Chapter 1

And that was how this all came to be. Not more than 8 years later, it was my birthday again. Luckily, I was explained this large time jump, but we treated my 408th birthday like my 16th.  

“Candy!” Came my brother’s voice from down the stairs, whilst I lay on a cot, a blanket draped over my head. I turned over to look around the room, stretching my arms up to the sky. My eyes wandered about my white room and I spotted the sleeping figure of my best friend, curled up on my bed.

Thick raven colored hair was squashed against my pillow, somewhat choppy and long. Bangs covered eyelids, and the muscular torso rose and fell with every breath, and I brushed the bangs away.

“Katherine…” I whispered poking the soft cheek. “Wake up.”

He groaned, and sat up, obviously not ready for the morning to come so quick.

Indeed. Katherine is a boy. For months, he tried to convince me his name was Cody. His mother shut that down quickly. His explanation for such a feminine name was the fact his mother planned on a girl and was stubborn on everything. Especially the name she chose for her child.

“Kathy. Guess what day it is?” I asked giddily.

The eighteen year old groaned, “That Hanukkah thing you said you celebrate?”

“No!!” I pouted and crossed my arms in despair.

A smirk flashed across his good-looking face, “It’s your birthday. I know dingbird. I can read minds?”

I nodded, and took his hand, “Let’s go downstairs then!”

“Oh- I’m good-looking now? What happened to astoundingly hot?” Katherine teased, my face burning in flaming shades of red.

Not that he would’ve noticed, due to being blind. “Let’s get some food Candy! Le go!” And the blind guy extracted his hand from mine, before bounding down the stairs. He’d been here plenty of times. He didn’t need to be guided….

I foolishly followed my friend down the stairs and gazed around the kitchen. For a dome shaped home, I found the kitchen quite spacious, yet drafty. Katherine sat on the floor where we ate, a plate of hotcakes before him.

I sat beside him, Silhouette approaching with some more of the hotcakes he had made in the oven.

“You’re sixteen today, Candy. You know what that means?” Silhouette asked, and looked over the two.

“She finds her soulmate?” Asked Katherine for her, for which Silhouette glowered at him.

“What is it then?” I asked.

“You get to join the mission teams at the academy this year.”  Silhouette smiled warmly, and a warm feeling rushed throughout my soul.

I had been begging to go with Silhouette on his missions for years. And now I had the opportunity to go on my own.

A giddy squeal escaped my lips and I grabbed Katherine’s arm in a measure of ecstatic glee, making him drop a cake.

“It’s not that cool Candy.”

“But, Kathy!” I protested, and he shoved his hand over my mouth, muffling any words that had the potential of slipping out.

 

He mocked me, in a high squeaky voice, “Maybe we’ll get to be in the same team!” He let out a whiny cry, “Ahhhhh! I can’t wait to look at your sexy face all the tiiiiiiiime.”

¨I did not think that!¨ I glowered and crossed my arms,  pulling away from his hand.

He shrugged, a smug grin blooming across his face. Silhouette smacked him from behind his head, and Katherine groaned.

¨Damn...Really have no restraint do you?¨ Silhouette rolled his eyes and sat between us, chowing down on his food.

I looked at my hotcakes which were getting cold, excitement filling me up instead. I was so ready to sign up for the missions program at the academy.

Oh, right. The academy. Only a couple years after I adjusted to ¨The New Age¨ as the people called it, I was thrust back into school.

Diane´s School for Talents and Half-Breeds.

A talent was a person born with a magical, or unrealistic ability. Like me. I have the ability to regenerate my cells, veins, much quicker than anyone I’ve ever met. A half-breed..well explaining that is a little more complicated.

See, in the New Age, everything is similar to the ¨Old Age” or rather- the time period I was born in. But- there are some things that have changed drastically.

During the dawn of the New Age, there was a camp of people, those whom lived in the bunkers, planning the New Age. Amongst those few were Diane Prince, the headmaster of the school now, her son Katherine Chatz, and her husband Reagan Chatz.

The family was there with many others like it´s own, and the camp was peaceful as it was during their rest.

The something strange happened...Mr. Chatz began to claw at his wife, slashing her arms with his fingernails, talons taking their own form.

Mr.Chatz turned into a gigantic monster, feathered and fiery. A phoenix… Reagan was no longer himself, but a nightmare.

Nightmares began popping up everywhere, monsters of all breeds, mythical and realistic. The new terror of the age.

Distraught with the idea of her husband as a monster, Diane took the camp away, and made a shelter for them at the now-academy.

An academy dedicated to fighting away these monsters. And I never wanted to do anything more in my life.

That explains the nightmares right? Not the half-breeds. Well...Nightmares like any creature need a mate, and some have more human roots than others, preferring to mate with a human.

These such humans normally die during the process of birth, but have children with intense mutations. I personally, don't recall meeting any kid like that- but it's definitely on my bucket list!

¨Candy! Are you ready?!¨  Came Silhouette´s voice, and I jumped up.

¨Ready!¨ I smiled back and stood up to run up the stairs and dress myself appropriately.

Katherine had brushed his dark hair from his eyes. The 7´11” boy looked like a titan that way.

¨Listen- I am tall. But can we get over that?? Just because you're 4´11¨, doesn't mean I get to be bullied.”

¨It´s not bully-¨

¨Get over yourselves, we gotta go.¨ Barked Silhouette, running a hand through his messy brown hair. Don´t get me wrong, I love my brother, but he can be such a mom sometimes.

 

¨I second that.¨ Muttered Katherine, as we marched out the door, and headed to the academy.