Chapter 1

A silver marble sized sphere appeared in the dry desert air. The sphere began to grow, it got so big that the bottom touched the desert floor. The silver sphere became distorted and became a dome on the desert sand as it became a dome. The dome grew and stopped. Its silver intensity began to fade, revealing five silhouettes of people. The dome faded away and in its place where five kids, crouching down, covering each other.

David, one of the teenagers who appeared from the sphere, opened his eyes slowly. His dark brown eyes saw the slightly windy desert air and he stood up. He had ebony skin that was visible through his short sleeve white vest and green trousers. The other teenagers followed his lead and stood up from their crouching position.

"What-what happened?" Matilda asked in her Irish accent, her eyes squinting at the barren desert with patches of green and rock. She was wearing white pyjamas with pictures of blue whales printed on it. Her brown hair was messy and had pieces of blanket cottons in her hair.

"I don't know," David said. "But it doesn't seem like we're at the Shiva sight anymore."

"I think we still are." Remy said, pointing at a rock that protruded from the ground like a brown fang. Remy had youthful green eyes and messy blonde hair. He had a skinny frame, unlike David's much better built body. The fair skin on his arm had proof of a receding sun burn as he pointed at the rock sticking from the ground.

"The boy is right." Xing said in her Chinese accented English. Her hair was tired in a ponytail that touched her back and she had on baggy jeans and a black tracksuit jacket with white lines running along the arms and shoulders. "That rock is in Shiva."

"But where's the other kids and parents," David said as he rotated in place, surveying the surroundings. "Where's the…" He stopped when he saw cabins some distance away. Half of them were disassembled and buried in sand and a few seemed to be standing. "Looks like I've been answered."

"Do you think our parents are there?" A small voice said walking up to David and hugging his arm. The small voice belonged to Cammy, the youngest of the group in a white nightdress.

David did not know what to say. He looked back at the group of confused people, as confused as he was. At 17, he was the oldest, followed closely by Xing and Remy at 15 the Matilda at 13 and finally Cammy by 7. Being the oldest meant that they would look to him for leadership.

"I don't know but we will find them or at least… find out what happened to them." David said before he took her hand and led the group to the few still standing cabins.

/

Angela Petreli opened the door and as soon as she did a boy with frilly blonde hair rushed forward and hugged her. She smiled as he returned the hug.

"Hello, grandma!" The boy excitedly said.

Angela placed her hands on her grandson's shoulder after the hug and looked at him with a smile on her face. "Wow, you have grown, Simon." She said. She looked at his eyes and saw that he had Nathan's eyes.

"I beg to differ," Another of Angela's grandsons said. Monty had his hands in his pocket and looked disapprovingly at his twin brother. He calmly approached his grandmother and gave her a calmer hug than Simon. "It's good to see you grandma."

"You too." Angela said, returning the hug. "Where is your mother?" Anela asked just as Natahnwife walked up the house carrying a bag. Angela smiled at her daughter-in-law. "I see these boys are making you work."

"Considering I never get a chance to see them much, I don't mind." She said before they gave each other the double check kiss greeting.

"How about you boys unpack your things." Angela said. "You can pick any room in the house."

The boys took their luggage bags and the bag their mother had brought and went to explore the house in search of a room, while Angela led Natanwife to the living room where she made a cup of tea for both of them. Angela could see the bags under Nathawife's eyes and the sad expression that she tried to hide.

"You don't look so good," Angela commented as she placed the cup of tea in front of her. "Are you okay?"

Heidi took a sip of the tea. "No, not really. I feel like I'm… stuck."

"Stuck?" Angela asked.

"Yes, I haven't moved on from Nathan's death."

Angela sighed at herself. "Heidi, you need to move on. You have two boys to take care of."

"I know but… I can't find closure. At least not when I don't really know what happened to him." Heidi said looking down at her tea as light steam rose from it. "I mean, Nathan's death was so mysterious and sudden…"

"Most deaths are sudden." Angela said.

"Yes but… I can't help feel like there is more to it." She said before looking at Angela. "I feel like there's something about his death that you're not telling me. I feel like he did not just die of a car accident."

