Chapter one
Never ending dream
James was tired after a long day of school, which he called work. He opened the front door sluggishly trying not to sink onto the mat that had engraved on it "Welcome to my peaceful home" he laughed at it if only he thought. He took a deep breath cleared his mind and pushed the door open very slowly hoping not to be herd coming in. It then decided to bang against a toy elephant his sister must have left in front of the door or else he thought it was placed there for a different reason, but that was enough the alarm bells started to ring he silently cursed and waited for the onslaught to come. He didn't have to wait long he herd shoes banging against the constantly polished marble floor and the dead silent before all hell broke loose.
His moms face appeared around the corner she was only thirty nine but she looked much older, constant working and the prolonged divorce of her husband had not only worn out her once prom queen looks but also her patience and brought a new mother to the front. The type that demanded an answer to everything and gave away nothing, the type that always wanted a quiet life but always complained and fought to get it, the type that would be happy one minute and then for no reason but the sign of a little dust would go on a angry vocabulary spree pointing out how dirty the house was even thought it was spotless clean day in day out. "JAMES!" she bellowed towards the door like he was at the other end of the street with a fanfare passing by. Here we go, buckle your seat belts ladies and gentles men for your daily ride through torment he thought as he saw that oh so familiar vain pulsing in his mothers neck it was probably her constant companion. "Your room is a mess James, The bed is not made the way it should be, your books aren't cleaned and your desktop is covered in dust" he was silent this was usually the best defence but sometimes it got him into more trouble. He closed his eyes and spoke slowly "Mom I'm tired after school, the bed is fine I was in a rush and the corner was clean it just got more dust on it, now if you please don't mind I want to go upstairs and try to get some rest before the dinner is ready" . His mother gave him a black stare and barked out "don't have that stance towards me young man do it again and uncles Owens present for you will go in the garbage" what happened to the sink or the garbage disposer . "Wait Uncle Owen just sent me a present?" James stammered out eagerly "yes it's up in your room but first have your dinner and then open it" she was suddenly calm, James sighed in relief maybe she was in a happy mood today.
He picked up his bag and ran to the stairs his dad as usual sitting at the desk with a newspaper in his hand a pipe in his mouth and a hat on. James's dad looked allot like Sherlock homes when he had his pipe in his mouth, he was tall with a mustash that dwarfed Stalin's everyone said and was quick minded and athletic unlike James. It was his smile that had attracted his mother she said wonder what happened to the smile James thought with a sense of amusement.
"Hello James mo boy"
"Hi Dad" his father was British, Born in Cornwall and studied in UCC and moved to America at the age of 21 what a man for travelling James toughed. James rushed upstairs and went into his room. It was plain a bookshelf on the right crammed with books like Catcher and the rye, Mark twain and allot more. His bed was a fair size a picture of Greenday on the front of it. And on top of the leads singers head was a big brown box, it was addressed from India where his Uncle was. He tore it open and threw the pieces on the floor sods to his mother he thought and opened the box and stopped.
Inside was the strangest present he was ever given and that was saying allot, It was a stone, a big silverfish green stone with a light hint of blue and running through the stone was long white lines that had an ominous glow to them, they all joined up at one point or another. In the Box was a card he opened it and read out loud
Dear James
How you doing? I'm right now when this message arrives in Deli probably being poached by beggars ha! I got this from a Gypsy lady what was also a fortune seller, she was extremely weird and she had a black cat that looked like it was going to speak all the time haha! Anyway long story short she was throwing this stone away she said and was wondering if I would take it off her hands, I said i would and i sent it to you, because I know how much you like weird presents ha! Well got to go the train from here leaves soon so bye.
