a shocked gaze, Daniel as well. It looked like Daniel was saying something, but I either couldn''t hear him or chose not to listen. I dragged Kate outside of the house, Daniel steadily following us.


    The cold air hit my face as I pushed open the door.  I could finally make out what Daniel was saying, "It''s not what you think Landin," he said over and over again like a broken record.


    I stopped at the end of the house''s walkway and let go of Kate''s arm. I quickly turned around, "What was it than Daniel? Huh?" I nearly screamed, my blood was boiling at this point. He looked at a loss of words. I rubbed my forehead, "Six years... Six years and the first thing you two try to do is make out," I said. Kate started to hiccup, she could barely hold her balance, "And even worse, you got each other drunk!" I screamed at both of them, Daniel looked like he hardly knew what was going on, Kate seemed more aware but only by a little.


    "Hey! I''m not drunk," Daniel slurred. He started to walk up to me, but he tripped on air and fell into me.


    I sighed before helping Daniel get his balance, I had started to calm down. "Look, I don''t agree with this but if both of you agree to it, who am I to stop it?" I rhetorically asked. I pulled out my phone and put in the address of Skyline  Towers, "Kate, I''m going home. I''ll tell Jane you''re staying with a friend," I said, turning around and starting to walk down the sidewalk.


    "You can stay if you want," Daniel said.


    "No Thanks," I said, "I need some time to think."


    "Bye, Landin," I heard Kate say, I didn''t say anything in response.


    The walk home was cold and long. When I got home, I got a lecture from Jane and her husband about telling them where we are, but despite that, they seemed fine with Kate staying at Daniel''s after I explained who he was.  One of them would pick her up the next day. I went into my room and turned the TV on. The news was once again on, another murder had happened.


    I felt James appear behind me, "Man, that''s five in two days," he said.


    I snapped to him, "Oh, so now you decide to come out?" I said, my anger was prevalent.


    James put out his hands like he was trying to push me away, "Woah, what gives?" He asked.


    "Oh, well maybe the fact that I passed out in Daniel''s bathroom and saw a fucking demon in the mirror!" I said, my arms were crossed.


    "Wow, okay. We both know that wasn''t my fault."


    "Yeah, but you could have interfered with it. You used to  always kill my nightmare demons back when I was little."


    "I couldn''t with this one. I don''t know why, but your brain blocked me off from you."


    I was exhausted, "You know what? I''m too tired to care right now," I jumped underneath my covers, "Just make sure I don''t have nightmares tonight, okay?"


    He nodded before becoming smoke and floating out the window. He sure does like his dramatic exits I thought to myself. I felt my eyes start to get heavier and before I knew it, I was asleep.

 Something New

    "Get Away From Me!" She shouted at me as she ran through a door.


    "Anna!" I screamed at her. I tried chasing after her, but by the time I got through the door, she was already gone. "Dammit!" I mumbled to myself.


    I looked at my surroundings, the castle behind me stood tall and proud, the sun beamed behind it, while it''s shadow left the city in front shaded in darkness. The cloud this place was on was surrounded by the things I called my "Friends." All this time I had believed they were helping me, guiding me, when they were only using me for their scheme this entire time. In an hour, their plan would commence, and if that wasn''t enough, every time I thought of what they were about to do, it filled me with guilt knowing I''m the one who came up with it. Part of their plan had already started, I could hear people screaming, I could see houses explode, and I could see the army of shadows slowly but surely approaching from the distance. I knew that no one, not even the king, would be able to stop them and that mere fact made me sick to my stomach.


    One of the shadows walked by me, it looked at me like I was one of their own. Like I had killed possibly thousands of people and earned my place as an eternal shadow, and in a way, I did. I had indirectly caused the death of millions, or at least I would soon enough. Suddenly, a feeling coursed through my veins. It started from my feet and went all the way up to my head. It was a feeling I hadn''t felt in a long time. The feeling is one of which a child would feel waiting for their dad to come home. The feeling is one where the world has abandoned you, and as if they knew, your best friend pops out to cheer you up. When there is no chance to win a battle but you still continue marching on only to win. The feeling I felt that faithful day was hope.


    I jolted awake, something about that dream had scared me. I wiped my forehead, when I put my hand down, I could see sweat glisten in the sunlight coming from the window. When I took a closer look at my surroundings, I realized I wasn''t in my room, instead, I was in a classroom. A projector hanged from the ceiling, a video about fantasy conflicts shot out of it. Kate sat in a desk next to me, Daniel next to her. I also saw the disapproving glare of a teacher that was directed towards me. He sat behind a proper desk and was in his mid-forties.


    He paused the video and started to rub his forehead, "Mr. Frost, I don''t think it''s wise to sleep on your first week of school, is it?" he said, causing everyone besides Kate and Daniel to stare at me. Kate looked annoyed while Daniel was smirking.


    I was speechless. I barely had enough consciousness to understand what was happening. "I-" was all I could mutter out.


