Chapter 1
I sat on the bus on my way to school and watched the rain fall down against the window. It was a Wednesday, and it had been raining all week. I had been outside in the rain a long time last night. The rain never seemed to bother me. But, as I sat on, I was sniffing like crazy. I guess I finally learned my lesson. Staying out in the rain had finally given me a cold. I don't get sick too often, and that was one of those uncommon times. My name is Aaron Harris. And my story, I'm sure nobody has ever heard.
It was that rainy day on the bus when I first noticed him. I was sitting there, looking out the window, when I spotted someone on the sidewalk. The first thing that struck me odd was the fact that this person didn't have an umbrella and it was pouring at its worst. All he had was a sweatshirt with a hood. The next thing I saw was the pair of taloned feet sticking out from the bottom of the man's pants. I don't know how I could tell it was a man, but I knew from the first look I got. The man turned his head, and our eyes met. His face was horrible. He hardly looked human. His eyes were round, like a bird's. His nose was an elephant's trunk. His ears stuck out of the top of his sweatshirt hood like a kangaroo's. Altogether, he was a mix of animals, and I was sure I was seeing things. I turned my head from the window and slapped my face. I turned back, and the man was gone. What did I eat last night? I wondered. But, by then the bus was pulling into the school driveway. I stood up, got off and went to find my friend Mason Willis. By now my sniffling was worse, and I was starting to have a headache. I found Mason beside the staircase to the cafeteria.
"Man, you look horrible," Mason said.
"Well, I've felt better," I replied. "It's just a cold though." Mason nodded, and we started to walk towards homeroom. "I saw this really weird guy on the sidewalk just now," I said as we walked down the hall. I told him about the weird animal guy.
"OK, that's not possible," Mason said, "Your cold must be worse than you thought. Are you sure you shouldn't go get it checked out?" He started to laugh. I laughed too.
We stopped at our lockers before we went to homeroom. I opened my locker, deposited my outside stuff, and grabbed my things for my first class, which happened to be math. But first, I had to sit for however long homeroom is. I've never known how long homeroom actually is, because honestly, I've never cared. I closed my locker, and walked into homeroom. I entered the room, and sat down beside Mason, who was already there.
"Today looks like another gloomy day," he muttered, looking out the window. I looked out the window too. Outside it was starting to rain harder.
"Yep," I replied. And then, I saw it. The weirdest van I've ever seen was driving by on the road. It was all brown, like the color of poop. There were green splotches all over it. From a creature, or painted on there I really didn't want to know. On the side it said: Today is a great day to catch the Metamorphic. I couldn't look away from it, even though after seeing the message I'm sure even the bravest person would look away and try to convince themselves they were imagining things. The van turned. There was a mouth at the front of the fender. It was opened in a loud growl. The animal man I had seen earlier was at the wheel.
"Mason…" I said slowly.
"Yeah?" Mason asked. He wasn't looking at the window.
"Are you seeing this?" I asked. Mason looked at me, and then looked out the window.
"Oh crap," he said. I didn't respond. I didn't know what to say. But, at least now I knew I wasn't crazy. I glanced behind us. The rest of the class and the teacher weren't looking. They weren't even moving.
"This is bad," I muttered.
"Run," Mason said. "We have to run now." He stood up. I stood up too. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. Mason grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the door. I broke out of the slow motion, and ripped the door open. Mason ran through first, and I followed. Just as the door closed, I glanced back. The van drove right into the window, like the animal man hadn't even hesitated. The teacher and the rest of the class were pushed over to the side of the room. They still weren't moving, but they didn't seem hurt either. I guess that was a good thing. I turned away as glass from the window flew towards the door. I ran after Mason, who was only a little ways farther down the hall. We were about half way down the hall when I heard an explosion. Mason and I looked back as we ran. We looked back just in time to see the door to our homeroom fly out of the doorframe and come flying towards us. We leapt towards opposite sides of the hall. The door flew passed us, hit the wall, and fell to the ground. There was a bunch of black marks left on the ground, like what's left after a car skids to a stop. I stood up, and looked back down the hall. The animal man came out of the room. His sweatshirt was gone now, and left in its place was a huge turtle shell that covered him like a shirt. His legs were all fur, like a goat or a cow or something. He started running towards us, but it was more like galloping.
"Mason get up!" I yelled looking over at him. He was slowly standing up, leaning on the wall for support. I ran over, and pulled him the rest of the way up. We ran down the hall, and up the stairs, taking them two at a time. We turned the corner around the stairs, and I spotted the animal man almost to the bottom of the stairs. We ran faster. Suddenly, a window blew out in front of us. A man jumped through the broken window, and turned to face us. There was nothing weird about him, which was a relief. The man began to walk towards us.
