The next day was another school day and I got prepared accordingly. Since he wasn’t in a rush to get to work, my dad drove me so I didn't have to walk. It was a short and silent ride to the school. When we got there, he called my name just as I was getting out.

"Don't get frustrated at life just yet. Now is not the time to give up." I could not help smiling at his encouragement.

"Thanks, Dad," I said as I got out of the car. As soon as he drove out of sight, however, all of that joy I had left me. I don't want to complain about my school life, but the fact is there are only a few things I find to be good here. I’ve kept my distance from people, even when they come to me after I’ve helped them. In my head, they are more likely to get wrapped up in my troubles the closer they are to me and I fear they may not be able to handle what I can. The obvious downside is I’ve cultivated a sense of loneliness and solitude that muddies my perception of the school.

I took my normal route straight toward the cafeteria. I was about to take a seat at one of the tables near the same door I came in through and relatively far from the nearest group of people when, all of a sudden, I got this strange feeling. In a single instant, I took in a sharp breath and held it, my muscles tensed up and I began to look around. My eyes must have looked wild the way they were looking around. In that brief moment--which was no more than two seconds--I felt like only my thoughts were my own while everything else was being controlled by another person.

What's going on? I asked myself, frantically. What was that? Who am I looking for? And why-- Found him!

Before I could wonder who "him" was, my once tense muscles relaxed suddenly. I took a deep breath as soon as my butt hit the chair. I covered my eyes with my hands and took a moment to not think; keeping my mind completely blank. Once I felt well enough, I looked up in the last direction my eyes were locked onto. I saw many people and a lot of guys, but I could not find "him". It was like a dream where you wake up, remember having the dream, and forget every detail.

“Just like my dreams,” I whispered. What I just experienced was similar to the dreams I had like the one from last night. Well, not exactly. This was more intense and real in a sense. That said, the one I’m calling “him” gave me a similar feeling of familiarity as the man with the staff. But “him” didn’t have a staff, did he?

“Are you ok?” Being deep in thought, the question made me jump. The person asking was a short, blond hair boy with red-rimmed glasses on his face. His tan backpack looked full in every compartment including a water bottle in his side pocket.

“Who are you?” I asked, catching my breath.

“Clarence, the guy who you helped the other day. I wanted to thank you for that,” I must have still looked shaken as Clarence didn’t look less concerned. “You are ok, right?”

“Thanks for asking, and yes, I am fine. Just stay out of trouble.”

I got up from my seat and began to leave the cafeteria and Clarence behind. It might be too late, but there was still time to at least try and find out if I really saw that person.

It didn’t take long for me to realize I was being followed, and low and behold, it was Clarence not far behind.

Still moving through the halls, I asked him, “Are you following me?”

“You said to stay out of trouble, so I figured the best way to do that is to stay close to you.”

“You’re wrong about that.”

“That’s the thing. You’re one of the few strong, unpowered people here that isn’t associated with anyone. No one messes with you outside of the teacher and those ballsy enough to try--” I stopped to turn to him with a confused look on my face and he stopped just as quickly shrinking in on himself. “--so I’ve heard.”

I went back to scouring the halls, picking up my pace. Clarence was doing his best to keep close. Now annoyed, I explained, “If you’re looking for a bodyguard for the reasons I’m assuming, you’re better off going to Mrs. February.”

“That’s just it. I was getting ruffed up because I stole something from Chase and his friends,” Chase was the leader of the track team and the fastest member, one of the popular guys at school, and the one I’ve been in the longest conflict with. Out of every person I have fought, Chase had power and influence from being the school’s star student making him effectively untouchable. Ironically, that same image is most likely what kept him from fighting me again after the draw of our first fight.

“It wasn’t my fault,” Clarence continued to plee. “Kleptomania is hereditary in my family. I tried to tell them, but they won’t listen. If you help me, it may give me enough time to explain my situation to the school staff and time for them to put something in effect.”

Now my concentration was split between finding a mysterious man and trying to get away from this crazy kid with a target on his back. As I continued to power walk and I turned a corner to another hall, I then looked towards Clarence to say, “I’m not going to stick my neck out for--”

Thump.

"Hey!" It was at that moment I knew that my day just got worse. "Watch where you’re..... Ah, Joe Backsberg. I was actually looking for you."

Even before I had fully recovered, I was backing away from the one I bumped into and getting as close to Clarence as I could. The sound of his knees clacking together was almost as audible as my heartbeat. Smiling at me was Chase. He was about the same age as me and only slightly taller. He had blonde hair with gray tips that covered his ears. I had known Chase for two years by that point and now I can’t remember how our rivalry started.

