Chapter One: The Pen is Mightier

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"Oli, wake up." Aiden shook his sleeping twin sister, looking over at her blaring alarm clock. It was already seven. If they didn't leave soon, they'd be late for school. "Don't make me get the water again."

Olivia rolled over and pulled her blanket closer to her chest, grumbling, "Go away."

A deep sigh of frustration escaped Aiden. "Do we really need to do this every morning? I'll give you three. Two. One..."

With an exaggerated groan, she threw off the covers. "Fine! I'm up. You don't have to be so serious, goodness."

"You know how important today is." Her look of confusion, a tilted head and raised brow, signaled that she had forgotten. "The test. The math test. The test that's gonna end my whole life."

Blurry, unfocused eyes stared up at him. "Oh, that."

"Yeah, that. It's today."

Once she rubbed away the sleepiness, Olivia frowned. "Oh, right. You're not ready, are you?"

Aiden ignored her question, waving toward her closet. "Get ready, and be quick about it. I'm gonna go nuke some breakfast burritos."

She stuck her tongue out at him, folding her arms.

Sighing, he glared back at her. "Get up and go. We're already running late, and Aunt Rachel also needs to get to work, so please hurry it up."

Olivia stretched her arms, yawning widely. She rubbed the sleepiness away, jumped out of bed, and opened her closet. That was his cue to leave.

Aiden left her to get ready, stopping at their shared bathroom to brush his teeth. Looking in the mirror, he admired his appearance - sparkling blue eyes and bedhead that hung every which way.

Smiling back at himself in the mirror, he noticed Olivia coming down the hall. As he exited, she rushed in behind him. Her hair was curly with two long streams that went all the way down past the hoodie she’d thrown on. A tie-dye headband kept the two front locks separate from the mass of hair that ran down her back.

He crossed the hall into the kitchen and tossed breakfast burritos in the microwave. He tossed his backpack on while he waited for them to heat up, turning the morning news on to distract himself from the anxiety creeping and crawling up from his gut.

—king news from ZYX AM! Did ya hear this, Jim?

"No, what's that, Sally?"

Apparently, last night renowned environmentalist and billionaire playboy philanthropist Jared Walsh died!

No way!

The news just came in! That makes four high-profile deaths in just as many days, folks! You can't make this stuff up!

Not like Jared Walsh did.

Oh my gosh, Jim! You're so bad! But not as bad as the weather, huh? We're lookin—

The microwave beeped, and Aiden flipped the tv off just as Olivia came hopping out of the bathroom. Her hair was in disarray, and she struggled to manage her hair while attempting to pull on her other sock. He opened it, freeing the smell of nuked eggs and sausage.

He put two in a plastic bowl and set them on the table for Olivia, then took two big bites out of his own.

Swallowing the hot breakfast, he tisked at his sister. "If you woke up on time, you wouldn't have to rush so much."

"Aiden," she paused and stared at him intently. "Did you really just suggest I give up my precious sleep time?"

He nodded.

"You know how crazy that is, right? It's blasphemy of the highest degree!" she exclaimed with a straight face.

Aiden couldn't help himself. He laughed loudly at her goofy antics, nearly choking on another bite of sausage and egg burrito.

Olivia smiled back at him, giving him a big hug. "Thanks for waking me up and making breakfast."

She took the bowl and started pecking at her food, picking up a large bookbag with all her school things.

As they finished up their food, Aunt Rachel came out of her room. Today, she wore a long skirt, high heels, and a blouse with her hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her glasses rested comfortably on her face as her baby blue eyes stared back at them.

"Good morning, Oli. Good morning, Aiden," she said, giving them both a quick side hug. She picked up the third bowl of sausage and egg burritos Aiden had set aside, flashing him a bright smile. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Go to work hungry, probably," Olivia joked.

Aunt Rachel ate her food without dripping anything on her clothes.

Impressive, really.

Her keys jingled as she picked up her laptop bag and briefcase, leading the charge into the outside world.

They left, Aiden and Olivia following behind their aunt like a pair of ducklings. They waited while she locked the door, compulsively turning it three times. Only then did she allow herself to turn away satisfied.

Her car waited in the driveway, and they piled in the same as always, Aiden hopping into the backseat. It made him feel like he had a chauffeur.

When they pulled out of the driveway, he checked his watch.

Seven-fifteen.

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The drive to their school took less than ten minutes. It was only two miles down the road, but Aiden could never get Olivia to walk fast enough to be on time.

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Anxiety wracked his mind as he let it wander. Too much negativity jumbled around inside, murking up his thoughts. Too many things crawled up from the recesses of his mind where he’d shoved them.

Closing himself off completely to decompress, he ignored his feelings. He separated himself from the anxiety that gnawed at him the last few days.

As he stared out the window, he noticed a person wearing a black hooded cloak standing on the street corner. The cloak billowed strangely, much like a bedsheet that defied gravity. It managed not to fly away even though no discernible ties or clasps were keeping it in place. Their arms dangled limply at their side, hands as white as snow poking out of the cloak.

Odd.

They stood there perfectly still, staring down at nothing.

Then, as Aunt Rachel continued driving, they vanished from view. Things only got stranger. At every street corner they passed, a similarly dressed person lurked.

The majority of them didn't move at all, but a couple paced in circles excitedly.

“Is there some kind of event in town I don't know about?”

“Not that I know of,” Aunt Rachel responded. “I think Halloween is coming up soon. Maybe they’re trying to spook everyone. Their hands look like they’ve been painted or something.”

He bit the inside of his mouth. They freaked him out, standing at every corner all the way to school.

Once Aunt Rachel parked, Olivia jumped out and waved goodbye. Aiden followed, but he dragged his feet today.

