2 months later…

Day 1

It was much bigger than I thought. When I saw most regular high schools, they were pretty big on their own but I felt like Hope's Peak Academy was three of those normal high school buildings combined into one gargantuan school. I couldn't help but tremble before the radiant power and might I felt like the building was giving off. Terry stood next to me with my luggage in his arms as we both blankly stared off at the building.

I quickly lost my focus on it as I looked around and sure enough what I was told was right. Not only were we the only ones standing outside, there was not a single pedestrian or hidden camera in sight. Yes I know if there was a hidden camera it wouldn't be so obvious but me and Terry were so use to being spied on by the paparazzi and fans that we have developed a kind of sixth sense when it comes to that.

But I digress. Terry let out a big breath before looking to me in my current clothing which was a long-sleeved gray shirt with a red vest over it, which was zipped halfway up my chest. The vest also had the small theatre symbol, with the happy and sad masks and a ribbon flowing behind them, sewed onto it. Besides that I wore simply blue denim jeans and gray US Polo Assn shoes with brown leather patches on the heels and front flaps of them. My hair had been cut down to a buzz cut since I preferred my hair short and I wasn't gonna be in a movie for a while now.

I looked at Terry when I felt his gaze had been on me for a long period of time and he quickly looked away before speaking. "So we got you plenty changes of clothes, your hygiene essentials, your favorite books so you won't get bored during your free time, an Oscar to show off to your friends, plenty of 8x6 signed autographs in case those new friends are psycho crazy to meet you. Oh what else is there? Did I forget something? I did, didn't I?" Terry went off in his own little world which I quickly pulled him out of by taking the bags.

"Terry, Terry, Terry! It's fine. We probably have too much packed anyways. Please stop freaking out." I begged him as I shook my head in slight annoyance. Terry looked away with a sigh. "Sorry it's just… This is the first time we've gone our separate ways and I'm worried you won't be able to do well without me there."

I couldn't help but smile gently at him. "It's not like I'm moving far away. You are allowed to visit us despite the fact we're living in personal dorms at the school. This school year will fly by fast and soon you and I will get to continue to make movies and games and other wonderful stories that make people happy. But I want a chance to be happy to."

Terry could only nod as he patted my shoulder. "I know, kid. I know that too well." We just stood there looking at each other. There was something I wanted to say but the air felt too dense that I felt flustered to say so. "Kai, there's something I want you to know." I felt my heart lift when he said that. 'Was he gonna say what I want to say?' I thought. He took a deep breath, paused when it looked like he was gonna speak, and then looked away and said softly, "I'm proud of your choice and I can't wait to meet your new friends." And that dropped my heart right back down to the same tense feeling from before. I lowered my view from him. "Thanks Terry. Well I… best head in before I'm late for my first day."

With that mumbled I turned around and began slowly making my way to the front doors. But before I got too close I heard a shout from behind me. "Kai, wait!" I spun around and saw Terry charging at me. I thought he was gonna tackle another poor man that was getting too close to me but quickly recalled that no one else was around. That's when he stopped right in front of me and quickly pulled me into a tight hug. I gasped at the sudden contact, dropping all my bags on the ground, but soon felt myself holding onto him just as tight.

"Please, take care of yourself and contact me if you need anything at all. You know I'll be there." He whispered to me. It still wasn't what I wanted to hear but I took great comfort from his words nonetheless. Yet I still couldn't find the courage to bring up what I wanted to say originally so instead replied with, "I will. Thank you for everything."

We slowly separated as we smiled to each other before I quickly picked up my dropped baggage and made my way to the door. I placed a hand on one of the door handles before I looked back one last time. All he did was nod to me which I returned as I pulled the door open and entered the school.

All I could say was I felt like the inside didn't even compare to what I saw outside. The commons was what I estimated to be over 30 feet high as I could hear my footsteps echo loudly throughout the copious space. "Wow." That was all I could find myself saying as I suddenly felt something collide with my moving foot. I quickly looked down after regaining my balance to see I nearly tripped over someone's bag. 'Must belong to another student,' I wondered as I looked over and saw many bags piled up next to each other.

Judging by the fact there were a little more than fifteen bags scattered arround, I could only assume that all the other students had already arrived. 'Guess that means I'm the last one. So much for making a good first impression on the first day, right? Now they'll all probably think I'm all stuck up for being "fashionably late",' I thought in agony. I could feel my nerves bundling up in my stomach again but quickly noticed the bags were surrounding a table with a single pamphlet.