"I heard that you got into trouble with some of my friends," Chase continued with his monologue as I tried to find a way out. Before I could react, Chase wrapped his arm around me and herded me to a less populated area while not acknowledging Clarence. I tried to signal Clarence to run and, luckily, he did.

"From what I've been told, you started a fight with them when they were just having a good time. That's not cool man." I suddenly found myself shoved up to a wall with Chase gripping my shoulder firmly. Instinctively, I used my free hand to grab Chase's wrist, but he grabbed that with his free hand. I struggle to get out of his hold, but he eventually was able to slam my hand against the wall.

I screamed in pain as my bones hit smooth bricks while adding extra volume just in case someone was close by. He continued, "Look, man, I know that we aren't exactly friends or anything, but you should know better. If you disrespect me or my friends you get punished. I've let you get away with stuff in the past and now you went and crossed the line."

His grip was painfully tight and unyielding. Dang, was he always this strong? "From what I’ve heard, your ‘friends’ were in the wrong,” I said through gritted teeth. “But if you are looking for revenge or something, then you chose a crappy place to do it. Surely you know cameras are watching."

"He ha. Do you think I’m new to this? I’d been in control long before we met. I’ve been holding back in everything I’ve done while at school trying to keep stable what I’ve built." Something about Chase and how he spoke was menacing. It was the inflections in his voice and the darkening of his eyes; how was he doing that? “Point is, Joe, I can end this dance between us and no one would know.”

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." This time, a voice came from someone else. It was thoughtful like a narrator but was carefree.

Chase immediately released me allowing me to drop to my knees. When I looked up, his back was turned to me while he was facing a man that was about 6 feet tall. The man was wearing a black tux, pants, and shoes with a star-studded necktie. His hair was black and slicked back. He glared down at Chase making him look impossibly bigger than he already was.

"What are you doing here?" asked Chase. His voice was trembling, which was weird because, even when he was talking to the principal, he would have a still demeanor.

"I'm here for a business matter," said the man calmly, "and you should be in class." The bell rang throughout the halls and, without another word, Chase made a quick escape from the stranger. It amazed me to find someone who I haven't seen at the school before and make someone like Chase do what he asked without backtalk. The thing was, I have seen this man before in the cafeteria. He was the same person from my dream: the man with the staff. But there was another feeling of familiarity like I’d seen him before in person. A haze began to surround my vision and I could feel my muscles tense up once more. Why does my body remember something I had never seen?

"Excuse me." I snapped out of my daze and realized that I had been staring at him. "It’s a good thing that Clarence kid found me when he did. Do you need help getting up?" The man said reaching his hand towards me.

"No, I got it," I replied. Using the wall behind me for support, I slowly got to my feet feeling a little dizzy.

"You're not hurt, are you?" He asked.

"I'm fine."

"That's good. Your name is Joe Backsberg, correct?"

"Yes."

"Follow me." Turning on his heels, he began walking in the same direction Chase went.

"To where?" I asked. The bell just rang and classes were about to start. If I’m late to class, that may add another bad mark for this week.

Turning his head with a great smile, he replied as if the answer was supposed to be funny, "The principal's office. And just in case you are wondering, you are not in trouble. I promise, once we get there, I will begin to answer the many questions you have."

My heart stopped when he said "principal's office", and then relaxed soon after. I had little reason to think this guy was lying considering he was on campus. On top of that, since we are going to see Mrs. February anyway, she can give me a late slip to excuse my absence. With my worries resolved, I followed the dream man to our destination but for some reason started getting uneasy again from the lack of questions I was asking myself. For instance, when I should have asked "What does he want with me?" My mind would think "Man, this guy is strange". I ended up not doing a lot of thinking and by the time we got to the office, I couldn't help but get nervous.

The mystery man was the first to walk in with me on his heels. Ms. February was sitting behind her desk with her hands on it while wearing a gentle smile. It was the kind of smile that was all lip and no teeth but still made it clear that she was happier than I have ever seen her, to my knowledge. But my memory was bad anyway.

"Good morning, Joe. Would you like to take a seat?" I did, taking the one on the right of the desk. "In case you were unaware, this man is Professor Clayton Crown. He is a faculty member for WCU." Realizing that I had no idea who or what any of those things she mentioned were, she continued "WCU stands for White Castle University. Professor Crown has come to personally invite you to register." At the mention of White Castle, the area around my eyes began to tighten. After she was done talking, I turned to this Crown person while my pulse picked up its pace.