"Mason, Aaron," the man said. "Get behind me." I wasn't for the idea of going behind a random man that had just jumped through one of the school windows, but Mason grabbed my arm and pulled me behind the man. The animal man had gotten to the top of the stairs. The man in front of us aimed something that he had in his hand at the animal man. I couldn't see what it was. Something came out of the object and spiraled towards the animal man. The animal man got out of the way with only a second to spare. He jumped to the floor, and the thing spiraled past and burned hole in the wall. It was like instant white fire. The animal man jumped to his feet, looked at us, then turned and jumped out of the hole.
Chapter 2
"WHAT just happened?!" I exclaimed.
"Oh boy," Mason muttered. "THIS is going to take a long time to explain." I looked at him.
"Wh-" I began to ask, but the man cut me off.
"No time here," he said. "Follow me."
"Where are we going?" I asked the man. Mason and I started walking faster down the hall.
"My house," the man said.
"But, my parents will get worried," I said. "I mean, I don't even know your name! They might think I've been kidnapped or something. Seriously, how do I even know that I can trust you besides the fact you just tried to blast the animal man that's been following me all morning to bits. You could've just been doing it to lure me into a false sense of security. You could be planning to kill us when we get to your house!"
"Aaron," Mason said, slowly. "He's not going to kill us."
"How do you know?" I asked.
"He works with me," the man said. I slowed down so I was almost not moving.
"What?" I asked.
"Once again, no time," the man replied. "My name's John by the way." I sighed and started walking again.
"I'm going crazy," I said. Mason started laughing. "No, I'm serious," I said. "I should be on medication."
"That would not be a good idea," Mason said. He didn't explain why. I sighed and started to jog to catch up to him and John.
"I'm so confused," I muttered.
"We'll explain everything when we get to my car," John said. He turned the corner in the hall and started sprinting towards the door. Mason and I started to sprint, but we couldn't keep up. John disappeared out the front doors. By the time Mason and I got outside John already had his car pulled out in front, and was waiting beside the sidewalk. It was a gigantic white limousine. I slowed in amazement, but Mason grabbed my arm again, and pulled me into the limo, like it was nothing new. Everything inside was black. The door closed without us touching it, and John sped the car away from the school.
"Alright," I said. "Explain to me. Why was that man all different kinds of animals? Who are you? How does Mason know you? How do you know my name? Why did that guy want me? And lastly, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!"
"The man was all different kinds of animals because he's what we call an Anamorphic. Me, I am a warrior in a group called the Dayarians. Mason is also in the group. We're in the same section. That's how we know each other. I know your name because us Dayarians are around to protect people like you. Right now, you are Mason's and my mission. The Anamorphic wanted you because you and your kind are their worst enemies, even before you fully understand what you are. You are a Metamorphic."
"A what now?" I asked.
"You know how you don't get sick very often?" Mason asked me. I nodded. "And you know how, when you do get sick something weird usually happens?"
That was true. Every time I get a cold or something, I see something weird, or something else happens. One time, I was home from school, and I was outside reading under one of the thickest trees beside my house. Somehow, the tree broke away from the bottom, and nearly fell on me.
My nose started running again. Mason asking me that question reminded me that I was supposed to be running with a cold right now.
"Yeah," I replied.
"Those are the evil forces of the world working against you," Mason said, "basically, a Metamorphic can change shape to save the world from the people and creatures set on destroying it, or taking it over. And not getting sick very often is the early sign of your gifts. It's like the first stage of your powers."
"So, you're telling me," I asked, "that I have the ability to save the world from guys like that weirdo that was after me and things much worse?"
Mason looked at me, and said, "Yes."
Despite all the random and mixed feelings running around inside me like I was their own personal race track, part of me said, Cool. Nerdy kid right here is the next Superman.
"And me being on medication…?" I asked.
"What?" Mason asked.
"Earlier when I said I should be on medication you said that wouldn't be a good idea," I replied. "So, what's not a good idea about it? Does it take away my powers or something?"
"Bingo," Mason said. "And also, I'm only like a junior member, so really you're John's mission, and I'm kinda tagging along, and he's training me a bit." I nodded slowly, lost in thought. Suddenly, the car screeched to a stop. We were outside a gate that was in front of the biggest, full white house I'd ever seen. It was so white that it shone, and hurt my eyes.
"Whoa," I muttered.
"It gets better," John said, glancing at me in the mirror.
"This is your HOUSE?!" I exclaimed. John nodded. "You sure it's not a train station?" I asked. Mason laughed. John smiled.
"Yes, I'm pretty sure," John replied. Then, the gate swung open, and John drove the car slowly through the gate. He parked the car beside the front porch, and got out. Mason and I did too. John walked right up the stairs to the porch and went right through the door.