Curious, I set my bags down as I cautiously stepped over a lot of the other bags, trying not to step on one and possibly break something valuable. I quickly made my way through that maze of personal belongings and reached out for the small paper. It was colorfully drawn like a kid did it but had typing on it like it was printed off a computer.

The text read, "Welcome, Student #16! Please leave any belongings at this table and join the rest of your class in the auditorium. You will have some time to talk and get to know your classmates a little before we begin our opening ceremony! Enjoy your stay here at Hope's Peak Academy!"

I figured that the other fifteen letters all had their own message depending on what number you grabbed, which I assumed were for when they arrived. For example; The number one card would probably say, 'Welcome Student #1! You are the first one here so please wait in the auditorium for the rest of your class to arrive.' But that was of course speculation but I was confident I was right about that.

I looked around wondering if there was a map or something to help me find the auditorium only to spot it a little ways down the hallway with a big entrance and a noticeable sign that read auditorium. I quickly began making my way around everyone's bags once again and quickly sprinted down the hall once I was free from the confided bags on the floor. I quickly slowed myself as I got closer and soon stopped in front of the door. I felt my heart pounding. I couldn't believe how nervous I felt myself flare up in that instant. I never got this nervous on set or on stage in front of hundreds of people so why was I freezing up with stage fright?

I quickly closed my eyes and began breathing. I imagined myself smiling and happy and calm. I felt those feelings quickly take hold of me as my nerves and stiffness flowed out of my head, through my fingers and toes.

I opened my eyes and smiled as I confidently walked forward and pushed the doors open. The lights quickly flared in my eyes for a moment as I noticed the house light and stage lights on. The auditorium was huge in the fact it seated approximately 300 to 400 people and the stage was beautiful! Giant red curtains lined the front, most likely made of velvet, and the stage that extended out from the curtains had a red carpet running horizontally with the stage and in the center was a fancy office desk.

My focus on the stage and everything about this place quickly got distracted as I soon noticed thirty eyes staring at me. It was the other Ultimate students of my class. I guess my entrance didn't go unnoticed. In fact I bet I made it too big. 'I made myself look like I was the big shot who didn't care if he was late didn't I?' I felt my hands clamor up but quickly shook it off as I smiled at the fifteen other classmates.

"Hello there, everyone! I am..." I began but before I realized what was happening a sudden squeal shook the auditorium walls. "KAI BRUGGER!" Suddenly I saw a girl come rushing straight at me with a dust cloud formed around her feet as she charged at me like a bull in the ring and I was the red flag. She stopped right up in my face making me lean back from how close she was leaning in.

I quickly looked at her to see she wore a light blue button up with short sleeves and a thin brown vest that wasn't buttoned up at all. It was also completely covered with too many buttons and pins of characters and words. I looked down to see her brown shorts and light brown sneakers. My sight quickly went back up to her face. Her blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail as her brown eyes scanned over me. I also could see faint freckles peppering her cheeks and my cheeks flared up as she leaned even closer.

I was scared she would do something so I quickly shouted, "Excuse me, can you please back up?!"

She then blinked like she suddenly had woken up and gasped before she stepped away, allowing me to lean forward again with a heavy sigh of relief. "I am so sorry! I was just so excited that the Kai Brugger was here that I forgot my place. I shouldn't have run up to such a big star without permission." She said sadly, with her head hanging down and her index fingers poking against each other.

I kinda felt bad for shouting at her like that so I quickly shook my hands at her. "No it's just you took me by surprise. Besides we are supposed to be classmates so please don't put me on a pedestal. I wanna be friends. You know… equals."

She looked up at me shocked. "You wanna be my equal? AWESOME! Hey everyone! Even though Kai is a big celebrity he wants us to be equal to him so treat him like your best friend okay?" She hollered to them which echoed throughout the vast room. I felt a giant bead of sweat run down the side of my head at this. 'She's quite energetic and loves to get up close and personal. Also I'm not too sure she helped my situation any better with that statement.' I pondered as I saw her turn towards me again. "Oh that's right since we're equals now I guess I should introduce myself huh?"

"Well my name is Brenda Bates and here at the school I guess my title would be the Ultimate Collector. It's such an honor to meet you!" Brenda introduced herself with her head tilted to the side with a cheerful grin.

I tilted my head like her but from pure confusion. "Ultimate Collector? I didn't know that was a talent."

She looked at me and nodded. "Yep! I've made a life of collecting… well everything! Anything from books and comics to movies and posters. I also have a figurine collection, collectable items collection, a rock collection, a convertible car collection, a…" This was now when I would interrupt her when what she said suddenly made my mind boggle.