"Why?" I asked, struggling to get the words out.

It was the professor who continued. "According to the records I was given, you are quite a studious kid. However, your somewhat violent nature has caused problems among your peers. Fortunately, we just so happen to give out scholarships that may better fit that profile if you're willing to accept them."

I was lost in thought for a while until Ms. February snapped me out of them. "Sorry," I said. "What do you need me to do?"

"Just keep doing what you're doing and don't get into any trouble again." Says the professor. "And just contact me if you do want to apply." He took a business card out of the pocket on his tux and gave it to me. It had the name of the university in bold gold letters at the top along with his name and contact information in black. I turned it around to make sure there was anything on the back. There wasn't.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I thanked the professor for the card and the opportunity followed by Ms. February, who gave him a much longer thanks. I was then given a late pass and was sent off to my current class. As I left the principal's office, the professor was right behind me reading a leather back book with no discernible text on either cover. I stopped him a little ways away from the principal’s office and made sure that I knew what I wanted to say to him. As I did that, he looked up from his book meeting his eyes with mine. "Did you have a question?" he asked.

"More than a couple, but I feel like most of them are either weird or stupid."

"I don't believe in stupid questions, as a great man once told me 'If you ask a question you're a fool for 5 seconds and if you don't you're a fool for life'."

"Right. Ok, first off, why was I chosen."

Professor Crown looked taken aback; tilting his head and narrowing his eyes. "What do you mean by chosen? Is it not common for colleges to try and get graduating high schoolers to come to their schools?"

"Yes, but not too many colleges send a personal messenger to tell said student about their school," I replied. "On top of that, I have never even heard of this White Castle until yesterday." I pulled out the business card he gave me just to be sure I was saying the name of the school right.

"So what are you trying to say?"

"The offer that you are giving me is great. I'd be an idiot to turn this down. But what did I do to earn this? How did I, a kid with a case of ADHD, who is making a C average in all his class--excluding history and maybe one other subject--, and gets into messes that may or may not be his fault yet ends up getting something like this when he hasn't done anything significant like joining the Superhero club?"

He smiled. Then he began to laugh. I couldn't tell whether he was mocking me or he found genuine humor in what I said. When he was done, he looked around with a more serious expression. I looked around with him to see what he was looking for.

"I know you have questions--more than you may know--but we are too exposed right here. I love answering questions, it means I'm teaching something, but now is not the place nor the time."

"Why not?” now, things were getting suspicious. “Who are you, really?"

"You know that's not the right question. You'll get your answer, but right now don't you have a class to get to?"

I didn't move for a while as I kept my eyes locked on him. This man knew something that went beyond a university. He had secrets, plans, and vast knowledge of something I couldn't grasp. Did it have something to do with asendeits? Was he asking me to join a special kind of school for people who were awakened? That didn't make sense since I wasn't awakened. Did this go beyond even asendeits?

I blinked. Then I shook my head. It happened again when I felt like I knew something but didn't know how to piece it together. Confused, I left the man to his book knowing once again there was nothing else I could ask him. Before I turned the corner, I got one more look at the professor, then I looked at my watch and went to my class.

While I was sitting in class, I started to think about what could be happening to me. Maybe I was gaining powers of some kind. It was more common to happen to someone at my age. Perhaps, but I wasn't holding my breath.

When school ended, I decided to walk home again to give myself time to think without distractions. I text my dad to let him know he didn’t have to pick me up. It was the same scenery as the day before, but something was off this time around.

Halfway home, I started to get the feeling I was being followed. I turned and saw that someone was behind me. He was athletic in build. I didn't know him, but I have seen him around Chase at least once before. It clicked with me that more guys were near and I immediately got tense. But when I turned around, my path was blocked by none other than Chase, another guy, and a girl. I didn't know the guy by name, but the girl was Chase's girlfriend Bre. She had long brunette hair and eyes so light some people claimed they were white. If I had to explain her expression, I would have to say she looked bored on the verge of a fit. No, wait that sounds stupid. She just looked intimidating.

When I saw them there, I jumped back in fear. How did they get there? I thought. Did I get distracted? But I would've seen them coming.

"What's wrong Joe?" Chase asked, looking concerned. "Did I scare you?"

"What are you doing here, Chase?" I said, scared out of my mind while keeping the tone of my voice steady and calm. Chase was always the strongest in his group, but what he did in the hall was far beyond what I once knew. He was different and I was underprepared.