"Man, I should've guessed he was rich, the minute I saw the limo," I muttered. Mason shot a humorous glance at me, and then followed John up the stairs. I followed him more slowly. Everything inside was either wood, or carpeted, which was a big surprise to me, considering the whiteness of outside.
"Hello, Mr. John," I heard a voice say. I had originally been looking up at the ceiling and the large staircases and everything else in the house, but I looked back down when I heard the voice. "Hello Mr. Mason," a tight, upright looking man said. I guessed he was the butler. "Who's this?" the butler man asked, looking at me.
"Harry, this is Aaron Harris," John replied. "He's the new Metamorphic."
"Hi," I said, smiling and giving harry the butler a short wave. He didn't even simile.
Nice guy, I thought, sarcastically.
"Aaron," John said. "Harry will show you and Mason to your rooms." Mason and I nodded.
"Grand," Harry muttered. He turned and started walking up the first huge staircase.
This guy has problems, I thought. Mason headed towards the stairs and I followed. I caught up with him. We walked side by side up the stairs, a few feet behind Harry. It turned out Mason's room and my room were right next to each other. I wondered if John had done that on purpose, like just in case there was trouble or something. I went into my room, and Mason went into his. For some reason Harry seemed to need to stand there and hold my door open for me, until I was standing in the middle of the room. I turned back and gave him a quizzical look. Harry finally slammed the door shut and left.
"That guy needs to take depression medicine," I muttered. Then, I turned to look around the room. The walls were navy blue, and there were weird little spaceship things all around the room. This must've been John's kid's old room, I thought. The bed was the right size for me though. I looked through the drawers, and clothes that I would wear on normal days were in every single drawer. Someone was preparing for me, I thought. I glanced out of the large window at the end of the room, on the last wall. A moon was starting to shine in the sky, and it was getting dark. I wasn't very hungry, and still trying to wrap my head around the events of today, so I flopped down on the bed and pulled my cellphone out of my pocket. I dialed my home number. I got the answering machine, which I was actually relieved about, because I didn't really know what I was going to say. "Mom, Dad, this is Aaron," I started out. "Something really crazy happened today, and I mean REALLY crazy, so I'm not going to be home for a while. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell anyone or not. But, I'm with Mason at this guy named John's house. He's a cool guy and he won't hurt me. And I'm fine. Hopefully I'll be back in a few days. Love you. Bye." I put the phone on a table in the room and flopped back down on the bed and fell asleep.
Chapter 3
I woke up to an alarm bell sounding. I sat upright in bed, and ran to the door. I flung the door open and ran out into the hall. Mason came out of his room at the same time. I closed the door behind me, and turned to look at him.
"What is it?" I asked.
"What do you think?" Mason replied. "The Anamorphic." I took a deep breath, and ran down the hall.
"Aaron, wait!" Mason yelled.
"Shh!" I yelled back at him. I came to the part of the hallway where the stairs came, and saw John and the Anamorphic locked in a fight at the bottom. I ducked behind the railing that was on the edge of the hallway, and watched them from behind it. Suddenly, Mason was beside me.
"Geez," I muttered, glancing at him.
"Shh," Mason whispered. I looked back down at the fight. Just when I looked back, the Anamorphic knocked John to the ground.
"No!" I yelled. I ran out from behind the railing, and started down the stairs. The Anamorphic was advancing on John and hadn't heard me. He was really stupid. Or just really deaf.
"Aaron, don't!" Mason yelled.
"I'm not letting John die for me!" I yelled back. I jumped onto the railing and slid down. My feet contacted with the Anamorphic's head just before he was about to deliver the final blow on John. The Anamorphic rolled away from John, and I hit the floor. I jumped to my feet, and saw the Anamorphic still lying on the floor next to the wall. I picked up what John had been fighting with, which happened to be a really long sword. Slowly, the Anamorphic clambered to his feet.
"You came for me, not him," I said, as the Anamorphic turned to face me. "You're not going to kill him instead." The Anamorphic walked towards me, pulling out his long weapon thing, that I had no idea what it was. Just then, it occurred to me that this could be the end…
The Anamorphic let out a weird, zombie like yell. One of the worst sounds I'd ever heard. It started running towards me. I heard a sliding sound, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Mason doing some sort of weird snowboarding stunt down the railing. He landed beside me, and pulled out a sword that I hadn't known he had until that moment. It was now the two of us against the Anamorphic. But, the Anamorphic hadn't stopped running towards us. I would've been surprised if he hadn't. Two under experienced fighters against the Anamorphic, we were in trouble. Just when the Anamorphic was almost on top of us, as if by an unspoken agreement, we each jumped the opposite direction out of the way. The Anamorphic went zooming passed. It turned around just as Mason and I regained our feet. I held John's sword out in front of me, because I knew the Anamorphic would probably run at me first. But, the Anamorphic ran at Mason.
