Just when you think you know yourself. Just when you think you know who you are, you’re brought back to where you began. I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that way. In fact, that’s exactly how I felt back then, when I knew nothing; when I was a normal kid with a normal life. Before I became what I am today. Before I became…well you know: a Supernatural. 573Please respect copyright.PENANAFf4HHOYOAT
My name is Blake, and this is my story about a kid who thought he was normal. A kid who discovered who he was meant to be. This is my story, which I’m writing, and I’m going to keep writing until the day I die. Welcome to the world you never really knew. I felt like I had been injected with crazy juice. My blood was boiling; my eyes were alert and ever-watchful. My palms were sweaty. I felt great. 573Please respect copyright.PENANA62kXS68oYQ
It was my first boys’ volleyball game at my new school. I was walking in blind, which was quite unsettling. I had no idea what we were up against. I didn’t even know all of the players’ names on my team. Just go with what you know, I told myself. That’s all I was betting on. The rest would just find its way in by the end of the game. A hand clasped my shoulder. 573Please respect copyright.PENANAmaLuAuUwCk
“You ready, newbie?” I looked up to see Allen. He was my mentor on the team until I got the hang of everything. He was a little taller than me, with a handsome face and special sports goggles that I presumed helped him see on the court without his glasses. He was kind of my current role model, but I didn’t want to tell him that. He’d think I was crazy. His shirt was wet like he’d worked out before the game. I nodded. 573Please respect copyright.PENANAOYvPH8XZ6h
“I hope so. I’m honestly kind of on the nervous side.”573Please respect copyright.PENANAQK55Fg9cA6
“Hey, don’t sweat it,” he said, crossing his arms in that awesome way I would never perfect. “You’ll do fine. I’ve seen you on the court. You’re a volleyball-playing machine.” 573Please respect copyright.PENANA6RMXF4EpdC
I smiled, hoping I wasn’t blushing. He was so supportive, it was impossible not to believe in yourself. I scanned the court. It was hard to believe it was the same one we’d practiced on. Parents, relatives, teachers, and students lined the gym in stadium seating. 573Please respect copyright.PENANAYbKnnrpHwi
A big banner hung on one side of the court next to the scoreboard. A mascot for our team, the stinger bees, roamed around and took pictures with fans that made the mistake of making eye-contact. The honey bees, our team cheerleaders, were practicing stunts in decorative black and yellow outfits. They waved at us players like were some iconic boy band that happened to replace the team. Some players waved back. 573Please respect copyright.PENANAoAGwtVwPsp
A loudspeaker announcer began to talk over the intercom, explaining some rules and thanking everyone for coming. My heart beat faster. Then everything got weird. 573Please respect copyright.PENANAVjk8KIQBHA
Two girls walked in from the far exits. They were dressed weirdly. The taller girl looked in her teens with long legs held in black jeans and a sleeveless camouflage-patterned T-shirt. She wore two belts that made her look like some kind of mechanic. Her hair was dark and wavy. 573Please respect copyright.PENANAKufEr8ayC9
Next to her was a little girl. She was dressed in some sort of wizard costume with a big floppy pointed hat that covered most of her face. She was barefoot, but her feet looked remarkably clean. She carried a stick. 573Please respect copyright.PENANA9bpoOiywX8
In a second they were staring at him. The scariest part was that I felt like I should have known them. The little one starts pointing at me and I drop eye contact. I can’t get the strange pair out of my head. 573Please respect copyright.PENANA4xDhzIqa2h
I tugged Allen’s shirt as he was putting away his water bottle. “What’s up, kiddo? You going to faint?”573Please respect copyright.PENANAFJDy1du1iO
“You see those girls over there?” I ask, pointing at them.573Please respect copyright.PENANAlBePOsGPZs
“Don’t they look unusual?” Allen laughed.573Please respect copyright.PENANAFU5SVOvQaI
“Don’t they all?”573Please respect copyright.PENANAAswSDk7bZt
“Look,” I demanded. I felt like they were somehow really important to me now. Allen looked up and his face paled. He looks at me quickly.573Please respect copyright.PENANAS1Kcd10zTE
“No.” He was lying. I could tell. I pressed on.573Please respect copyright.PENANAYyrWD9L0md
“They’re over there. One’s tall with black clothes. The other is the biggest fan of wizards I have ever seen. Over there, by the soda machine. Don’t you see them?” I sounded crazy, but I felt like I was close to something.573Please respect copyright.PENANAzhX6wnCzsI