Chase and his friends smiled and then I felt a great force hit the back of my neck. Crap, I thought. Forgot about the rest. Then I blacked out.

I woke up with a start. There was a sharp pain in my neck, but I expected that. I then notice Chase and his friends standing in front of me. There were five of them in total. Bre was holding my phone; no doubt trying to unlock it. Chase looked annoyed. My backpack was behind them with all the compartments open and the contents scattered everywhere. We were deep enough in the woods so that if noises were made, no one would be able to hear.

"The prodigal son is awake," says Chase. Using the tree behind me for support, I got off the ground.

"What the heck, Chase," I said through gritted teeth. Man, my neck was killing me. It wasn’t just Chase who was hitting harder now. Were they all like this?

"Which one of your parents is a werewolf? Or are they both? Do you even know?"

I took a moment to make sure I heard him right. "What? What are you talking about?"

"I'm telling you, Chase," says Bre who seemed to have given up on my phone and put it in her pocket. "If he was born a werewolf, we would have known."

"I heard that Claymore takes any random human and puts them through an experiment that turns them into Silver." says one of Chase's friends.

"That's bull crap," says Chase angrier than before. He turned to me and continued. "What did he tell you?"

"Who?" Now I was truly scared and that was a problem. I was outnumbered, but when it came to Chase's people, that's nothing new. What got to me was the fact that Chase--the calm, cool jock--was getting angry and the last thing I said didn't make things better. On top of that, they have proven their strength surpassed mine and I was confident I could not outmaneuver all of them.

"Claymore! Dang it, Joe, pay attention to the conversion." As Chase was ranting, his eyes began to change into a glowing orange. The skin around his eyes began to change into a slick grayish blue and was spreading across his face. As if caught on to the fact that he was losing his temper, he turned his head while shutting his eyes tightly. Whatever was spreading across his face began to reside and his eyes went back to normal. Taking a deep breath, he used his hand to comb his hair back. Once he was situated, he returned his attention to me and smiled; obviously pleased by what he saw.

Everyone else didn't give a dime that Chase did that. Was he an awakened asendeit? No, that was impossible. Whenever I've seen someone use their abilities, nothing physically changes about them in that way. What’s more, if he could run fast enough to meet world records of non-awakened humans and have the strength he has shown, It breaks one of the rules of ascendeits: you only get one power. Chase wasn't human--or at least wasn't just human.

"What are you?" I said, gripping the tree behind me to keep my body from trembling.

"Well that's just rude, Joe," says Chase. "Here you are, bombarding me with questions and you don't even answer mine. Maybe you forgot. I asked, what did Claymore tell you? I know you two talked a little."

"And then I asked you, who the heck is Claymore?"

"The guy with the tux."

"Professor Crown?"

"Is that really his alias?" says Bre. "I'm shocked."

"I-I don't know what you want me to tell you!" I could no longer hold the fear in. There was no escaping this. "He was talking about how he wanted me to go to his college; White Ca---"

First came the force that pinned my arm to the tree. Then came the pain. I was so focused on it that I couldn't feel the blood run down my arm. Chase was now completely turned with his glowing orange eyes and every patch of skin now a slick grayish-blue. His fingernails had extended to a good five, six, maybe seven inches long and were what was nailing me to the oak. This change was also apparent in the other four; their hair remained the same.

Chase swiftly removed his claws from my shoulder then grabbed my other arm and threw me in the direction of his friends. As I was in the air and it was hard for me to focus on anything other than the blood running out of me. I was just realizing that I was airborne when something hit my right leg. Immediately after, a similar force hit my left leg. Both strikes slowed my momentum allowing me to drop to the ground; knocking the air out of me with a swoosh. My vision blurred, but I was still conscious. The inside of my head was rattling like bees in a hive. Two seconds after, I felt something warm run down my legs starting where I was hit. Two more seconds in and the pain made itself known to me making my vision fade even deeper into the black. All I could do was scream all the while knowing that only five people could hear.

"I told you," said Bre, flicking my blood off of her elongated claws. "If he were a werewolf, he would have at least put up more of a fight."

"So what now?" said the other attacker. "After we kill him, I mean. We are going to kill him, right?"

"Yeah. He’s got nothing for us," says Chase allowing the blood to drip from his claws. "And if Claymore finds out, he can't do much. This will be looked at as a couple of leatherbacks killing a human. In other words, we'll be fine."

