Chapter 1 – A Strange Occurrence

It was a scorching summer's day in New York City; the sun beat down on everything unprotected by the shade. It was 38 degrees Celsius, 3 degrees from beating the record. New York was in the middle of a heat wave. Ice cream would melt in a matter of minutes if consumed too slowly and the community pools were filled to capacity. Luckily, it was also the last day of school for twelve year old, Joshua Benson.

Joshua had brown hair and green eyes and was also fairly tall for his age. His hair was short and slightly wavy. He wasn't particularly thin or fat, but an average build. Today he wore a t-shirt and shorts, but that didn't keep him any cooler. Joshua walked into his classroom, where most of his classmates were. He glanced around and saw Kenneth, his friend, who was speaking to a bespectacled boy. As he approached the windows, Julie began a conversation with him. She had long, brown hair that sat at her shoulders and pretty features. Her pink t-shirt had cartoon unicorns and rainbows. She smiled at Joshua and began the conversation.

"Hey Joshua, what's up?" she inquired, continuing to smile.

Joshua blushed and stammered, "H-hey Julie, n-nothing much, thanks for asking. What about you?"

"Cool, I'm heading to the pool with a bunch of other people after school," she stated cheerfully. "You should come too!"

"Y-yeah, maybe I will," he said.

"Awesome. Oh, there's Sarah, I'm gonna go say hi to her," Julie said as she walked over to the entrance of the classroom.

Joshua jumped up as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Kenneth with his messy blonde hair, grinning mischievously. "Y-yeah, maybe I will," he mimicked Joshua.

"Oh shut up," Joshua pushed Kenneth playfully.

"Dude, she's totally into you!" Kenneth gushed. "You should go,"

"Maybe," he responded succinctly to no one. Kenneth was already off, talking to another classmate. Joshua decided that he would probably just go home after school. He was not keen on going to the pool, which would probably be packed with people.

He stood at the window and stared outside into the blazing heat of the outdoors. His green eyes unmoving, staring at the asphalt which radiated with heat. The sound of chatter and laughter filled the room. He and his classmates were fortunate enough to be spending the day inside the air conditioned school. Joshua snapped out of his daze as Mr. Wickham entered the classroom, signalling for students to take their seats. Joshua took his seat in the second row, beside his friend Kenneth, who was talking to other students about their summer plans.

As Mr. Wickham began to speak, "Hello, class. Welcome to your last day as a seventh grader…" Joshua tuned out as he began to stare out the window again. Every so often, he would take a moment to listen to the teacher. Mr. Wickham seemed to be talking about high school, something Joshua was excited and nervous about. He knew it would be a magical experience. He continued glancing outside and everything was still the same - except for a man shrouded in black standing by a tree by the playground. The man's features were indistinguishable as he was quite far away. However, his face was visible, and he seemed to be looking at Joshua. Joshua felt uncomfortable and decided to listen to Mr. Wickham. "...and that concludes my speech. It has been a pleasure teaching all of you. I hope you have a wonderful summer and good luck next year!" Mr. Wickham finished his speech and said his final goodbyes to the students as he dismissed them. Joshua looked at the tree and the man was no longer there. He quickly grabbed his backpack and caught up to Kenneth, who was already out of the classroom. As he left, Joshua said goodbye to Mr. Wickham.

"Kenneth! Wait up!" shouted Joshua as he ran up to the blonde boy in the hallway.

"Hey, Joshua! I can't believe school's finally over; I've been waiting ages for this day," said Kenneth excitedly, as they walked towards the exit together.

"Yeah, me too. I can't wait for high school. Any plans for the summer?" asked Joshua.

"Not really, I'll just be sleeping in and playing Call of Duty all day," Kenneth smiled. "By the way, do you want to come over today? Or are you gonna go to the pool with Julie?"

"I'll pass, it's way too hot today. I'm just gonna go home and watch TV," Joshua replied. He wanted to ask about Kenneth if he had seen the man standing outside, but Joshua decided against it.

"Alright then, see you later!" Kenneth yelled as he ran off with a group of other boys. Joshua smiled and braced himself for the heat as he walked out of the school. It felt like an oven outside, and Joshua groaned as he stepped into the sunlight. Instantly he could feel the sweat forming all over his body. Joshua walked quickly, staying in the shade of the trees as much as possible. As he walked down the sidewalk, he started to feel a sense of discomfort. He turned his head to look around the street. There was nothing but houses lined up neatly in a row on the other side of the street. He lived in a quiet, suburban neighbourhood. Nothing ever happened; everything was proper, ordinary, and in its place. Joshua was about to turn his head back when he saw the man again. This time, Joshua could see that the man had short black hair and some stubble. The man was standing on the other side of the street, half his body concealed by the trunk of a tree. He was staring at Joshua again, the same way he did at the school.

Joshua decided that it was time to run. He sprinted down the sidewalk, not looking back at the man. He reached his home in a matter of moments and quickly entered. Then he slammed the front door and locked it. Joshua plopped onto the floor, his heart beating furiously and his clothes were drenched in sweat. He wasn't particularly athletic, but he did play a little bit of soccer and basketball. After several minutes, he went into the kitchen and gulped two glasses of water. Then he headed up into his room to change. His room was upstairs to the right. The walls were blue and the room was organized and neat. There were assortments of posters on the walls and a couple certificates. Joshua changed into a green t-shirt and black shorts. Then he headed downstairs to watch some TV.

He sat down on the couch and began to flip through the channels. After several minutes of surfing, Joshua heard knocking on the front door. He turned the TV off and headed over to the door. He looked through the peephole of the door and his heart froze. It was the man. His expression was stern and this time, his features were clearly defined. He had a rugged-looking face, a strong jaw line with stubble. He had short black hair and his eyes were a dull grey. However, the most striking aspect of his appearance was the scar. A large scar sat across the man's right cheek. The man waited several seconds and then knocked loudly on the door again. Then the man spoke in a deep, gravelly voice, "I know you're there…" It was muffled but Joshua heard it clearly.

Without a second thought, Joshua ran up the stairs into his room. He closed the door behind him and locked it. He listened carefully for the sound of knocking. For several moments, there was silence; Joshua was relieved. "Oh, thank goodness," he sighed. Then, a sound. The sound of the front door opening. His relief was quickly replaced by anxiety and fear again. He grabbed the phone and began to dial his dad's phone number. "Come on, come on, come on, answer dad," Joshua said with desperation. It rang - no answer. So he tried his mother - no answer.

At this point, Joshua was terrified. Whilst Joshua tried to contact his parents, there was a small popping sound, but he did not hear it. The man now stood behind Joshua and he could feel a presence. Joshua slowly turned around and his eyes widened. He yelled out as loud as he could before surge of energy rushed through his body. For a moment, everything seemed absolutely still, but then the man's eyes widened. Suddenly, he flew backwards as though some invisible force had pushed him, and he crashed through the door. Joshua looked over at the man in the hallway, who was slumped over against the wall, in disbelief and confusion. But before Joshua could do anything else, his vision began to blur. He felt very weak and his legs collapsed under him, bringing him to the ground. In a matter of seconds, darkness consumed his vision.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. This is my first story ever, so please leave a review. Stay tuned for chapter 2!

- silentist