"Wait what?! Did you say a convertible car collection?" I repeated back. All she did was nod excitedly. "Oh of course! Convertible cars are some of the rarest collectables a person can own. Trust me when I say I had to lose a lot of my greatest treasures in order to get some of these 1970 oldie vehicles."

'Well her dedication to her collections is rather intriguing.' I thought happily. "So what other collections do you have?"

She seemed to grin evilly as her face darkened. It honestly made me cringe. "Well I have every movie, game, DVD and Blu-Ray of TV shows and anime, and audio books you starred in."

"Really?" I asked worried. Her face suddenly returned to normal as she giggled. "Of course! If there's a person or celebrity I love I collect everything they make! I especially loved you voice in the audio book, "Lovers in Quarrel" by Peter Remington."

I smiled at that. "Oh so you do use your collections? I thought you would leave all the collections in boxes to not be used and just collect dust on the shelf like how most collectors are."

She put her finger to her chin, thoughtfully. "Well I wouldn't say that. Most everything I can't touch anyways. For example I can't drive so I can't even use any of the 17 convertibles I have and all the audio books are on my kindle and I listen to it when I need to go to sleep."

I felt like if this was an anime I'd simply fall flat on my face right now. 'Does she only use my audio book to catch some z's? So much for fans appreciating my work.' I straightened myself and smiled. "Well thanks for the talk, Brenda. I'll see ya later. I should talk to the others before the ceremony starts."

"Oh of course! You need to get acquainted with everyone! I'll talk to you later!" She beamed as she walked away with a giddy skip in her step.

I sighed heavily as I walked further in. I looked around and saw a boy sitting in the auditorium seat which I now noticed all of them had a movable desk top that was folded to the side of each seat. It was most likely to provide a table if we needed it while we sat at an assembly or something. Anyway the boy sat there with a laptop on the desk. He had dark green hair that was spiked up with many small spikes and the sides of his head were shaved of hair. His white skin seemed to lightly glow along with the neon purple hoodie and neon green jeans both of which seem to have a lighter color digital pattern running up the legs and sleeves of his clothes. This same pattern that was a shiny gray ran along the side of his black shoes. His hazel eyes moved super-fast across the screen just like his fingers that whizzed across the keyboard with no slow down and no hesitation. He looked like a professional programmer or something from how fast he typed.

'He looks nice. Let's try talking to him.' I pondered over as I quickly approached him. "Hi there! What's your name?" He continued typing unfazed as if he didn't heard me. "Um… hello? Did you hear me?" No response.

'Is this guy really ignoring me?' I pondered angrily. I felt my cheeks puff out at this guy's attitude but I wouldn't let him beat me! "So my name is…"

"Kai Brugger, Ultimate Actor." The guy said not even looking at me. This took me by complete surprise as he then suddenly continued talking nonstop. "You have earned all 17 Oscars you were nominated for, you agent/bodyguard/homeschool teacher is Terry Bobinski who is currently 36 years old, you have an allergy to pineapple and most pollens, your favorite area to work in is movies; more specifically musicals, you were originally growing up in St. Andrew…"

"Now hold on a moment! How do you know all this stuff about me?!" I exclaimed at him. It was like he was the Ultimate Fan that didn't care he met his idol. He let out an annoyed sigh before looking to me. "I suppose you're going to find out sooner than later so I'll sum it all down with an introduction. I am Paul Sharpe, the Ultimate Hacker. That's all you need to know." Paul replied before looking back to his laptop.

'Ultimate Hacker? Then he hacked some sites to get my personal information?' I wondered.

"And no it didn't go through any old sites. I went through all the emails of all of my classmates so I could get a better read on all of your characters." Paul corrected.

I felt my breath catch in my esophagus. 'Did he just read my mind?' Then what he said hit me. "Wait, you've been through my emails?!" I shouted angrily. "Those are private!"

Once again he sighed before his head whipped to me with a glare equal to the one I gave him. "A hacker doesn't care about such a thing as privacy. That's the purpose of hacking. To gain the information one needs to better understand his enemy and to exploit and blackmail them if necessary. You wouldn't understand but then again you had such a simple minded man as a teacher for the past eleven years give or take."

It was one thing to say such horrible things but for him to taint the image of Terry by calling him simple minded was taking things too far for me. Before I could react I heard a small whimper behind me.

I turned around to see a relatively short girl who was probably just less than five feet tall. She wore a light blue jacket with glittery snowflakes going up from the bottom of the sleeves and jacket to the middle of them. Her matching blue shorts that stopped at the middle of her thighs had the same white glittery lining on the sides of the shorts and her light gray loafers each had a big glittered snowflake on each toe of the shoes. Her lavender eyes were darting along the ground as she lightly stroked one of her big, black pigtails on the very sides of her head nervously.