He chuckled. “Yeah right. Don’t worry my friend. Every player goes crazy in his first game. No, no. You’re pranking me! I get it.” 573Please respect copyright.PENANAhgNvUJfwUW
I threw up my arms in expiration. “I’m not joking! This is important.” 573Please respect copyright.PENANA6xY7dAb66h
Then he looks me good hard in the eyes and says. “I. Don’t. See. Them.” 573Please respect copyright.PENANA9f35MgHWCN
Liar.573Please respect copyright.PENANAB2hAJXaTkN
The loudspeaker turns off and the crowd roars. I didn’t feel like playing. I felt mixed up and all over the place. I wanted to whine to Allen, but he was acting strange too. Must have been something in the air.573Please respect copyright.PENANA7IVSkjLhgU
I looked back at the soda machine. The girls were gone. The announcer began to call players onto the field. I recognized a couple. They called David, and TJ and Allen. Then they call me and the world falls apart.573Please respect copyright.PENANAmtGZxiZHx8
Alarms began to ring out in the building. Everyone began to walk quickly towards the doors. The loudspeaker began shouting in a loud voice for everyone to keep calm and keep moving. I looked for Allen, but he was lost in the crowds.573Please respect copyright.PENANA96OYtuREcJ
I followed the other volleyball players to leave through the gym doors, but at the last minute, someone grabs my arm. I look back to see a girl. Her hair was piled on her head in a weird style. Her eyes were painted Egyptian style and were as cold as ice. She was by far the scariest girl I had ever seen.573Please respect copyright.PENANALhdQ3ldRtX
“Stay,” she commanded and called to someone far off. I didn’t want to. Just looking at her made me want to bolt.573Please respect copyright.PENANAKQGUlFrkAk
“No,” I squeaked, and turned for the exit. A red energy field filled the doorway. I turned and there she was.573Please respect copyright.PENANAEfhn4wNe1h
“Stay,” she repeated, her eyes glistening coldly. 573Please respect copyright.PENANAk6x6cEgLO5
Sweat trickled down my forehead. She reached out her hands to touch me, but I slid out of her reach. She snarled, her nose wrinkling. A boy stood near her with a dark expression. His eyes looked red and his hair was very black. The girl looked at him. 573Please respect copyright.PENANAVK0mMktrB8
“Keep him still!” Suddenly the boy was no more. A shadow slinked the floor. It curled around my ankles and tripped me to the ground. The girl stood over me.573Please respect copyright.PENANAW9SUOkkO0x
“Stay,” she taunted. 573Please respect copyright.PENANAXWOQNw8Bh2
I tried to get up but the shadow had my legs. I wanted to be free. I wanted to run away and find Allen. I wouldn’t care if he thought I was crazy. I had to tell somebody. Suddenly my arms were tugged from behind and I was swept off the floor. My head and upper body were being hung by something.573Please respect copyright.PENANAnU9kag6myC
Not something. Someone. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw the little wizard girl. She was doing something. The person holding me began to drag me out. I looked up and saw the mechanic girl. She wasn’t looking as me as she dragged her prize through the now open doors. I yelled at her to let me go. She grunted, even though she didn’t seem to hear me.573Please respect copyright.PENANAIiidVaY57X
“HEY!” I sparked angrily.573Please respect copyright.PENANAzBg56CwCxx
The wizard girl dashed out of the gym and picked up my legs. She was strong and made picking up a teenage boy look effortless. Still, she didn’t look older than ten. I dangled as they ran with me like a hunted animal. They put me in the back of a car. 573Please respect copyright.PENANA29wwpnSIyJ
The mechanic girl was buckling herself in the driver’s seat, even though she seemed too young to drive. The wizard girl with the red hair sat in the passenger seat and chewed on her stick. Before I could protest, the mechanic girl started the car and speeded out of the school parking lot.573Please respect copyright.PENANASZ1p82DAeQ
I tried to scream for help, but my yells were lost in the chaos and the roars of the car’s engine. The car hurtled down the highway. We had to break every traffic rule in the book, I guessed. But my mind wasn’t in the right place. Who could blame me?573Please respect copyright.PENANA5gb0B19cbd
I was just kidnapped by a teenager and a miniature wizard. The teen was in the driver’s seat, jerking the steering wheel around street corners. The wizard hid behind her hands in the passenger seat and muttered barely audible comments.573Please respect copyright.PENANAf3NRsQsoJS