"No!" I yelled. "Over here! I'm over here big ugly!" The Anamorphic continued its course. Not knowing what else to do, I ran at it. Suddenly, I wasn't running on the floor anymore. I was off the ground, and flying towards the Anamorphic. I looked behind me, and didn't see any wings or anything, and I had no idea how I was doing it. But, I decided not to care at the moment. I flew faster. A weird greenish light appeared around me. I held my sword out in front of me, and stabbed the Anamorphic in the side. It let out the horrible howl again. I pulled my sword out and flew around behind the Anamorphic. It turned fast to face me. I yelled and flew towards the Anamorphic again. Then, things started happening all at once. I felt the green light around me start shooting off, like fireworks or something, but I couldn't turn to look because I wasn't about to take my attention off of the Anamorphic. I did shoot a glance down at my sword, and saw something that looked an awful lot like fire spiraling around the blade. The sword sunk into the Anamorphic's chest. I lifted my sword up, and the Anamorphic stayed stuck on the end. I flung the edge of the sword towards the window. The Anamorphic flew off, out the window and disappeared. The green light faded away. Tiredness suddenly filled me, and I dropped my sword to the floor. I fell back against the wall, and sank to the floor. I saw Mason looking at me with a mixture of amazement and concern. Then, I blacked out.
Chapter 4
I woke up in a bed bigger than I'd ever been in before. I rubbed my eyes and looked around at my surroundings. There were a lot of other beds in the room with me. John sat in the one next to me. He didn't look too bad actually, considering the last time I'd seen him.
"Ah, the Metamorphic's awake," said a steely voice from the other side of the room. I rolled over and sat up. Harry the butler stood on the far side of the room, doing something that I couldn't see.
"Nice to see you too, Harry," I muttered.
"How do you feel, Aaron?" John asked.
"Oh great," I said sarcastically. "I feel like a million bucks." John smiled. I did too. "Is Mason alright?" I asked.
"He's fine," John replied. "He's been waiting for you to wake up for three days. I'll go get him." John stood up, and walked out of the room. After a second, Harry followed. I sat in my bed in the room by myself for a few minutes. Then the door opened.
Mason ran in, yelling, "Aaron!"
"Hey man," I said. "You OK?"
"Am I OK?!" Mason exclaimed. "You're the one that killed an Anamorphic your first day of learning you're a Metamorphic!"
"That doesn't answer my question," I said smiling.
"Well I've seen my best friend do some freaky thing with green light, stab the Anamorphic and then black out on the floor right in front of me, so that was a little worrisome, but honestly, I'm fine. How'd you do that by the way?"
"I didn't know I could," I replied. "It just happened. Where are we? Does John have a hospital in his house along with almost everything else?"
"Yes, actually," Mason replied. "And listen, I'm sorry for not telling you about all this stuff earlier. But, I'm almost as new at this as you are, so we're kinda both learning."
"It's okay," I said. "I understand. And I actually did amazingly. I know most of you are probably thinking, how am I not mad, but Mason was my best friend in the whole wide world. We'd been through too much together for me to not understand and be mad. Suddenly, I had a thought. "Hey, you want to go exploring?" I asked Mason.
"Yeah, sure," Mason replied. I put my legs over the side of the bed, and stood up. I was glad to find I still had my clothes on from that day. Because I hadn't seen anyone else except Harry, John, Mason and I in the house, and to think of Harry the butler or John changing me was just too awkward. Mason and I walked out of John's little hospital room. John and Harry weren't around, but I figured they went off to do something else in this house that seemed to never end. Mason and I went down the hallway. We passed many rooms, and most of them just looked like bedrooms. It was like walking through a hotel. Eventually we wondered into a really big room that looked like a gym or something. Neither of us was really good in Gym class, and neither of us liked it very much, but this gym was fantastic. It had all this different games around, and there was barely any space to walk.
"Okay, exactly how rich is John?" I asked.
"I honestly have no idea," Mason replied. I smiled. We left the gym and began wandering the halls again. Soon we came to a big staircase leading farther upward.
"I swear this house never ends," I muttered. At the bottom of the stairs, where we were standing, was a window. I didn't realize Mason was looking out the window, and I began climbing the stairs.
"Aaron," Mason said.
"Yeah?" I asked stopping where I was on the stairs and turning around.
"You're gonna want to see this, man," Mason said.
"What?" I asked, coming back down the stairs. I looked out the window beside Mason. Outside there were about ten vans, all with different news channels on the sides. "Hmm, I guess the news got around then," I muttered.