"T-That's… m-m-mean…" She whispered, not looking at us. I was about to ask what she meant before I heard the desk Paul was sitting at get folded down and him standing up. "So what? Just because you feel what I do is not as wholesome as your little dance on the ice doesn't mean I'm gonna let you lecture me. Then again you wouldn't even be able to give a mouse the time of day with your petite nature, Sienna Donnelly." He spat at her like her name itself was poison on his tongue as he walked away to find a more secluded spot.

I gave him one final glare before looking back at the girl who looked like she was on the verge of tears. I quickly walked up and she jumped when she saw me fast approaching. I raised my hands up in a surrendering manner to show I wasn't gonna do anything. "Whoa hey listen. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come at you like that. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Her head lightly drooped as she breathed out. "I'm… s-sorry." That took me off guard as I shook my head. "No don't go apologizing. You have nothing to be sorry about… um Sienna right?"

She looked up slightly with the tiniest nod I've ever seen someone give. I almost found this timid nature of hers adorable like a mouse but with what Paul had said I figured it would be best to keep that comment to myself. "Yeah… I am Sienna… D-Donnelly. I'm the… Ultimate Figure Skate-er."

I smiled at her. "I see. That's what he meant by your dance on the ice. That's so cool! I could never get myself to actually keep my balance when I tried ice skating once. How do you manage that?" I asked. But she didn't respond she just looked down, playing with her other pigtail now. "Um… so how long have you figure skated for? You gonna be an Olympic champion? What inspired you to start doing this?" I kept asking her questions, hoping to spark up a conversation or by this point a word from her but I think I made her feel rushed as I pushed all these questions on her. "Well that is… I mean I… I just kinda…Yes? Er, no that is…" She whimpered, lightly trembling.

Suddenly I felt a massive brick wall bump me from behind and I felt myself shrink upon seeing a musclebound behemoth standing at a whopping six feet or maybe even higher. "I suggest you knock it off. You're overwhelming her." His calm yet intimidating voice warned me.

The girl looked up at him and began sniffling before looking down. "I'm so sorry. I'll understand if you won't forgive me." She managed to say without stuttering. She then covered her face as she bolted off. A part of me wanted to chase after her and apologize but I figured that wouldn't help.

I sighed in defeat and looked up at the guy. I now took notice of what he looked like and it somewhat didn't surprise me. He wore a black, skintight T-shirt that was tucked into his gray skinny jeans. He wore black tennis shoes and aviator sunglasses with a gold frame on them and his black hair was cut in a way that made him look too much like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He soon unfolded his arms and brought his hand to me. I figured he would punch me for making a small girl like Sienna cry so I closed my eyes and braced myself, only to feel him pat my head like a small child; Which in retrospect I probably was compared to him. "Do not feel bad. She is much too self-conscious to speak to anyone. To be honest I think you got her to talk more than anyone else here."

"Is… that a good thing?" I asked. He soon removed his hand from me and cracked a smile. "So this is the Ultimate Actor. You're much different from what I expected." He chuckled.

I leaned my head to the side and raised my eyebrow. "How so?"

"Well, all the actors that had hired me on never really seemed as kind and considerate as you. They were all selfish and greedy bastards." He stated with a low growl detectable in his words. I looked at him with surprise. "What do you mean 'hired on'?" I questioned. He looked surprised. "You still haven't figured it out? Then let me enlighten you. My name is Jayden Hutchinson and I'm the Ultimate Bodyguard! If you need anything I'll be there!"

"Oh yeah, I guess I should have known that. You posture and presence reminds me of Terry, my personal agent and bodyguard. I bet you two would get along swimmingly." I told him which he smiled at. "That's good to know. I bet he'll take great comfort knowing I'll be here to watch out for you in his steed. Believe me when I say I can guarantee your safety from whatever danger awaits you."

"Um, are you sure you're not making an empty promise with that?" I probed him. But he seemed unfazed as he shook his head. "Not at all, sir."

'Did he just call me sir?" I dwelled upon that sudden change in tone as he continued. "I have been hired on not only by celebrities but famous CEO's of companies and also country leaders. Do you recall the attempted assassination on our current president when he was doing his electoral run through Colorado last year?" I nodded, remembering how the news addressed that his recently hired on head of security had pushed the president out of the way of a sniper and both got out without a scratch. "Well that was me."