You uncle Owen
Hmm weird stone I must get my geography teacher to have a look at it he taught curiously to what kind of stone it was maybe it was an alloy of emerald and sapphire. With that he picked up the stone out of the box and placed it on his dresser and went for dinner. Taking the steps two at a time so his mother would know he was coming. Dinner was an Irish stew his father's favourite and his mom's least favourite. They both sat at opposite sides at the eight foot long rectangular table. Suddenly out of nowhere there was a crash above the dinner room and which was in James room. His mom turned to him about to speak but fortunately his dad was faster "Go pick it up and then you can continue eating son" he said quietly knowing full well that he was risking a fight over speaking before his wife. James got up rant to his room and opened his room and looked at the stone that was on the floor, he bent down and picked it up and cursed when he saw the crack in the side of it. His mom will kill him for being so careless with his uncles present. He looked once more at the crack and went back to his dinner.
Weeks passed and James grew more and more curious at the stone he was sent. He geography teacher said it was unlike any stone he seen and definitely not diamond, ruby, emerald or sapphire. So James brought it to his metal work teacher who had a look at it. After a few minutes examining the stone he said
"I can tell you two things about this stone James, One that it is not a metal or a stone or even wood and two that it is completely hollow"
James looked in awe at his teacher "hollow, how you know that?"
"Well I hit it with a centre punch and a mallet and got a loud ringing sound, sorry about hitting it but it dint event put a scratch on it"
"Ok thanks sir" he was about to leave when his teacher shouted out
"Oh ye one more thing the white things running over the surface their completely different materials then the other parts, I know this because they are a bit softer than the rest of that thing"
"Ok thanks for that bit of info as well sir"
James turned and went to his Maths class already wishing the day was over so he could call his Uncle. His maths teacher Miss Wade was now on trig, so boring he thought. When class was over he picked up his bag to only drop his so called stone which inconveniently rolled to Miss Wade's feet. She picked it up, by now everyone but he was gone from the class room. She looked at it and spoke in her usually squeaky voice "This is a very strange object James, may I have a look at it?"
"Of course miss" his with evidential relief that it wasn't being confiscated ...yet
With that the teacher took it and put the new overhead microscope over it and then she went complete silent.
"James do you know what this it?" She stammered in and astonished voice.
"Nope not at all, apparently it's indestructible so don't ask me how it has a crack in it, and not made of any substance the my metal work or geography teacher know of and oh ye its hollow" he said all of a sudden both curious and scared usually when someone in a movie found something strange it turned out to be for the worst. "It's an egg James and the embryo in it is grown to its full size to sustain its self in it, so the reason it has a crack in it is because it's starting to burst out of the egg. And all I can tell you about it is that I know of no egg or animal able to produce eggs such as these or even at this size... Where did you say you got it again?"
"I got off my uncle who got it in India off some weird Gypsy "He said not getting scared at the thought of the egg, not because of what was in it but of the thought of being a parent too early I I'm way too young to become a parent of some weird creature he thought alarmingly.
"If this is your weird travelling uncle Owen then I'm not one bit surprised" His teacher said with a rueful look. "But either way I wish you well in your new adoption and your upcoming parentage" with that she shooed him out and closed the door behind her leaving a very troubled teenager behind her.
James was at home still wondering how the hell he managed to slip by his mom when his uncle rang. He picked up the phone poised to ask a dozen and more questions when he saw the callers ID but was beaten to it by his uncle.
"James do you have that parcel I sent you a few days ago" Owens's voice was full of fear something that made James scared for his uncle was scared at few things.
"Yes I have it uncle and guess what it's not a stone it's an egg that my teachers had never seen before" his voice a mix of excitement at what he was going to tell his uncle and of fear for the seemingly state of his uncle.
"I know what it is James I just found out and it is extremely dangerous to you and everyone else in your family, in that egg is something that some people I met want and they want it very much" His voice filling with more fear, he was now panting into the mice.
"What is it Uncle what is in the egg and what is going on there in India?" fear now clearly identifiable in James's voice.
"I'm not in India anymore I'm in China and in that egg is something that most people thought was not real but it is" now his voice had lost its fatigue not because he had stopped running because you could hear his shoes banging against the cobbled street but because fear had totally taken over.
"James in that egg is a.." there was a sound as if something had hit the ground like a sack of potatoes then the sound of more feet and then the line disconnected. James looked at the phone in fear not knowing what to do panic had set in he looked at the egg on his bed and stopped, the crack was getting bigger.
