Chapter 1: Renewal

He saw the world with new eyes. And wondered, is this the world that I know of?

It was a forest sight that had captured his eyes when he first opened them. But it wasn't right. Was his eyes playing tricks on him or could he really see the insects crawling on the leaves? Or the leaves turning around as the squirrel ran past the two curved trees?

Something's not right, he thought. He spread his senses and found he wasn't breathing. He took a deep breath. Weird, why did it feel like he tasted the air? He could taste the water that flowed in a nearby stream, the taste of the mountains. The thoughts were unbalanced. Nothing concrete came in his mind. His mind was a complete jumble.

He was lying on his back, on a solid ground of rocks and leaves. Nearby was a stream, the running water an echo in his ears. He could smell the fresh earth, the scents of water and earth, everything in the small clearing that he was in. Flexing his body slightly, he found that though he was lying on the ground, both his legs and his hands did not feel uncomfortable. All right, let's see what this area is, he thought.

The boy stretched his muscles and got up. He felt light and free, but he swayed and had realized he had gotten up too fast. Was he moving too quickly, or was this his fantasy? He moved to a tree on the other side of the clearing and looked back. It was a shock when he realized that the leaves on the ground were slightly floating in the air as though someone had ridden a bicycle in the area.

Frustrated that there was no explanation to his actions, he curled his fist and slammed it into a tree. To his horror, the tree gave way, falling to the ground with a deafening crack. He could clearly see the imprint of his fist on the tree. Looking at his fist, he could not see any blood or any mark on his hand.

Then he gasped. His fist was still tight, but his skin had turned pale. His skin was bone white as though someone has wrapped a white sheet on his skin. Looking carefully at the rest of his body, he saw that all of his body had turned the same pale color. His muscles were all hard and he felt so powerful that he had the notion that he could do almost anything.

The boy was sane enough to comprehend what might have happened. But sanity was not enough. He looked into his memories, looking at what might have happened. He was horrified that he could not remember anything. He did know who his parents were, where he was, what had been going on, nothing. Only a name was embedded in his memory. No matter how he thought of it, he could not remember the name.

A chill spread on his back. This can't be, he thought. There was not a sane thought in his mind. Hell, he may not even have a clue what he was supposed to do. Then he looked at himself more carefully. He was wearing a blue shirt and black jeans and had a dark blue jacket on. There were no scratches on them but the jacket had torn near the collar. Someone must have pulled on it.

Looking around carefully, confirming it was just him in the clearing, he stripped completely and looked at himself. He confirmed nothing out of the ordinary. His skin felt light and he was pale but nothing went against it. But all traces of body fat were absent. He looked handsome. More like a man. A new thought came to his mind, more inhuman. He could have been a male model for his looks.

A hard bulge on his trousers caught his attention. Retrieving his clothes, he put them on and looked inside his trousers. He found a wallet, some papers and a tape recorder. Opening the wallet eagerly, he found some cards and a few dollar and franc notes. Looking at one of the cards, he saw a Social Security card and a driving license.

Name: Jayden Cameron Reese

Place of Birth: Los Angeles, USA

Current Residence: France

The boy looked carefully. So, my name is Jayden. Am I in France? If so, why am I here? What was I doing? How did I change? A host of questions kept tumbling in my head. Jayden quickly organized his thoughts and pulled out the tape recorder. He pressed Rewind and played the tape. A very deep and happy voice emanates from the speaker,

"Hey, this is Jayden Reese. Just finished my last course at the university and have decided to check the sprawling mountain cliffs of the outskirts. I am awed by the beauty of the mountains. It looks a great spot for climbing, trekking and mountain bike racing. There may be a resort of some kind there. I might be able to find a good area there to get good R&R time there. This is Jay, signing out."

A pause followed and the same voice comes out. "Hey guys Jayden is back. I found a cool resort here set at the top of one of the mountains. The resort faces an awesome view. It's cool and great. I just met up with a few couples and a good number of people. I met three girls, out of who is very cute. Girl's name is Rena. The others are good but way back boring. They are going to come with me for some time at a waterfall near the resort. This is Jayden signing out."

Another pause follows and the voice is back. "Hey guys this is Jayden. I just spent a day with my new friends. They are good company. They were all attractive when they came to swim in the waterfall. They were equally awed when they saw me in my good toned body. They were kind of funny when they saw that my color was more of a dull brown than the usual white. Hey, come on. I am from America after all. We had a lot of fun. I later climbed the waterfall with some girls following me. One of the girls, Lisa did not like to come. She said she was scared of heights. Later she also climbed and screamed at the top. The other girl, a French girl named Anne, laughed and said that Americans need that fear in France."

"We later had lunch. After lunch we dozed off. Rena and I got off well. We had become friends and Lisa was good too. We went for a walk deep in the woods. But then, Lisa went missing for a little while. She came back and went with her friends. I did not ask her where she had gone. Hey it's none of my business. The girls had complained that the day had worn them out so we went back. Lisa and Anne went to their rooms and I spent time with Rena at the small bar in the resort. I drank little but Rena had a lot. I was surprised when she looked at me and kissed me. She dragged me to a small den and kissed me hard. I also kissed her and we had a make out in the small den. She later collapsed and I had to carry her to her room. Once she was in her bed, I got out. I came to my room and spoke to my parents. This is Jay, signing out." A yawn followed, and then came a pause.

Jayden stopped the player. So now things were making sense. He was in a mountain area and was living in a mountain resort motel. He had met up with some friends and had a good time. He had been happy for a while. But all that did not explain what had happened. Something had happened or else he would not be here all of a sudden. But one thing was disturbing him. The tape said that his skin color was a light brown but looking at him now, his skin was more of a white and pale looking texture. Whatever had happened had changed him greatly.

The question was: What had happened to change him like this?