I was motionless, using my one good arm to prop myself off the ground as much as I could. The rattling in my head turned to buzzing in my ears. The horrible pain held me down like a vice and the tasted the dirt and blood that covered my mouth. Am I going to die? I thought. Is this how it ends for me? Chase and the others' voices were muddled now, but I hear their jolly tone as I imagined them dancing around my corpse.

I allowed myself to fully lie on the ground with my check on the brown leaves. I had grown too weak to keep myself up and lost hope of surviving. I was about to close my eyes and sleep, but next to me was another body. It was a male with dead eyes staring at me, the life in him long since left his body. His skin was just lighter than mine, short brown hair that picked up the leaves, and he looked like me. What I was seeing was an illusion, but this wasn’t a dream but a memory.

NO!

That voice. It was my voice loud and clear in my head. The buzzing had dissipated and my breathing was steady again. The pain I had felt died down and disappear like a phantom to a numb feeling. I still had the taste of dirt and blood in my mouth, but it no longer scared me. Slowly I got to my feet; undisturbed and in no hurry.

"What is this?' asked Chase.

"Look!" exclaimed one of his friends. "His wounds are healing." So that's why the pain left me. I continued to rise to my feet.

Chase turned to his girlfriend, his eyes twisted with fear and anger. "What was that you said about him being human?" he said through gritted teeth.

"I was sure. There was no doubt," says Bre, afraid of what she was seeing and hurt that she caused her boyfriend to get angry.

"What does it matter? He's just one werewolf." said another companion.

At that statement, I was already on my feet taking a deep breath. It was refreshing. In that one breath, I could smell the fresh leaves on the trees, their bark, and the dead and decaying things on the ground. I could smell a salty odor and five unique scents; the scent of adrenaline and fear. As soon as my lungs were filled, instead of screaming, I let out a mighty roar that caused the birds above us to take to the sky and rattled the branches they left behind. To Chase and his gang, the force hit them like a strong gust of wind that threatened to knock them off their feet.

"This is magical power," Chase had to yell over the intense howl so that the others could hear him.

Once all of the air was out of my lungs, I finally stopped. My whole body was a buzz while my heart raced at unreal speeds. I had to take another deep breath in order to get enough air in my body again. Then, I started to hear rustling. I turned to look behind me and saw three of Chase's friends running toward me. Chase tried to stop them, but they kept going with their claws extended. The one in the middle keeps moving in my direction while the other two flanked either side of me. They were too fast for my eyes to keep track of their movements. A chill ran up my spine which was a sign that my instincts were kicking in.

I took a sidestep to the left grabbed the left flanker’s arm and threw him into the guy coming from the right. Next, I tried to punch the third guy coming from the front, but he was able to duck in time going below my fist. However, I was quick to respond and raised my knee which landed a blow to his face. As he was falling backward, I heard the sound of tearing fabric. When I turned to see what it was, I was met with a scratch to the face which made me jerk in the other direction. Soon after, I was met with similar blows throughout my body leading to more tearing and the feeling of being poked.

Enough, I thought.

Instinctively, I stretched out my fingers and on some command began to feel stiffer, grow longer, and in some way heavier. Using the patting of leaves to guide me, I swung my right hand through the air and was met with what I assumed was flesh. With my left hand, I swept the ground; tripping the other guy and making him airborne. While my target was still in the air, I balled my hand into a clenching fist and brought down a punch directly in the middle of his back. His landing caused debris to scatter around him. Not long after, there was another thump. Turned out that the guy I sliced through had just made contact with the ground. There were four claw marks where his rib cage should be and was slowly bleeding out. The one that I kneed in the face was on his back showing signs that his nose had bled a bit.

Well, that was three. That left Chase and Bre. I looked in their direction and saw a surplus of emotions on their faces that, frankly, didn't fit them. Bre's eyes were wide in shock and her mouth was dropped low enough for any small insect to fly in no problem. In contrast, Chase's teeth were clenched and his eyes were narrowed. However, I could see that his hands were shaking slightly.

Chase took a moment to assess the situation. I could have guessed the questions he was having because I was asking them too. He expected to kill an unpowered human but instead was overpowered in an instant. These guys knew how to fight as a unit, which meant they were more skilled than I had thought, and yet…

Chase turned his head with eyes closed allowing himself to revert into his human form. "Bre, get Rick and meet me at the place." Bre did as he said and picked up the guy that I kneed. Chase processed by picking up the other two in silence and avoiding any eye contact with me.

I watched as they worked until they were gone from my sight and their smell became faint. It was then everything went black.