"We better go tell John," Mason replied. I nodded. We made to go back down the hallway, when the news crews down below started yelling. Mason and I turned around and ran back to the window. A big, blackish creature had appeared in the middle of the reporters. I squinted, and made out taloned feet, an elephant trunk and kangaroo ears.
"Oh no," I muttered. I looked at Mason. He looked at me.
"The Anamorphic…" Mason said slowly.
"He's back," I finished for him.
Chapter 5
I looked back down, and the Anamorphic was gone.
"We have to get back to John now!" I exclaimed. Mason and I turned and ran down the hall. A lot faster than when we came up, we made it to the stairs, and took them two at a time. We found John in the kitchen with Harry and a few other servants.
"John…" Mason said. We were both slumped over trying to catch our breath.
"The Anamorphic…" I said.
"He's not dead," Mason said.
"He was right outside with a bunch of news reporters. I don't where he went," I said.
"He disappeared," Mason finished. Suddenly, there was a really loud knock on the door. Mason, John and I went over to the door. I motioned to John to wait a second before opening it. I peeked through the window. Mason did too. All the news reporters stood outside. Some of their eyes were glazed over, some were swirling around in their heads, and some other weird things that I can't even describe. I backed up and looked at John.
"Do NOT open the door," I said.
"Why what is it?" John asked.
"See for yourself," Mason said. We backed away from the window and John took a look. John backed up and looked at Mason and me.
"Get upstairs, lock anything that can be opened," he ordered. "We don't know what kinds of powers these people have got, so we don't know how high they can get. Meet me back down here. Go!" Mason and I ran off. The first room I can to was the room I had slept in the first night. I ran in, and locked the window. I was about to run back out, when I heard a weird noise. My cellphone was on the table where I'd left it, and it was ringing. I picked it up, and saw my home phone number. I answered.
"Mom?!" I asked.
"Oh Aaron!" my mom exclaimed. "Thank goodness you're alright. I was so worried ever since your father and I heard your message on the phone. Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine mom," I answered. "But this really isn't a good time right now. I'll explain later. Bye, love you." I hung up. Yeah, it was a little rude, but that moment was not a good time to be on the phone. I shoved my phone into my pocket and ran towards the door.
"Hello!" a voice cried behind me, making me jump. There was the sound of breaking glass behind me, and suddenly something was on top of me. I fell to the floor, and cried out. I kicked the zombie reporter off, rolled out into the hallway, and kicked the door closed. I stood up, locked it, and ran down the hall. I ran into another room that luckily had no windows. I quickly locked the door, and continued down the hall. Then, I heard someone yelling down on the floor below me. Harry the butler was being overwhelmed by reporter zombies. I grabbed the thing next to me, which happened to be a broken bit of railing, and leaped over the landing. I landed right in front of Harry, and knocked most of the zombies over in one swing. They all fell back, stood up, turned and ran. I turned around and helped Harry to his feet. He gave me an amazed look. I just nodded and ran off. I got back up to the second floor. I stopped just before I came to another room. I could hear voices inside, but I didn't recognize either of them. I peeked through, and saw two of the zombies inside, talking over their plan. I slowly backed up, and grabbed the edge of the door. I began to swing it inward. The hinges squeaked. The two zombies looked at me. I laughed nervously. Then, I swung the door closed, and locked it from the outside. I could hear the zombies yelling inside.
"Sayonara suckers!" I yelled. That probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. The zombies ran at the door harder. A dent appeared in the middle. "Crap!" I muttered, and ran down the hall, getting as far away from the door as I could. I ran into Mason at the end of the hall.
"That's all of them!" he exclaimed. I nodded, and we ran towards the stairs. We found John back in the entrance hall.
"I think we're going to have to run for it!" he said.
"The doors upstairs are already caving in," I said. "They won't hold for long!"
"There's a secret way out through the kitchens," John said. "Most of the servants have already gone out that way."
"Well, let's go!" Mason said. John led the way into the kitchen. Mason and I followed. We could hear the zombies coming in through the back room of the kitchen. Something flew through the air and hit the very large table. Mason and John were already passed the table, but I was in the back of the group. The table crashed across my back. I cried out in pain, and fell to the floor. My kneecap hit the floor, and busted. I cried out again. "Aaron!" Mason yelled.
"I'm alright!" I yelled. "Go, get out! Don't worry about me! I'm right behind you!" Mason turned back reluctantly, and went through the secret passage. John followed. I pushed the table off of me, and slowly stood up. I limped after them down into the passage. The zombies swarmed the room just when I got to the entrance of the passage. Every single one of them looked at me. "Ahh!" I yelled. I tried to run, but I could barely put my leg with the busted kneecap on the ground.