Angela sighed again. "You can't be chasing fairytales, Heidi. Nathan died of a car accident and that's it. There's no more to the story." Angela was glad that she had decided to invite the twins to stay with her just like she had dreamt she would. Maybe the dream was also a warning about Heidi's condition. "It's a good thing the boys are staying with me, it will give you time on your own. Go relax, go mourn, go do whatever you need to do to move on and be a proper mother and then come back after this weekend." Angela said sternly, more as an order than a suggestion.

Heidi nodded weakly before finishing the rest of her tea.

/

Monty had found a room that he liked and was already lying on the bed with his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. His brother's head popped up from the door frame. "Hey, why did you choose a room far away from me?"

"Because I want to be as far away from your snoring as possible." He said turning to the die and showing his brother his back.

"I don't snore, you snore but I don't." Simon said entering the room. "Why don't we go downstairs and join mom and grandma?"

"Because they're talking about something we should not hear." He said.

"Come on, what could they be talking about that they don't want us to hear?"

Simon turned around to look at his brother with a look that was in between frustration and disgust. Monty braced himself because he knew when his brother had that look it usually meant an insult was coming his way. "Sometimes I wonder how your 16. Mom has taken dad's death hard and with us being at boarding school, she has had no one to support her. She and grandma are probably talking about that and how she doesn't want us to see her breaking down, so stop being an idiot and give them their time alone."

Simon got up and began leaving the room. At the doorway he stopped and looked down. "Hey, I know mom's been struggling. I'm worried about her too." Simon left his brother to his thoughts.

After a few more minutes, both boys heard their mother's voice calling to them from downstairs. They both ran down the stairs to her.

"I'm leaving now." Heidi said putting a hand on each twin's shoulder. "Don't give your grandmother too much of a big headache."

"We can't make any promises," Simon said hugging her, followed by Monty.

The twins and Angela watched as Heidi drove out of the Petreli family home. When she was gone, Angela placed a comforting hand on their shoulders. "Okay boys. I hope you two are ready for a fun weekend with your grandma."

/

Kyle Bennet sat in maths class, looking out of the window. The concept of deriving a function of x had gone over his head and as such had given up on listening. This was the last day of school before the break came and this was his last year of secondary education. He was both excited and anxious about this fact. Like many of his generation, he disliked school but he was also confused about what he wanted.

The bell rang and pulled him out of his daydreaming. There were whoops from his classmates as this was the final class of the day and semester. Kyle smiled at his classmates celebrations. He wished he could join them as they excitedly talked to each other but he could not. Ever since the secret of people with abilities was outed by his sister, he had become something of an outsider with his peers. He was associated with her by name so everyone looked at him and his family like they were some kind of freaks. Most of his friends had abandoned him and the school at one time wanted to expel him because he 'potentially endangered the other kids'. His mother gave the school a piece of her mind which forced them to keep him there. With one action, his sister had branded him and outcast and everyone now looked at him like he would jump off a Ferris wheel… and survive.

As he headed for the exit he dug a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it with a gas lighter. A red lighter that strangely had the symbol that was on the Kensie sword that belonged to the legendary Takeo Kensie. He waited on a corner some distance away from the school gate. This is where he and his girlfriend usually met afterschool.

A few minutes of smoking passed before his girlfriend, Martha showed up. She was wearing black jeans with a blue blouse while struggling with her heavy school bag. He quickly threw the cigarette and stepped on it before she reached him.

"Hey." She said almost out of breath.

"Hey," He said kissing her on the cheek.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Have you been smoking? You know I hate it when you do that."

Kyle shrugged while reaching for her bag's strap. "Here, let's switch." He said taking her back and giving her his.

"I'm always surprised how light your bag is." She said slinging it around her shoulders. "It's like you use one book for everything."

"Maybe it's because I do."

"What?" She exclaimed as they got on their way.