My eyes snapped open in shock. "What?! It was you who saved the president?!" He nodded again before pressing on. "I have a very keen sixth sense when it comes to detecting danger. I developed it when I trained my body to learn the seven different arts of self-defense." I felt like my eyes went even wider than humanly possible. "You know all seven different self-defense arts?!"

Again all he did was nod before he moved on like I didn't even ask anything. "Taekwondo, Karate, Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Krav Maga, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I had mastered all of these arts by the time I turned 13."

'Wow, the fact that someone as big and surprisingly gently as him to do such amazing feats is too impressive for words to describe. I'm glad I managed to get on his good side.' I thought as I saw him turn away from me. "Well I'll let you get going. You've got a lot more people to get to know. We can't have you wasting your time with an underling like me." With that said he walked off towards where Sienna had run off most likely to try and calm her down. Though one look at him and she might faint. I began wondering what other amazing people I'd meet here as I turned only to find a bright light turn on in my face.

I screeched a bit as I covered my eyes with the back of my hand. I heard a girl hum quietly as she seemed to observe me. She then turned off her light and I blinked a bit to help my vision refocus. I soon saw a very filthy girl covered in dirt with her hand on her hips looking at me with her lips mushed together tightly. She wore a brown jumpsuit with a black line going along the sides of the entire suit including the long sleeves and pant legs and wore muddy, brown work boots that were tracking footprints behind her. There was a brown, leather belt on her hips with many digging tools attached such as a hand shovel, small electric drills, and even a big pickaxe that leaned against her side. She wore a yellow helmet with a light attached to the top that seemed a bit big on her as it covered all her forehead and you could barely see her eyebrows and her dark brown hair had two short braided pigtails with black hair elastics and the ends cut to make a line. Her face had dirt covering so much of it you could hardly see her white skin but you could make out the white in her blue eyes.

She leaned back and hummed to herself. "Just as I thought," She mumbled. I looked at her bewildered as I stepped back. "Just as you thought?" She nodded before she picked up her axe and slung it over her right shoulder, keeping her left hand on her hip. "If you were to go in a cave, you would die."

Her sudden comment threw me off guard. "I'm sorry what?" She let out an exasperated sigh and looked and spoke to me like I was a small child. "Listen, I can tell you don't like to go play around in the dirt or get yourself dirty in any way and because of that I wouldn't be able to take you with me into a cave. You'd die in there."

"And you can just tell that?" I asked. "Of course I can! When you work in caves as long as I have then it becomes second nature to work in that darkness." She retorted.

"That sounds… interesting for a um… uh…" I couldn't quite tell what she was and she looked at me with surprise. "Wait, have you never heard of me? Oh my God, that's a first." She muttered to herself before looking back at me. "The name's Shana O'Conner and I am, of course, the Ultimate Miner!"

"Ultimate Miner, huh? That actually sounds pretty cool." I complimented. She grinned big at me as she pointed to herself with her thumb. "You know it! I am the best of the best! Been working in this industry with Dad ever since I was 10! It may be dangerous but I knew I could handle it! Dad always told me how he did things down there and I proved to him and everyone else that I paid attention when I snuck down after him and showed them my skill."

"You followed after you father in a cave with no experience at all? Wouldn't he still be mad despite what he taught you?" I questioned her. She scratched her cheek with her fingernails that I noticed were not only dirty on top but had collected dirt underneath her nails too. "Yeah, he was when he found me but that quickly turned around when I showed him my first discovery."

"What do you mean your first discovery? What did you find?" I pushed the question, finding my curiosity peaking. She smiled as she turned. "I'm not telling you!" She snickered as she walked away spinning her pickax around. I looked at her dumbfounded that she would keep a person on edge like that. 'What a tease! So much for everyone being normal here.' I grumbled to myself before pressing on.

I soon saw the next student approaching me and I noticed he was much different in terms of his skin color. This guy was obviously African American because of his black skin but it's not like that was a problem. In fact I always wanted a black friend but my only concern was how eccentric this guy was gonna be compared to the others. His brown eyes had a pair of square, black frame glasses over them and black and red headphones hanging around his neck. He actually wore a purple button up shirt with the top button undone with a red tie tucked behind his dark blue vest. The shirt was tucked into nice dress pants that matched the vest's color and a brown belt seen at the bottom of the vest. He also had very nice dress shoes on that shined in the lighting but it was almost as shiny as the skin on his head. Yep this guy was as bald as can be but I thought it looked good for him despite him spinning a black and gray fedora in between his hands and placing it on his head.