"Hey it's the Metamorphic!" I heard one of the zombies cry. "Let's get him!" I heard the zombies coming into the passageway behind me. Hands started grabbing my shirt from behind. I aimed a punch behind me, and felt some of the zombies fall. Everything in my body hurt. I could barely keep moving. Black spots were flashing in front of my eyes.
No, I thought, Keep going. I gotta keep going. I saw light in front of me. I stumbled towards it. I came out right outside the house. John and Mason were waiting for me. I tried to say something, but the pain had gotten worse. I fell. I felt arms catch me. I could only assume it was John, because it felt too big to be Mason. I heard voices coming from the tunnel. I felt myself being lifted in the air. I heard Mason running beside my head. I blacked out.
Chapter 6
I don't know how long I was out. It could've been days, weeks, months, even a year for all I knew. Either way, I knew when I woke up that I was in a place far away from John's house, and that I'd never been there before. Amazingly, I remembered everything that had happened. I sat up slowly, and pain burst through my knee. I winced, but managed to sit up. A quick surveillance of my surroundings told me I was alone. There was a big window at the end of the room that showed leaves and a bunch of trees, which told me I was by a forest. There was a TV on the wall across from the bed I was in. The news was on the TV. The reporter was saying something about what had happened that night, and the picture on the screen showed John's house in flames. In the corner of the screen it showed what news station it was, and I faintly remembered the name of the station plastered on one of the news vans. I wondered what had happened to their reporter. Or if the reporter was the one talking right now. I wasn't really paying attention to what the reporter was saying until I heard him mention Mason and I.
Oh man my parents are gonna freak, I thought. And the press is probably having a field day. For some reason that thought made me laugh. I was amazed that nothing hurt on my back. You'd think having one of the biggest tables in the world fall on your back would do some damage, but I guess I got lucky. I was starting to wonder why no one had come in yet. It was kind of spooky being there by myself. I wasn't quite with the idea that the zombie reporters were gone, and I kept looking around for them, or the Anamorphic. I couldn't shake the feeling that the Anamorphic knew where I was, and would get me if I was left alone. With those cheery thoughts in my head, I nearly jumped out of my skin when the door on the opposite end of the room flew open. I breathed a sigh of relief when Mason and John came in.
"Aaron!" Mason exclaimed. "I was beginning to worry."
"What? About me?" I said, faking surprise. Mason laughed. I looked up at John. "How long has it been?" I asked.
"Four days," John replied. He sat down on the bed next to mine. Mason sat on mine. I winced as my leg got moved a bit, and I pulled it over a bit towards the edge.
"I have a few questions that I didn't get to ask before," I said.
"Shoot," John replied.
"Okay," I said, "First, what does a Metamorphic actually do? You've just told me that we're the Anamorphic's arch enemy. That doesn't explain much. Second, how does the Anamorphic do things like he did with the reporters? Seriously, that should really not be possible. And last, where is your family John? The room I was in on the first night at your house looked like it was for a child or something. Do you have a son?" I couldn't describe the look on John's face. At first I thought he was mad, but then he sighed and looked at the ground.
"Let's start with the easier questions," he said. "Metamorphics, well I guess you could say they're like the real live Superman that no one knows about. They work with the Dayarians to fight the evil that tries to manipulate the world. And the Anamorphics are the exact opposite. That's why you guys are enemies. Sometimes the Anamorphics try to persuade the current Metamorphic into joining their side. And sadly, it works sometimes. That's why the Dayarians try to find the Metamorphics right when their powers start to show, so we can train you for good. Metamorphics eventually have powers that help them in their journey to save the world. They usually pop up during their trainings. But obviously, we haven't had time to train yet, so yours haven't really shown themselves yet, except for that light thing."
"Do you know what that was?" I asked.
"No," John replied. "It has never happened before, to any of the Metamorphics before you. Alright, second answer. The Anamorphic's powers help them with their mission to destroy the world. Once again, pretty much the exact opposite of you. And yes, some of their powers include the power to turn civilians into zombies. Last answer... I did have a family. I had a wife and a son. One night, a long time ago, back when I had first joined the Dayarians, an Anamorphic found out about them. He attacked the house, the same mansion that I used to live in that went up in flames only a few nights ago. My wife and son were killed. Ever since then, I've been training young Dayarians and Metamorphics. It's like having children again. Sometimes, they remind me of my own son. You two do." I looked at him, surprised. Mason was doing the same. I didn't know what to say. I turned back to look at the news. Mason and Jason did too.
"He knows where I am doesn't he?" I asked.
"Yes," John said. "And that's why, after you're released from the hospital, our training begins."
Chapter 7
The hospital released me only a few days afterwards. I wasn't sure where John expected to go now that his house was a bonfire, but we returned to John's house to find it all back to normal.
"What?" I asked.
"A few years ago a witch put a spell on the house that made it unburnable," John explained.