He laughed at her response. Kyle Bennett and Martha Smith were opposites when it came to their education. Kyle was more of a slacker who was happy with his grades being just above mediocre while Martha was a hard worker who had straight As. They met when Martha, undeterred by the rumours of Kyle being a freak like his sister, offered to tutor him. During that time their relationship progressed to friendship and then into a romantic one. Kyle had had many girlfriends but Martha was his first serious relationship while for Martha, this was her first romantic relationship.

They spoke about their days as they walked to the bus stop. At the bus stop, they stopped. This was where Martha caught the bus and then Kyle would walk back to his home.

"So, have you registered at the collage yet?" Martha asked.

"Uhm…" Kyle said scratching his head.

"Why haven't you done it?" Martha asked sounding concerned. "Don't you want to attend the same schools as me?"

"I do!" Kyle said trying to assure her. "I just don't think my grades will be good enough to get into any collage."

"You're speaking like you've already written the test and failed." Martha said. "We still have a whole summer ahead of us and a few more months and I can always help you."

"I don't know, Martha."

"You don't know if you want my help or you don't know if you want to go to the same collage as me?" Martha said.

Kyle ran his hands through his black hair while trying to figure out what to say. There was nothing more he wanted to do than go to the same school as Martha and be with her but he had one big problem. Other for the fact that he was not so good at school; he did not know what he wanted to be! Martha was focused; she could see her future clearly and knew what steps to take to get there. Kyle on the other hand had no idea what his future would be nor did he have any inclination on what he wanted it to be. He searched for the words that would not make him sound corny or like he was making excuses.

"Hmph!" Martha folded her arms as the bus came by. She took his silence as a yes to both her questions. "I guess you'll tell me when you know." She said as she made her way to the bus.

Kyle could hear the anger and hurt in her voice. "Martha, wait." He said.

"I can't." Martha replied after digging out her ticket and showing it to the bus driver before getting in the bus.

Kyle watched as the bus pulled away from him, leaving him there alone. He remembered that he still had Martha's bag and she his. He sighed, knowing that Martha may not want to see or talk to him any further today, he decided that he would give her the bag tomorrow, when they both had calmed down.

/

David entered the cabin first. It was dusty with a few streams of light entering the wooden cabin. The other kids followed close behind, filling out the cabin.

"Doesn't seem anyone is here." Matilda said, looking around.

"I think someone does live here." Remy said pointing at the mattress on the floor and the magazines beside it.

Xing kneeled beside the bed and looked at the magazines. She noticed that pages had been ripped out of most of them. She flipped through the magazine and then saw something that made her eyes go wide and she said something in Mandarian Chinese.

David looked at her after her shocked expression. "What?" He said.

"Look." She said handing the magazine to David. The other kids craned over to David to see what Xing had seen.

"What is it?" Matlida said trying to look at the magazine while Remy looked over his shoulder.

"I want to see too!" Cammy said tugging at his trousers.

"Guys, give me some space." David said while trying to get away from them while scanning the magazine. "I don't see anything wrong, Xing." He said while trying to keep the magazine away from the eager teens and kids.

"Look at date." Xing said.

David looked at the date at the right-hand corner of the magazine. "No, it can't be!" David said which was what Xing had said in her language.

"What?" Matilda said snatching the magazine from his hands.

"The date is wrong." David said as he walked to the other magazines. "It must be." He picked up more magazine and joined Xing in looking at the dates of each of the magazines. "If… if this is right, we're in the future."

"Future?" Remy said in disbelief. "We time travelled?"

"Who are you?" A new voice screeched.

The group of five looked at the doorway and saw an old woman standing there. She had wild hair, rags for clothes and an angry expression. The group was frightened by the new comer.

David was about to say something to the woman but was cut off when she screamed, "Get out!"

There was a sudden wind in the cabin that lifted the kids off the ground. They flew around once before crashing through a second doorway of the cabin. David crashed through the door, opening it and was followed by the other kids. The mysterious wind threw them outside in the sandy desert floor. David landed hard and rolled in the dirt; Remy landed head first into a bush while Matilda landed some distance away from David while Matilda crashed on top of her. Xing was the last to exit and fell on her stomach.

The mystery woman stepped out of the cabin following the kids. "It was a mistake that you came here, for you have come to your DEATH!"