Anyways he quickly walked up to me with the biggest grin on his face. "Hey Kai, my man! How's it going bro? You've been okay?" He held his hand out to high-five me which I returned but he gripped my hand instead and pulled me into what I guess was called a bro hug where we kept our gripped hands between us as we patted each other's backs with our free hand. I was surprised this guy was being so friendly like I had known him for years. 'At least someone around here seems really friendly.' I smiled at the thought when we backed off.

I couldn't help but stare at him and he gave me a weird look of confusion. "What?" I realized I was just staring and I shook myself out of it. "Oh sorry I was just surprised that I found someone normal around here." When I told him that all he did was laugh vigorously. "Hey man, nobody around here is normal by any means which includes me."

I scratched the back of my head nervously. "Yeah, I guess." He smiled at me and shook his head. "Hey there's no need to get so flustered. We're all here to become the best of the best even if we are technically already revered that way just by being here." This guy was clever. I couldn't argue with that logic even if I tried. But with what he said, that made me bring up the question, "Speaking of which what is it that you did to get a spot here?"

He looked shocked. "Oh frizz! I completely forgot to introduce myself. Great, now I'm getting all worked up. Heh, sorry man. Name's Damian Eaves and around here I'm known as the Ultimate DJ."

"Oh, so you're a DJ. You're much more formal than I would have expected." I confessed to him. I don't know why but this guy was so easy to talk to. Gladly he didn't seem offended as he smiled at my statement. "Nuh-uh, I got more class than that. I don't need hardcore music, a punk outfit with an excessive amount of gold chains and rings on, and a ghetto speech to show people a good time. My music, whether it's fast and upbeat in the club or slow and soothing like a couple's night out, is for everyone to come together and have a fun time! I've put on shows all across the country and almost every time I get at least 5,000 people at each show." That caught me off guard.

'He gets nearly 5,000 people at every show? I wonder if it's his personality or his performance that makes him so popular. Maybe it's both.' I thought but as soon as my thought finished, a girl with a double barrel rifle came strolling past and suddenly Damian's eyes flashed as his head slowly turned to the girl as she sat down in a seat and began polishing the gun.

This light brown haired chick was seriously something with the green, Beretta fab jacket she wore, tight-fitting tan pants, with black boots, and a safari hat that had sunglasses on them. I also noticed her green eyes as they looked at her gun like she was caring for a small baby. I also felt a chill when I saw those eyes suddenly dart at me and I tensed up. 'Did she know I was staring at her?'

On a spur of the moment, Damian smiled as he walked over to her with a confident bounce in his step. I looked at him confused as he leaned against the back of the seat next to her with his right elbow. "Hey, there sweetie. I must say that you are a sight to behold. A woman like you has got such an exquisitely refined beauty."

I felt myself droop down at that. 'And there it is. Damian was a totally chill guy around his bros but it turns out he's also a complete and hopeless flirt for the ladies. I take back what I said earlier. I highly doubt his shows were popular because of his personality at all. It must just be the way he performs on stage.' I breathed out heavily as I walked over.

The girl made no reply to him as she continued polishing her rifle. Damian looked a bit defeated but shook it off as he pressed on. "Can I just say how your eyes are even greener than the Amazon Forest? Mother Nature herself must be jealous of the gorgeous flowers that grow in your eyes. But you don't need to be afraid to shed its seeds as I won't let a single tear of your flowers ever touch the undeserving ground for I will be the one to catch them just for you."

"Are you serious?" I mumbled feeling myself grow green as well but not like the flowers he mentioned but from the vomit growing up from the pits of my gut. Soon the girl smirked as she spoke to him. "Have you seen the beauty of the Amazon Forest?" This caught Damian off guard as he scratched his cheek. "Oh well uh… Not exactly but I have seen pictures of them in books and online."

She hummed to herself. "I see. So then even you should know that even the most beautiful flower…" Then without warning her hand dropped her cleaning cloth on her gun, grabbed a giant, Bowie knife that was strapped to her hip, and lunged it at Damian. The tip stopped pointblank on his nose as he softly bleated from the blinding speed of her and that knife. She then continued where she ended off by saying, "…Can also be the most deadly, isn't that right?" She asked not even looking at him, even when she grabbed the knife and jabbed it against his nose, she never once took her eyes away from her lap.

Damian looked like he was sweating profusely as he tried to speak. "W-Well… I-I-I-I…." If he was gonna say something she interrupted him. "Good. But next time, be sure to pick your prey more carefully." With that she just as quickly put the Bowie away as she brought it out and began cleaning her gun again. Damian then slowly straightened himself and walked away, looking very composed but as he got close to me all I heard him whisper was, "She's all yours man," Damian swiftly bolted away with a quiet yet panicked cry.

