Chapter I

- Sacramento, CA. 7:00 A.M., PST

"Tyson Slate, get out of bed this instant!" A voice hollered from downstairs. "You're going to miss the bus!" A small voice groaned, almost mesmerized, from underneath the thick covers. Footsteps were soon heard coming up the stairs, with the splish-splosh of water at its side. Ty's mom soon came in, and dumped a bucket of water on Ty.

SPLASH!!!

"Augh!!" Ty yelled, falling off his bed. "I'm up, I'm up!" His mother sighed as he began to race around the room gathering his things.

"Seriously, Ty, Now that you're a sophomore in high school, you need to take better management of your time."

"Hey it wasn't my fault."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I was in a dream I couldn't wake up from, no matter how hard I tried."

"Hmmm….was it the one about the bikini supermodels again?"

Ty blushed at this. "No, and that dream only happened once!" Ty snapped back. His mother chuckled. "I'm serious, the dream was weird…" By the time he said this, he was completely ready for school. A good thing too, since he heard the bus coming. "See you later, mom!" He raced down the stairs and onto the bus, which began to move as soon as he got on it.

- Dallas, TX. 9:00 A.M., CST

Nikki Raine was distressed. Of course, you would be too if you were in the principal's office with your parents talking about how bad your grades are. "I just think she should apply herself to the work a little more." Mrs. Bulsaur, the school principal said. "I know she's smart, but she needs to concentrate."

"Ya hear that Nikki?" Her father asked, spitting out a piece of tobacco into the nearest trash can. Nikki hated her parents, but mostly just her father. And she had plenty of reason to. Her father was an alcoholic hooked on drugs, and her mom was hardly home. And when she was, it was late at night when Nikki was asleep. 'Ridiculous,' Nikki always thought. 'How did my mom ever end up with a creep like dad?' She may never know.

"Nikki! Are you even listening!?" Her father exclaimed angrily.

"Yeah, just because I don't respond doesn't mean I'm not listening." Nikki said as if she could care less. Which she did.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me young lady! I'm your father!"

"Honey, please calm down." Mrs. Raine said in a calm voice. She turned back to Mrs. Bulsaur. "Don't worry, Nikki will raise her grades. I'm sure of it."

"I'm glad to hear that." The principal said. Nikki sighed. Sometimes she wished that she could just disappear off the planet. Little did she know her wish was about to be granted.

Albany, NY. 10:00 A.M., EST

"YAWN" Young Kristal Starla proclaimed as she stretched out on her bed. She looked around her damp room - which was actually more like a cell - and deeply frowned. 'Crap…' She thought, lying back down on her bed. 'And to think that dream was real…man, being here for so long might be making me go crazy!' She gazed out the window at the serene valley the orphanage overlooked. She sighed.

Ten Years Ago

"Kris! Hang on to me, please! I can't lose you, too!"

"Kyle? What's going on?" The two children looked around the apartment they lived in: burning. Kyle - the older one - knew that within seconds, the building would collapse. Luckily, they were on the first floor. So the seven-year-old did the smartest thing he could do. He took his three-year-old sister in his arms and ran to the nearest window, jumping out of it.

A few minutes later a bunch of fire trucks came. But it was too late. The building had collapsed. The firemen looked around the broken building for survivors. They only found the two children, unconscious next to the rubble.

"Poor children." One of the firemen said. "To have their parents gone at such an early age."

Kristal turned her eyes to her bed stand where a little picture lay. She picked it up. It showed her and Kyle hugging each other. Kyle was making the peace sign, while Kristal just smiled.

Kristal chuckled. 'We don't even look related. He gets mom's red hair, I get dad's brown hair. He gets dad's brown eyes, I get mom's blue eyes.' She put the picture back down, and averted her gaze from it.

'Kyle…'

Seven Years After the Fire

Immediately after the fire, Kyle and Kristal were put in an orphanage. They could be adopted by anyone who wanted them. Kristal disapproved of it. She felt like a watermelon in the fruit aisle. A watermelon with a growth on it. A watermelon nobody else wanted. Anyway, it was seven long years before anything happened. And when it did happen, it was not what they expected.

The owner of the orphanage was talking to an elderly couple. Apparently they wanted a boy. Kristal and Kyle put their ears to close to the door so they could here what was going on inside. It had become a habit a while ago, in hopes that they would get adopted.

"Please, if you want the boy, than just take them both." The voice of the owner said. "The only family they have left is each other."

"Then we shall be his new family. I'm sure the girl will be adopted sooner or later." The husband said. Kyle and Kristal looked at each other in astonishment.

"Well…if you really feel so strongly about this…"

"We do." The wife quickly said. Kyle frowned, left the door, and went up to his "room". Kristal quickly followed. By the time she got there, Kyle was already packing his things.

"Come on, Kyle! You don't have to leave! Persuade them!" Kristal yelled. Kyle sighed.

"Their minds are made up." Kyle muttered. "Besides, they wouldn't listen to us anyway. We're too young." He started to pack the things on his desk when he heard Kristal start to sob.

"Y-you're…m-my…br-brother…please…don't leave…" Kyle quickly embraced her.

"Don't worry. Everything will turn out alright." He said, comforting her. "Here." He turned to his desk and grabbed a pack of stationary and a pen. "Write to me every month." He said, giving the equipment to her. She looked up at him. He simply smirked. "I'll miss you." He said, hugging her once more.

"Kyle…"

Two years later, Kristal found out that Kyle had been drafted into the army. And Kristal never stopped writing to him.

Many hours later, our three heroes got back into their beds for a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, that's not what they would get.

They all fell asleep at the same time. A couple minutes later, they had disappeared off the face of the earth.

End of Chapter I