He’d been rushing Olivia all morning to keep his mind busy, but now that they had finally made it?

He checked his watch, reading seven twenty-six.

Dread.

He didn’t want to be there, not even slightly.

They had to take a big test today, and of course, he hadn’t studied at all.

Looking over at Olivia, he felt some envy. She was naturally brilliant. A genius among geniuses. School and education came to her like breathing. Meanwhile, he struggled with anything remotely related to academics.

Sports were his thing, and more than likely, they were the only reason he’d passed so far.

Alas, today was the day that everything came crashing to a sad and bitter end.

Mr. Feriger didn’t pull his punches when it came to grading, so Aiden tried preparing himself.

It didn't work.

Doomed from the get-go, failing the test was more a matter of when rather than if. That made it hard for him to push himself faster. He knew he should’ve studied, but he’d been too exhausted from practice to even try to focus on math.

Like, who enjoys math?

Aiden glanced at Olivia again, frowning slightly.

Olivia liked math. She always helped when he asked. The only reason he'd passed his math class to this point was all because of her and how she always explained things and stayed patient with him.

The stone in his gut sank as he crossed the boundary into the private school. The large gate swung closed, shrieking and clanging ominously.

Like a prison, he couldn't escape.

Not until dismissal, at least. By then, his fate would already be sealed.

He stopped, staring at the freedom just out of reach, but he knew he had to go. He couldn’t escape the inevitable tongue lashing he was bound to get from his coaches and Mr. Feriger.

As he turned away, the air near the gate flickered and distorted. So brief, he thought he’d imagined it, but it happened again. Taking a step forward, he noticed one of the hooded figures on the other side of the street.

The person raised their head slowly, then tilted their head to the side.

His heart nearly lurched out of his chest.

The person had no face!

It - because it definitely wasn't human - lacked a mouth, nose, and ears. The only thing on its white-as-snow face? Two bright red eyes in sunken sockets with red veins pulsing and writhing beneath the skin.

The worst part yet?

It stared at him intently. Uncontrollable shivering wracked him as its gaze assaulted him. Even from across the road and school grounds, he could feel its hunger.

A deep, primal thing.

Reaching his hand to his neck, he felt prickles of pain as if dozens of tiny teeth were just barely grazing his skin...

“Aiden! You’re gonna be late,” Olivia called from the front door. He turned toward her, relief washing over him.

Her call broke the mesmerizing terror that rooted him in place. She waved at him as he blankly stared at her, recollecting himself.

Olivia held the door open for others that were running late while waiting for him.

When he looked back, the terrifying thing disappeared and the shimmering faded. The stone in his gut only sank further. He shook his hands to calm himself then followed after his sister.

Seven twenty-seven.

The entrance was located by the gym, cafeteria, and nurse’s office. They blurred as Olivia and Aiden rushed through the halls, looking for the ‘G’ staircase up.

Seven twenty-eight.

Of course, nothing could be easy. Their class was at the end of the main hallway towards the library and auditorium. Once they reached the stairs, he quickly surpassed Olivia, taking the stairs two at a time.

A hall clock mocked them, laughing loudly as the few remaining seconds ticked down. Their classroom was at the end of the long hall.

It was like the school wanted them to be late sometimes. He looked between the clock, the door at the end of the hall, and Olivia. She struggled to ascend the stairs, her purse slapping against her thighs with every step.

He could’ve made it on time and saved himself an earful, but instead, he held out his hand, pulling her forward the last few steps. Still holding her hand, he nearly dragged her down the empty hall.

And there he was, waiting with his smug glare and tapping foot, arms crossed all high and mighty. Aiden’s mortal enemy, his one and only nemesis.

Mr. Feriger.

Staring down at Aiden from the brook of his nose, the old croney tuttered and pointed at the hall clock.

They were already late.

But Aiden knew that. He wasn’t going to leave his sister to be late and suffer by herself. Nope, not a chance.

“You’re late!” Mr. Feriger barked. “If I do recall correctly, the rules were established the first day of the semester. Is something unclear about the rules?”

Aiden resisted the urge to roll his eyes, clenching his teeth in frustration.

“No, sir!” Olivia responded in his stead, flashing Mr. Feriger one of her brilliant smiles. “I have to apologize. I slept in late. It’s my fault we weren’t on time, sir.”

Their teacher looked between the both of them several times, his eyes narrowed like a hawk’s as he considered his options. After what felt like an eternity under his scrutinizing gaze, he grunted and motioned for them to enter the classroom.

“You’ve already delayed the test, so keep any further distractions, delays, or hooliganry for another day. Get it?”

They both nodded and took their seats, Olivia to the front and Aiden at the back. Before he even sat, he was deep into daydream land, wishing for last period and after-school practice.

Kelly was in his last period -

The thick, state-mandated test smacked down on his desk, startling him back to reality. Mr. Feriger lingered for a moment, giving him the customary stink eye, before handing out the rest of the tests.

Weirdo.

Aiden internally groaned as he looked over the test that would spell the end of his entire life. He’d fail, bombing it hard, then get academic probation. He wouldn’t be able to play. Gritting his teeth, he took out a pen from his bag and stared at his second mortal enemy.

Math tests.

It was fitting. His first enemy administered the second. Cold sweat started to soak his back as he continued panicking, gripping the pen tightly.

A tingling assaulted his neck and arms. The feeling reminded him of an electrostatic buildup.

“Per state customs, I’ll begin reading the -”

A scream tore his attention from the bound pages of doom, drawing Aiden’s focus across the room to Viktoria. She cried uncontrollably and pointed toward the front, her mouth agape in horror.