"Oh they're real now too huh?" I asked, a little bit jokingly.
"Yeah," John replied, shooting a glance back at me. He kept walking towards the house again. Mason and I looked at each other, and then followed. Inside, everything looked exactly how it had before. I couldn't help but be amazed. John led Mason and I through the house towards a place we'd never been before. I guess we never really explored the first floor. John led us passed the kitchen, under the stairs, through a door, and into an elevator. The elevator took us up and we came out at the gym.
"Wouldn't it have been easier to take the stairs?" Mason asked.
"Probably," John said, laughing. He led us farther into the gym. There were different things in the gym now than last time Mason and I had been in there. Instead of a whole different assortment of games, targets, swords and other weapons were scattered all over the place. I walked around John, and picked up a bow and took an arrow out of the quiver next to it. I put the arrow inside the bow and aimed at one of the targets. I let it fly. The arrow flew all the way to the middle of the room, and fell to the floor. Mason laughed. I did too. I looked at John. He was laughing a bit too. "Looks like we have work to do," he said.
The next few hours were a mix of training with different weapons. More bows and arrows, swords, even guns a bit. By the end, I felt like a weapons master. Afterwards, I returned to the room that had belonged to John's son, and called my parents to make sure they were alright. For all I knew the Anamorphic could've figured out who my parents were, and went to them to bait me there. I forgot to mention this before, because it really wasn't important, but my mom was pregnant with my little sister or brother. So, I had to call to make sure. Once I knew they were fine, and they knew I was fine, I lay down and went to sleep.
I woke up, and heard a lot of activity going on downstairs. I got up, got dressed in some of the extra clothes in one of the drawers, and went downstairs to see what was going on. John was down in the entrance hall, pulling on a coat.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"The news reporters figured out that the house is back to normal," John said. "The Anamorphic might hear this and be coming at any time now. I have to go find where he is. I'll be back by tomorrow. If anything happens, Harry and the rest of the servants are here. And I'm sure you and Mason will be able to protect yourselves now. I'll be back pretty soon." John left. Mason came down the stairs. Apparently he had been listening from upstairs.
"Looks like we're on our own for a while," he said. "So what're we going to do?" Before I could answer, my phone rang in my pocket. I pulled it out to see it was my home phone number. I answered.
"Hey mom, what's going on?" I asked.
"This isn't your mother, Metamorphic," a scratchy, male voice said. I gasped and nearly dropped the phone. Mason gave me a confused look. I covered the speaker part of the phone so the other side couldn't hear.
"It's the Anamorphic," I whispered. "He's found my parents." I tilted the phone so Mason could hear the conversation too. "What are you doing to them?!" I growled into the phone.
"I've captured them," the Anamorphic said. "I haven't done anything to them yet, but unless you come by the end of the day, I will kill them." I heard voices yelling in the background, and recognized my parent's voices.
"Leave them alone!" I yelled into the phone.
"Be here by midnight," the Anamorphic said. "Or they die." He hung up.
Chapter 8
I hung up the phone, and stuffed it in my pocket. I looked up at Mason.
"I take it you're going," he said. I nodded. "Well, then I coming with you."
"I don't want you getting hurt," I said. "Or getting in trouble if John comes back and we're not here."
"I don't care," Mason replied. "I'm not sitting around doing nothing. I'm coming." I sighed.
"Alright, if you insist," I said. I grabbed up the sword and bow and arrows that John let me use as my own, turned and went out the door. Mason followed. I stopped on the porch.
"You don't know how to get to your house from here, do you?" Mason asked. I put my hands up on my head in agitation.
"No," I said. Mason thought for a moment.
"Do you know how to get to your house from the school?" he asked.
"Well yeah," I said.
"Cool, let's go," Mason said.
"What, you know how to get to the school from here?!" I called, because Mason was already on his way down the driveway.
"Yep," Mason called back.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Trust me!" Mason yelled. I sighed, shrugged, and then followed Mason down the driveway.
Since we had no car, we were stuck walking all the way to the school. Even if we'd had a car, neither of us could drive anyway, seeing as we were only fourteen. So, we walked. After about an hour, we arrived at the school.
"Good job man," I said.
"Thanks," Mason said. I glanced up at the sky. The sun was starting to go down. We didn't have much time.
"We need something faster than walking," I said. Then, I spotted two bicycles tied up at the bike rack. I went over to them, and Mason followed. We each grabbed one, and pulled them onto the sidewalk.
"Who leaves their bikes at the school without leaving them tied up on a weekend?" Mason asked. I shrugged. Then, we sped off down the sidewalk towards my house. On the bikes it didn't take us very long. We stopped the bikes right outside the door to my house. I leapt off, and knocked an arrow into my bow. Mason had brought a bow too along with some sort of weird sword thing. Mason kicked the door open after he had loaded his own bow. I jumped through the door. The Anamorphic stood in the kitchen, and my parents sat on the floor.
