He was somewhere dark, that much was obvious. Squinting, he searched for any sign of light in the empty cavern, "where am I?" His voice echoed through the cavern, bouncing off the pitch-black walls. "This place sounds... hollow. Am I underground"?he asked. A roar echoed through the tunnel.

"COME ON!''

He jumped, eyes wide, trying to pinpoint where the roar came from…

The roar echoed again. more desperate this time.

"WHY WON'T THIS STUPID THING WORK..."

"What IS that?" he whispered to himself. Eyes scanning the darkness for something, anything. Then, the roar again, This time much more desperate

"IT HAS TO WORK, please please please, he can hear crying. He wanted to help. Where is that coming from? He began to walk forward slowly.

… NO… IT HAS TO, IT HAS-" The voice stopped. "Ohhhh'' The voice said. Voice rising with glee." It IS true." An overwhelming blue light emanates ahead. filling his vision with the bright light.

Evan opened his eyes to the dull ceiling above him. His phone rang on his nightstand calling him for the dreaded task of "school," aka modern-day torture. He shut off his alarm groaning as he rolled out of bed What a weird dream… he thought, still groggy. He didn't dream very often. It had been a few months since the last time he had one. " What could it mean? he thought. After all, dreams carried meaning and all that.

Maybe it's one of my "Prophecy Dreams.'' he wondered. Occasionally, he would have dreams that showed him an image or a brief clip of something that didn't make any sense. And then, weeks or sometimes months later, the clip would play out, and leave him with an odd feeling of Deja Vu. Although if it was a "Prophecy Dream" it was the longest Evan had ever experienced.

Glancing to his right, Evan glanced at the art he had been working on last night. Page 163 in the popular 'Wings of Fire' graphic novel. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but it was decent! I'll try to finish the shading today, and finish the video tomorrow, he told himself. Knowing full well he would only get part of the shading done due to work.

Looking over at his bookshelf, Evan smiled at his 'Wings of Fire' collection. He had recently finished the last wings of the fire book, "Flames of Hope". A fantastic book, but he couldn't help but feel as if something was… missing. Mulling over the ending, Evan grabbed some clothes and slowly made his way to the shower.

Showering was always a nice way to get up in the morning. It woke him up quickly. And made him feel a little hopeful for the coming day, even though it was usually rather boring overall. Walking downstairs he gave a half-hearted" Good Morning'', before grabbing his favorite cereal of coco whatever, and heading to the table.

"Hey kid, tu as bien dormi? " asked his dad.

"Good," Evan replied, not making eye contact. After eating his cereal, he put the Tupperware in the sink before sitting back on the couch and waiting for time to pass. I wonder if Rose is doing ok, he thought, mulling over his sister.

Rose, his younger sister, was in Montana with their mother. Rose chose to stay in Montana with their mother instead of heading to the coast with the rest of the family.

He pondered the move, had he made the right decision? Too soon to tell maybe, and in any case, there's no use worrying about what we can't change, right?

"You seem a little different this morning, I know you said "good", but really, how'd you sleep?" Dad asked. Turning over the coffee in his hand.

"I had a few dreams," Evan replied, grateful to have an excuse away from his mind. "Such as?" Dad asked.

He sighed, thinking back to the dream again he replied: "It was a lot longer than most of my dreams, a lot clearer too."

"So like a teenage boy's dream or something? Dad said, bemused. "NO!" Evan said. "Youknowhowmydreamsare,theyusuallyareeitherextremelycomplicated ordon'tmakeanysenseorboth".

"Riiiiiiight.'' Evan's dad grinned but he didn't press him, turning back to his paper.

Evan thought back to the details of the move again. His dad and stepmom, Jasmine, had proposed moving away from Montana looking for "something new" as they put it. "A fresh start for you, and your sister." As the oldest of three siblings, Evan, and his middle sister, Rose, had a choice. Stay with their mom, friends, and the comfort of the known, or move to Oregon, with a much bigger city with his Dad, stepmom, and youngest sister.

His gut reaction was to move and chase a new adventure eager for a fresh start. Rose, however, had decided to stay behind. This then forced a much harder decision. How could he not be with Rose, and leave his mom behind?

After many nights spent ignoring the looming decision, he stayed with his gut and pulled the trigger on heading west. Reassuring himself that change is inevitable and good. And now here he was, living in a new house, a new life…

And it was different.

"Hey are you ok?" his dad interrupted his thoughts, looking slightly concerned.

He forced a smile before replying, "Yeah, I'm ok Dad."

"Good, I know that you'll do better this time. A lot more opportunities, and a lot more of well, everything," said his Dad reassuringly. Maybe, Evan thought. "Maybe…."

Looking down at his map, Evan traversed through the crowded hallway of Winston High School. Just be me and make friends, That's not so hard… Right? he thought, forcing a smile on his face.

This was much larger than his previous school, like 10 times bigger. The population of Winston High at 1200 teenagers was the same as the population of the entire town that he had lived in just weeks prior.

He glanced at the door numbers trying to find the English class. 220, 221, 22-, He stopped, "That's weird" he muttered. Above the open door of 223. He could see a skewed version of English carved above the doorway. Faint but readable, must be some weird graffiti, he thought. Looking more closely, he could read what was etched in the doorframe

To those who desire, claws of fire

Find the divided dragon.

To those who seek to mend what is whole,

Find the sundered Scavenger.

Time runs promptly

The mind wanders slowly

To restore the torn and resolve what is whole.

Seek beyond the remembered realm.

Protect Him,

Defend Him,

Help Him,

Kill Him.

"Huh..." Evan said. The words cemented themselves in his brain swirling through his mind like mist. Shrugging he walked through the open archway.

ZWWAAAAAACCCCKKKKKK! Blue, black, white, a kaleidoscope of colors and images flashed in Evan's Eyes. The World was whirling around him. And he was whisked away.