I looked back at him befuddled and shook my head at him. But then again I think anyone would have freaked out with the way she pulled that knife out, jabbed their nose without cutting them, and all without even so much as glancing at the knife or Damian. I knew I should have just left but I felt like I needed to say what came to mind even if I would regret it later. I stepped up and looked down at her. "Hey you didn't have to come off as forcefully as you did. Sure I'll admit the way he came off was annoying but couldn't you have been gentler?"

This was when she turned around and looked up at me. "I don't know the meaning of such words as gentle. Forceful is the only way to be. If I had been gentle on that boy, he would have pressed on like the weakling predator he is."

'Whoa. So harsh and not a tone of sympathy was detectable anywhere in her voice. This chick obviously meant business.' I evaluated, but something about her description of Damian had me puzzled. "What do you mean he is a weakling predator?" I questioned her. She then stood up with a perturbed glare. "He is exactly what it sounds like." She then pointed her rifle at me which made me jump as her open eye was seen through the scope and her finger was on the trigger before she continued. "He's a predator in the fact that he hunts after women. He chooses the finest prey hiding amidst the herd, stalks his selected prey, looking for the right opportunity to strike, and when he sees the opening, he takes the shot and BAM!" She shouted which made me jump with a small shriek as I had believed she had just pulled the trigger with the way she recoiled the gun back. She smiled and chuckled lowly after seeing my reaction which made me grip my fists that she'd pull such a low trick like that. "But he is also weak. He lacks a backbone in the face of danger or rejection. Also I doubt he is capable of even holding up those headphones to his ears let alone a woman. The poor, pathetic thing."

Now that was uncalled for. Anyone could see that Damian was a well-built guy but for her to make fun of not only the strength of his courage but his physical strength, I just wasn't gonna let that slide. "Hey that's a horrible thing to say. Anyone would have been surprised with the reflexes and speed you pulled off. Not to mention you basically threatened him so anyone would probably been scared witless. Besides everyone gets scared of something from time to time."

"You're wrong. Showing emotions as weak as fear, compassion, and hope are for those who can't do anything for themselves. If you remain cold, distant, and drive away the weaknesses of the soul, you'll become the strongest. That is what makes me different from everyone in this weak world. I have hunted a grizzly bear three times larger and heavier than the average bear, scoped out a hawk from 50 feet away, and even took the heart out of a humpback whale. I, the Ultimate Huntress, Melinda Jones will go down in history. Be sure to remember that. It will be the only useful information that will keep you safe around me." After that monologue she took her leave and I couldn't have been more disgusted.

'Has she really hunted endangered species? That's just unspeakable! I best avoid her otherwise my sanity might vanish and I do something I will deeply regret later on.' I reasoned with myself. I felt the madness that came from that conversation slowly sink away but I suddenly felt a hand touch my shoulder and my head jerked around, thinking it was Melinda again. "WHAT?!" I shouted at... him?

It was a guy with short ash brown hair under his white cowboy hat, a red plaid shirt with black leather-like patches on the shoulders of it, a yellow bandana tied around his neck, and a bolo tie under the collar. His left hand was hooked onto his brown belt with a big, copper belt buckle with a horse head on it. His black denim jeans were tucked into his brown cowboy boots and I saw a rope strapped to his side. I didn't even need to guess what his supposed talent was.

He pulled the hand that had touched my shoulder back when I yelled at him and then placed it on the other side of the belt buckle with a pout on his face. "Shoot sorry. Just wanna make sure you were okay. Sheesh you city folk have more venom in your bite than a rattlesnake that was born with one too many fangs." He grumbled his Western accent as heavy as it could be. His amber eyes looked away to avoid making eye contact with me.

I sighed with regret and turned to face him fully. "Hey listen I'm sorry. I was just a little on edge and you just approached me at the wrong time. I didn't mean to yell at you." The cowboy simply blinked at me. "Is that a bluff, or did you mean it for real play?" He asked. I couldn't help but look at him like he was delusional since I didn't understand a single word he said.

He noticed this and face palmed himself. "Whoops! Sorry partner. I forget I'm not at my ranch in Texas anymore so you city peeps have a hard time understand my speech patterns. What I said was basically, 'Are you serious?'" He corrected himself.

"Oh! Okay got it! Anyways yeah unfortunately. I just finished talking to Melinda and she kinda put me on edge." I confessed and he looked at me surprised. "You actually spoke to her? Shoot I'd rather take that gun of hers and blown my brain out then waste any time on that harlot." That didn't exactly make me feel better as my eyes rolled. "You don't have to tell me that."

