So where to begin? I guess a basic rundown of my life before I got unwillingly thrown into the supernatural world is probably owed.
I have always by nature been a bit of a recluse, before back in my earlier secondary school years this bothered me, two years later I was no longer an outcast by social general agreement but by choice, really I had no chance, I spent half my life in the school library studying the science sections of non-fiction or being absorbed in the worlds created by such great authors as Tolkien or Paolini. To make me an even bigger outcast I was also always up to date on the latest scientific progress and to put it bluntly unlike most I knew how to fight. No I am not being macho here, at the time period we are discussing (not sure discussing is the right word, maybe relaying would be better) I was 14 and had been doing judo for 7 years (literally half my life at that point), I also knew how to punch and kick effectively, I knew nerve holds, sleeper holds, how to catch someone in the eye in the right way so as to blind them permanently, I also knew how to handle some weapons due to a year of fencing before then but as I am saying only a year so I wasn't that good.
To show even further my absolute difference from my peers lets use my room as an example, first things you will see when you enter is the mess, I know sure nothing that surprising I'm a teenager for god's sake, then you will see the desks and other surfaces stacked with scientific equipment , microscopes etc, and if you look really, really closely a small container of potassium I had smuggled out of school, then on the desk if you were really paying attention you would notice the cheap Swiss armies knife, nothing special couldn't cut butter with the damn thing but it had some uses. Then if you looked up slightly from this bizarre haphazard arrangement of science you would see the books, shelves of them, I was an utter bibliophile back then devouring anything with a readable text, thing is my room isn't very big so the reason it looks messy is I have to fit all this in a reasonably small space, now if you were a burglar and you checked to see if I was hiding anything in my wardrobes etc you would find some of my favourite books and 5 quid here and there. I was also weaponry mad scanning the internet for obscure blades and the like.
OK now you know how weird I was lets fast forwards to a day before my introduction to the weirder side of life (not that I didn't consider my life weird already).
I am 16 already aced my GCSE's a year ahead of everyone else and I was probably geekier than ever, still there were a few changes, for one I was no longer the weak green belt I had merely a month ago got my black, fortunately this didn't give me the over the top confidence boost which has been known to happen , I had just started Karate and had been doing Aikido for over a year, yes I know the sporty geek what a lovely picture, worthy of Picasso himself. My obsession for blades had gotten worse –n o I wasn't interested in using them though I merely admired the skill needed to use and make them- naturally my obsession had lead me to the Japanese blades whose swords were without a doubt the best in the world, I had bought a few replicas online and even a bokken (practice blade) to train with. I was still mad about books and still a target for constant name calling and fights (which I still nearly invariably won). I had however developed a few new interests. My latest craze I don't hear you ask... futuristic weapons, there were back then a few basic laser guns out there and as is my almost autistic tendency I went and bought them (although I hadn't made any yet).
I haven't really described my personality yet, I was non-confrontational, argumentative but willing to listen, I had a someone morbid and sarcastic sense of humour and was generally slightly cheerful.
I know what your thinking he's making this all up, he's making it sound like he was preparing even back then, I wasn't my weaponry obsessions were merely a hobby, a strange one but still just a hobby, as for the martial arts they were just ways to stay fit, to improve and to stay in contact with the real world if I'm quite honest, the science well I did like science and maths and it's really not my fault they came in handy, science is useful everywhere.
So once again I find myself hopelessly digressing, anyway my final day of normality was a Friday, school day but i had the weekend coming up and as I did every day I fell asleep around 12:20 I think after going to bed at 12 (I had a problem with sleeping that bordered on insomnia, also I had tested my limits at that time the record for me was 40hrs without sleep- never again I swore). It was to put it simply your average boring day.