    Kate sighed, "Look, I don''t know if anyone''s told you or not, but he has chronic nightmares. He hardly gets enough sleep at night. In fact, " she looked over at me, "Judging by his expression, he just woke up from one," she said. I slowly nodded, she looked back over at him, "So if you could let a few naps slide here and there, it''d be greatly appreciated," she said. I knew why she was so annoyed. At nearly every school we''ve been to the same thing happens. I doze off,  the teacher gets mad and calls me out for it. Kate always defended me.


    Judging by how his eyes got wider, the teacher was just a bit shocked, "Oh, well excuse me," he looked at me, "I''ll let you sleep on the unimportant lessons but right now you need to pay attention," he sympathetically said. I nodded in response.


    The rest of the class was fine. I eventually regained my memories, although at a slow pace. We had only been in school for a week at that point so I followed Kate to our classes, I was still unfamiliar with my schedule. That''s one of the good things about foster care, me and Kate had always been put in the same classes since we started school. For some reason, they like to keep siblings together. When I actually started paying attention again we had been in math for half the period, the lunch bell would ring soon.


    Our math teacher gave us independent work to do but she was laid back so she let us talk. I was about two-thirds done when I looked over at Kate, she had already completed the entire thing. "Jesus Christ Kate!" I said, "How''d you finish so quick?"


    She shrugged, "I''ve always been good at math," she looked over at my paper, "Especially better than you," she said.


    "I''d say we''re pretty equal."


    She had a playful smile, "Maybe, but I''m the one who finished first."


    "Oh shut up you," I said looking back down at my paper. I thought for a second before looking back at her, "Hey Kate, I just realized I never told you thank you," I said.


    She didn''t look up from her desk, "There''s no need, I know you''d do the same for me in a heartbeat."


    "Despite your wishes, I''m still going to say it," I said with a smile.


    She looked up at me and gave me her best intimidating glare, "Oh you better not," she said.


    I got really close to her ear, "Thank you," I whispered.


    She lightly pushed me away, "You''re in for a mouthful when we get home." I laughed but then I caught something out of the corner of my eye. A guy was staring at her from the corner of the room. He was wearing a black jacket and needed a shaving. Kate had noticed that I stopped laughing, "What?" she asked.


    "I think you have a secret admirer," I said still not making direct eye contact with the starer. Kate was about to turn around, "Wait," I said, stopping her from turning, "If you turn around, he''ll stop staring." I pulled out my phone and took a picture of him, "Here," I said handing it to her. Before Kate could say anything, the lunch bell rang. I took my phone out of my hands and ran out of the classroom, "I''ll save you a seat," I said to her.


    Lunch wasn''t too bad. The food sucked but the conversations weren''t bad. We sat with Daniel and let me tell you, he was right, a lot of things had changed since I last saw him. He had this huge group of friends that he was lacking last time we were in school together and Daniel seemed to be the talk of the school because of his party. Despite the multitude of friends sitting next to him, he still chose to talk to us. After lunch, nothing interesting happened, at least, not until we walked home and we both know you''re not here to here to hear about boring old school, so let''s skip there.


    We had just gotten out of school. We were walking home and for whatever reason, Daniel had joined us. Turns out that his house isn''t that far from the school. Considering that we had to walk through the suburbs, that statement made sense. The part we were going through was rundown, I would have confused it for the slums if it wasn''t for the suburban-style houses. Daniel seemed to be on edge, he was constantly scanning the surroundings never letting his guard down. He kept Kate away from the sidewalk. The people walking by us had slightly more dirt on their clothing and more rips in their shirts. One thing was for sure, I felt uncomfortable. Things were calm until I saw a little girl run past us. I stopped following  Kate and Daniel and turned to her, she was making distance for someone of her size. Her clothes were stained and tattered from what I could make out. She wore a red t-shirt with blue pants, she had brown hair.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She took a right and I lost sight of her. Something in me told me to follow her, so I did. I started walking in her footsteps, not even telling Kate or Daniel that I was leaving. It''s like something took over my mind, it didn''t feel like I was in control. Once I got past the corner she took, I could see a dirt path in between two houses that seemingly came out of nowhere. I don''t know why, but I knew I needed to go down it. I started to run down it, something was making me feel like I needed to rush. I kept running and didn''t seem to get tired. I noticed the surroundings around me started to get more dense with trees, it was like I had gone down a path that left the city. By the time I needed to take a break, it looked like I was in a forest. I decided to walk from then on.


    After what felt like hours, I finally reached the end. An old abandoned and run-down church greeted me, mold and holes covered it. It was impossibly huge for it''s age. I walked up the rickety, wooden staircase, it felt like it would collapse at any moment. At the top, I was met with it''s doors, they were at least twenty feet tall. I tried to push it open but they wouldn''t budge. I looked around for a way in, maybe a broken window or loose wooden paneling, but couldn''t find anything. Out of desperation, I knocked three times on the door. I didn''t expect anything to happen but much to my surprise, the doors slowly crept open just enough so that someone of my build could slip through. I tucked my stomach in and squeezed in.