“Let me go!” I cried as I tried to open the door, hoping for a daredevil escape, disappointed to find the door locked.573Please respect copyright.PENANAcWJQAkiRcN
“Child safety lock? You’re joking.” I muttered after tinkering with the door handle. I turned towards the front. They weren’t even listening to me!573Please respect copyright.PENANAqUe4ElhHy3
“Where are you taking me!?” I asked as I picked myself off the seat the last turn had blasted me into.573Please respect copyright.PENANA6jv8MHgBAl
The girl driving finally spoke. “You are in so much trouble.” I raised an eyebrow.573Please respect copyright.PENANAIOxy4XgBfV
“What? What did I do?”573Please respect copyright.PENANA0Ci4vTCPDU
“Do you realize just how much trouble you’re in?”573Please respect copyright.PENANAiLEaMOI2Cm
“No,” I said calmly. I crossed my arms defiantly.573Please respect copyright.PENANAdop3g9eJkC
The driver snorted. “Lena, can you drive?” The wizard girl nodded behind her hands.573Please respect copyright.PENANAtlw91Fwc0g
I thought the driver would pull over, but she nimbly climbed out of her seat and was replaced by Lena, the wizard girl in a matter of seconds. I shook my head in disbelief. She just asked and ALLOWED a ten-year-old to drive! Who WERE these people? The girl looked at me. Her startling blue eyes flashed with irritation.573Please respect copyright.PENANA2tXjvmvYX4
“What is your name?”573Please respect copyright.PENANAPpFxnvyhip
“Uh……my name is Blake. Who in the world are you?” She sighed.573Please respect copyright.PENANAvNA7IqZelN
“My name is Blanca, but I’m known to all as Rim. Tell me this right now. Do you know those people from the gym? The ones we delivered you from?” She looked me in the eyes, but I gave her my honest answer.573Please respect copyright.PENANAPFjKah6yei
“No.”573Please respect copyright.PENANASFYYjBLVDo
“You…” She began.573Please respect copyright.PENANA26KeRhJhnj
She was interrupted by a beeping from the radio console. A digitalized voice beckoned, “INCOMING CALL.”573Please respect copyright.PENANA06ZsePkQAa
“Accept,” Rim answered evenly.573Please respect copyright.PENANAJkC1NPMjpx
A screen folded down from the car roof, like the ones you see in the minivans. A boy’s face appeared on the screen. The thing that surprised me the most was I knew the boy. It was Allen.573Please respect copyright.PENANAA01uoSz5vv
“Are you guys okay? I’m sorry, I should have stayed but they blocked the exits before I could intervene. I just have to lead off the kid…..”573Please respect copyright.PENANAyw1zNgOalu
“Allen!” I said. He looked at me and his eyes bugged.573Please respect copyright.PENANAACeQXcKMqd
“DAH! Blake!” His eyes met Rims. “What is HE doing in YOUR CAR!?” 573Please respect copyright.PENANAqDP4kD6Sum
Rim put her hands on her hips. “Long story. Okay, long story short, he knew too much. They almost got to him. He needs to know everything.” I pushed myself to the center of the view.573Please respect copyright.PENANAZZ8JCKfp3S
“Everything? Allen, what is she talking about? What’s going on?” Allen looked like he was about to faint.573Please respect copyright.PENANA8b33rzf6lY
“Don’t worry! These people are taking you to the mental hospital! You hit your head really hard during the game and……” He trailed off when he saw I wasn’t buying it. 573Please respect copyright.PENANAbzYJhlcs55
Rim rolled her eyes. “You’re a worse liar than me, Allen, and I’m a horrible liar.” Allen looked offended but stared at me straight in the eyes.573Please respect copyright.PENANAdFPAHYKauL
“What did you see?”573Please respect copyright.PENANAEDbl9dZRJS
“Huh? What do you…”573Please respect copyright.PENANAj6HDmOlkwv
“WHAT DID YOU SEE, BLAKE!” He spits.573Please respect copyright.PENANAZG5cj8fXO8
I had never seen him so nervous and serious in all my life. This couldn’t be the same guy I met on the court just minutes ago. I stammered a bit of the story with the scary girl and the shadow boy. Allen looked distraught. His eyes were wild and big but serious all the same. He pressed his lips together.573Please respect copyright.PENANAlXnbS2Vucm
“Tell him, Rim. Slowly. I’ll see you all back in the city. Good luck.” The screen blinked to black. I looked at Rim, who was taking the time to adjust one of her belt buckles. 573Please respect copyright.PENANAmvs0ZTrHYH
“What is he talking about? What city? What’s this big secret?” She looked at me with slight pity.573Please respect copyright.PENANANWDHZWg1bB
“You’ll find out soon enough, but I’ll give you a sneak peek. You might just be the most wanted boy alive.” She thought for a moment.573Please respect copyright.PENANAuLV75iQOJ6
“And you’re not who you think you are.”573Please respect copyright.PENANANytSzEwChy