He smiled as he stretched his arms out. "Whelp! That's enough 'bout that. We haven't even introduced ourselves properly yet. M' name's Willie Sadler and I know it's as obvious as a single stallion hiding in a herd of bulls but the Ultimate Cowboy is my official title 'round these parts!" He greeted me with a tip of his hat. He then leaned forward earnestly and with interest in his eye. "So partner, what's yer name?"

That had taken me by surprise. Basically everyone here knew who I was. Even if they weren't a fan I knew those I talked to all knew me in some way. "Wait you don't know?" Willie straightened himself up and put his hand on his chin. "I don't recall ever meeting you before in my life." I shook my head. "No that's not what I mean. I mean I'm the Ultimate Actor here, Kai Brugger? Been in lots of movies, TV shows, games, stuff like that."

"Oh! That's it! You're one them famous celebrities! To be honest I don't know really anyone other than the ones that starred in my favorite movie "Old Yeller". Besides that we use our TV to watch the news for tornados and other weather reports. I spend too much time on the ranch for any of the stuff you city folk use on a daily basis." Willie replied. To be honest I should have seen that coming. Of course someone who lives on a secluded ranch in Texas wouldn't be familiar with how things run in the big city. So I decided to try and talk about something that would be easy for him to discuss and me to understand. "So what make you the Ultimate Cowboy? Like what makes you different from any other cowboy?" I asked quizzically.

He smiled at that as he placed his fists on his hips like he was Superman. "Well Kai, let me tell you. I once took care of the entire ranch while my parents went to help out at the neighbor's place twenty-five miles away." 'That's their closest neighbor?' I thought in shock as he continued. "I milked thirty-five gallons out of our ten milking cows, sheered twenty-three sheep, tended to all the crops 'n fields that are ten acres wide, patched a hole in the farmhouse roof, and herded over fifty cows from the fields to the farmhouse all by myself in that one day. Not to mention I can shoot multiple targets in quick succession within three seconds. My current record is eleven. I also lassoed a greased pig in 2.8 seconds, took first place in every event in the rodeo, and once I even hog-tied a rattlesnake which people have claimed to be impossible until I proved 'em wrong." He boasted which to be fair it sounded like he had every right to do so. These feats certainly would make him the Ultimate Cowboy.

"You really did all that on your own?" I asked in amazement. He confirmed it with a firm nod. "Sure did, partner! My parents know they can trust me to git everything done if I'm left by myself. Even went to help the neighbors too. Despite me being an only child I proved time and time again I can take care of myself."

"Oh wait, you don't have any siblings? Well I mean I don't either but doesn't it get lonely if you are left alone?" I asked concern showing in my tone. "Nah, I always got the animals and my parents aren't always gone. My pa is super strong and my ma can actually handle herself too! But I have to keep an eye on her for her own sake, you know what I mean."

That didn't sound good with the way he said he had to watch out for his mom. "Oh I'm sorry. Did she suffer a somewhat crippling injury years ago?" I asked. He then raised his eyebrow at me. "I'm sorry? She has never broken anything in her life." I looked at him confused. "Well then does she get sick easily?" He then leaned forward looking even more flustered. "Boy, what are you saying? Ma's got the greatest immune system and I inherited that from her. She is as they say fit as a fiddle." I groaned as I threw my hands up in defeat. "Then why do you have to watch out for her if she is fine?"

Willie blinked. "Ain't it obvious? It's because she's a girl." My eyes widened almost as much as my jaw that dropped open. If a fly buzzed into my mouth it would just fly out one of my ears. "Are you serious?" It was all I could find myself muttering to him. "Of course. It's scientifically proven that men are more capable at being physically active than women. Besides my pa always told me to watch out for her if he wasn't nearby to watch her himself. She always insists she is capable of keeping up with us and Pa tells her that we know but Pa told me to just be careful in case she does slip up and fall behind."

I was dumbfounded by this revelation. 'So his dad basically is living a lie to his wife and telling his son that women are not as capable as men?! He won't last a day in here if any of the girls were to hear him talk like that.' I couldn't help but conclude this thought as Willie smiled like his sexist comments meant nothing.

Willie noticed something coming up to us from the side and gasped in disgust. "What in tarnation is that?!" He hollered. I looked over to see what he saw and I couldn't help but cringe myself.

This is the first half of the intro to Chapter 1! The next half will introduce the rest of the cast and introduce them to their new lives. See you all soon! Puhuhuhuhu!