"Let them go!" I yelled. The Anamorphic looked at me. I let my arrow fly. It struck him in the arm. Mason let his arrow go behind me. It hit the Anamorphic's leg. The Anamorphic growled and pulled out a gun.
"Hit the deck!" Mason exclaimed. We jumped to the floor, and the bullet flew over our heads, out the still open door, and hit the tree outside. I glanced up. The Anamorphic was coming towards us. His gun was aimed at my chest. I barely had time to blink, before I heard the gun go off.
Chapter 9
The Anamorphic backed up, a bullet hole in his arm just above where my arrow still stuck out. The Anamorphic pulled the arrow out and turned towards the door, where the shot had come from. I flipped around. John stood in the doorway, with Harry the butler and a lot more people that I didn't recognize. All of them had weapons. I jumped to my feet and grabbed my bow again. I helped Mason up. The Anamorphic was outnumbered by a lot now. He realized this, and started to back up, into the table. I hung my bow on my quiver behind me and pulled out my sword. I walked up to the Anamorphic. The Anamorphic pulled his sword out too.
"It's on, trunk face," I said. I attacked. The Anamorphic blocked most of my attacks at first. I could tell that he knew that he could take me and the rest of the people behind me. I attacked more ferociously. But, that made me careless, and I couldn't see what was happening unless it was right in front of me.
"Look out!" someone yelled behind me. I turned my head to look back. That was my mistake. The Anamorphic swung his sword down around my legs, and I fell to the floor again. The Anamorphic pointed his sword at my chest, and for the second time in less than an hour, I thought I was going to die. Then, an arrow flew through the air above me and struck the Anamorphic in the chest. The Anamorphic looked down, started swaying, looked back up, locked eyes with me, and then fell to the floor. I rolled over onto my stomach. Harry the butler was bringing his bow back down. I smiled.
"I guess we're even!" I joked. Harry nodded, and for the first time ever, I saw him smile. I nodded my thanks and stood up. I went over to the Anamorphic. The moment I stood over him, I knew he was dead. I looked over at my parents, still huddled in the corner. I went over to them. They stood up, and engulfed me in a hug. We stood there in a group hug for a few minutes, and then we backed away. "It's over," I said. I looked down at my mother's bulging stomach that contained either my baby brother or sister.
"The doctor said she's due any day now," my mother said.
"Really?" I asked, looking up. My mother nodded. I paused for a moment, and then I said, "You know John will want me to go back with him." My parents nodded. I did too, and then I said, "One second." I went over to where John and Mason still stood by the door. The others had left, dragging the Anamorphic's body with them. "John, can I stay with my family for a while? My mother's about to have my little brother, and I want to be here when it happens," I said. John looked at me, and then over at my parents, where they still stood in the kitchen. Then, he nodded.
"Yeah, I suppose so," he said. "For a few months. But, when you get back training starts up again."
"Of course," I replied. I looked down at Mason. "What about you?" I asked.
"I think I'll visit home for a few months too," Mason said.
"Alright," John said.
"Then, see you soon man," I said, giving Mason a high five.
"See you in a few months Jonathan," John said. He turned and went out the door. Mason and I gave each other confused looks. Then, Mason smiled and followed. I realized then, that John had just called me what his son's name must've been. I remembered what he'd said earlier: Sometimes they remind me of my son. You two do. Feeling a bit honored, I turned around and went back over to my parents. I put my arm around my mother, and my father did on the other side. Together we went into the family room and sat in front of the TV.
Chapter 10
A few months later, I was all packed and ready to return to John's house. My mother and father waited for John with me, my mother holding little baby Madison in her arms. She had been born last month, and could already say some things.
"Broth-da," she said as we waited by the door. She pointed at me. I smiled and picked her up.
"Yep, that's me Madison," I said. "Brother. And brother had to go away for a while, but I'll be back, and we're going to have so much fun together when I do." I sound behind me from outside distracted me. John's car pulled into the driveway. I hugged Madison, and then mother and father. Then, I walked out the door with my suitcase. Mason got out of the car.
"Hey man," I said. We high-fived again.
"I hear you've got a sis," he said. I nodded.
"Her name's Madison," I said.
"Cool," Mason replied. We heaved my suitcase into the trunk. After we closed it, Mason and I both turned and waved at my parents. They waved back. Then, we got into the car.
"Hi John, hey Harry," I said as I was closing the door.
"Hi Aaron," they both said at the same time. They turned and smiled at me. I smiled back. Then, I leaned back and watched my house disappear, ready for the rest of my life as the Metamorphic.
The End