    It took a lot of force to get my body through that crack, but once I did, I fell to the floor. I heard the doors slam shut behind me. While I was catching my breath, I noticed that the floor looked clean considering the outside. It looked more than clean, it nearly looked brand new. I looked up and was shocked by what I saw. The church looked like time hadn''t touched it. The holes that were so noticeable on the outside couldn''t be seen. The moss that had covered the outside had been replaced with freshly painted wood. The marble floor looked polished and fine. A huge chandler hanged in the middle, its lights were on. A giant cross sat at the end, it glowed a gold color. The design of the church screamed mid-century Europe but looked like it had just been built. I walked up to the pedestal, unlike what you''d expect, a bible did not sit on top of it. Instead, a piece of notebook paper sat in it''s place.


    I picked it up, the handwriting was nearly impossible to make out, but I could still read it. At the top in bold letters, it read, "Readout loud under the item of worship if you seek the truth." I looked over at the cross, it seemed to glow brighter. I focused back on the paper. Below that, a quote was written out. "To work magic is to weave the unseen forces into form; to soar beyond sight; to explore the uncharted realm of the hidden reality." There was no name next to it. I walked up to the cross, it was nearly as tall as the roof. From what it looked like, it seemed to be made of pure gold. I looked around, "So is this the item of worship?" I asked the empty church. The ground ever so slightly shook, but I just marked that up to coincidence. "I''ll take the silence as a yes," I said.


    I brought the note close to my face, "Okay, here goes nothing," I said to myself. "To work magic is to weave the unseen forces into form," When I finished the first sentence, I could hear the faintest of a hum. It sounded like a few hundred people were ever so slightly using their vocal cords. I looked around, no one else was anywhere to be seen. The humming continued none the less. I looked back at the note, "To soar beyo--" before I could finish, the ground started to lightly shake. While it wasn''t strong, I wasn''t expecting it so I fell. I noticed that the shaking stopped once I dropped the note. The humming continued though. I picked the note back up and restarted, "To soar beyond sight," I said. The ground started to shake a lot more violently. It was nearly impossible to read the note because of this. The humming turned into a chant, making it impossible to focus. I heald my hand as steady as possible and continued to read. "To explore the uncharted realm of the hidden reality," I screamed over the chanting. Everything stopped. The cross started to get brighter and brighter. Eventually, it got so bright that I had no choice but to close my eyes. The light started to go past my eyelids, it didn''t even feel look like I was closing my eyes anymore. Suddenly, it vanished.


    I slowly opened my eyelids, the wall where the cross once stood had vanished, replaced by a stairwell down into who knows where. The walls of the stairwell were carved out stone while the stairs themselves were marble. Not having anything else to do, I walked down the staircase. It was a spiral staircase. My footsteps echoed through the cave-like structure and water commonly dripped down on my forehead. I swear in the distance I could hear people talking but it was impossible to make out what they were saying. I kept walking and walking but the surroundings never seemed to change. The voices, on the other hand, started to get more clear the father I went down. Now I could commonly make out the name "Anna" being said. After long, excruciating minutes of just walking, I finally reached the end. I could see two figures standing in front of an arch, light-flooded in from it, I had to shield my eyes since I was still adjusted to the dark. One of the figures where about as tall as a little girl, while the other shared the same height as Kate. From what I could make out, they seemed to be facing the source of the light.


    They somehow hadn''t noticed me, "Anna, you got to be more careful next time," the taller figure said. Their voice clearly belonged to a girl around my age. "Do you know what could happen if you lead someone back here?"


    "I didn''t mean too," the shorter one said. Their voice sounded much younger, I''d say around the age of eight.


    My eyes started to adjust to the light so I could make out the figures but it was still hard to see what was past the arch. The shorter figure was the little girl I saw earlier while the taller one was someone I had never seen before. They wore silver armor and I think I could just barely make out a sword being held on their hip. I decided to say something, "Hey," I said, they both turned to me, both of their eyes were wide. It was obvious to see that they were both girls. "Do you know where we are?" I asked.


    "Shit," I heard the taller girl mumble.


    "That''s not really an--" Before I could react, a sword was put against my throat. "Holy Shit!" I instinctively said.


    The sword was in the hands of the tall one. She put her face real close to mine, giving me a better look at her. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. "Look, I don''t know why you''re here or who you work for, but-"


    "Look, lady, I just followed the instructions on this note," I said pulling the note out of my jacket pocket.


    "Let me see that!" she said, snatching the note out of my hand and taking her sword away from my throat. She glossed over it then looked back up at me, "Where did you get this?" she said, her sword still unsheathed.


    "In the church," I pointed up at the ceiling, "You know, up there."


    "Wait, you saw the church?" she asked but didn''t give me a chance to answer. "What species are you?" she asked.


    "Species?"


    "Yeah, you know, what are you classified as?"


    "Uh, Human," I said


    I could tell that she wasn''t expecting that, "Human!? How did you see the church? It''s specifically designed for humans not to see it," she said. She grabbed the little girl by the arm, "Come on Anna, we got to go tell the king," she said, dragging the girl through the arch.


    I tried following them but was blinded by the light. My eyes adjusted and I was blown away by what I saw. An entire kingdom laced on top of clouds laid in front of me.