Chapter 2

June, Year 2039

Iris stared at the other occupants at the room and they stared right back at her and then at each other. They didn't seem to have the faintest clue of what in the universe was going on either. One minute she'd been looking for her wayward brother outside during the end of year festival, the next her feet were on fire and then BAM! she was here. If she had to guess she'd say something similar might have happened to them. Trying to get her mind to work again, Iris took this chance to survey the other occupants of the empty old classroom.

  One of them was a girl that Iris was fairly certain she'd seen in the class next to hers. The girl was tall and lean but with curves, her unruly brown hair was in a short pixie cut, her eyes were an unnatural shade of purple (she was most likely wearing colour contacts) and Iris spotted a black butterfly tattoo sitting boldly on her collarbone. The girl was eying her and the other occupants of the room with a mixture of hostility and suspicion. As soon as their eyes made contact Iris hurriedly looked away. 

   The other three were boys. Iris was glad to realise she recognised at least one of them: the smaller boy - he was her classmate. He stood between the two taller ones, he was small, but had a muscular body, short glossy brown hair, tanned skin and warm rich brown eyes. That was Jacob Jones, probably the most athletic young man in her class. If her memory hadn't failed her (unlike logic) then he was on the school's football team. She had never personally spoken more than a greeting to him, but she felt a little relieved when he caught her eye and gave her a shaky smile or recognition. She gave a barely perceptible nod in response. She moved to look at the other two boys.

   The one who stood to the left of Jacob was of average height with most of the boys in her year though he appeared younger than 16 or 17. The first thing that stood out about his features was most definitely his surprisingly neat flaming red hair and his green eyes which stared at Iris coldly, surrounded by millions of light freckles on his pale skin. He did not look happy if the death glare she was receiving was anything to go by. Iris quickly turned to look at the last person in the room.

   She gulped. The last young man in the room was looking right at her with his cobalt blue eyes, a few shades more vibrant than Iris's own blue eyes. Unlike the others in the room (with the exception of Jacob who had recognised her as she had him) he was looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension in his eyes, but his face showed none of that. He was definitely the tallest in the room, though the girl was close to catching up to him in height. His hair was what surprised Iris the most though: it was definitely the brightest blonde Iris had ever seen and while it was unruly at the front towards the back it was brushed back into a neat ponytail. She barely resisted raising an eyebrow: it was unusual for men to have longer hair in this day and age, well, at least in common society. He reminded her of someone...

Realising that she'd been looking at him for a fraction too long, Iris looked away towards the door.

  As if on cue the door creaked open and the sound of shuffling footsteps was heard. Iris's breath caught in her throat as an irrational fear overtook her. Following her instincts she moved away from the whiteboard behind her and rushed over to one of the windows. The other's looked at her uncertainly, but Iris didn't dare take her eyes off the door. They must have felt the danger too because a moment later they weren't that far from her. Finally, the door opened fully and in came the last man they were expecting (though in truth none of them had known who to expect) - the Vice Head. He was a tall dark-skinned man who was usually cheerfully smiling with clarity in his hazel eyes (he reminded Iris of her dad a lot - both visually and behaviour wise) and although he was a bit eccentric he was beloved by all the students. At first glance everything about him seemed normal: he was smiling, he was wearing his trademark purple shirt, but then there were his shuffling footsteps, slumped shoulders and the empty, almost soulless look in his eyes. Iris had never, in all her years of being taught by him, ever seen him like this. It terrified her. The girl, who evidently possessed more courage than Iris did at this moment, tentatively called out.

"Uh, Mr. Carol?"

Mr. Carol didn't respond he merely continued walking towards the whiteboard as though asleep, but his eyes were open and he wasn't blinking. He looked like a living corpse. The thought must have entered the redhead's mind too as Iris heard him mutter the word "zombie". A chill ran up Iris's spine. She knew she didn't have enough words in her vocabulary to describe what kind of fear she was experiencing right now, but she doubted she could have if she had wanted to. Meanwhile, Mr. Carol reached the whiteboard and after crashing into it once headfirst (something the teenagers normally wound have found funny, but this time it just made things scarier), he picked up an orange marker. Tearing the cap off with his teeth he picked it up and began to write in surprisingly neat, cursive letters - definitely not his handwriting. As soon as he was finished he stepped back so they could read, unmoving. Iris's breath hitched as she scanned the words on the board. It read:

"Welcome. It was very difficult for me to settle on a handful of good specimens from within my student body, but you shall suffice quite nicely. You are my chosen and my chosen you shall remain. Dear chosen children, I grant you your summer 'break' to prepare, but be ready - we shall begin upon the first blue quarter-moon. Be ready."

Iris's gaze was torn away from the whiteboard when she heard the clatter of the marker hitting the wooden floor and a low groan. Mr. Carol was clutching his head with one hand and supporting his weight by grabbing onto a desk with the other. He slowly raised his head, pain clouding his hazel eyes before clarity slowly returned to them. He surveyed the fear on the student's faces and glanced once at the board before his face betrayed an expression of alarm, deathly pale in colour despite his dark skin . His alarm was replaced by urgency as he turned to the students, his usually confident voice holding a tremor.

"What happened? What did I do? Did I hurt anyone?!"

His voice rose at the last question. Mutely, Iris and the other girl shook their heads. It wa the blonde boy who answered, his voice emotionless just as his face was impassive. He was the only one who hadn't betrayed any of his emotions.

"No, you did not. Sir, you came in here as though you were half-dead and wrote that on the board. If I had to compare that to anything I would say it looked like you were sleepwalking. In a trance."

Mr. Carol sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth and hissed.

"Damn it! That fu--"

He cut himself off in time and quickly shot the students an apologetic look.

"Please forget you saw that. I nearly used my French."

Suddenly the girl snorted, covering her mouth with her hand. It was such a simple, human sound that to Iris it seemed that all the tension just oozed out of the room upon meeting with it. Stifling a laugh, the girl raised her head and spoke, her eyes shining with a merry light.

"With all due respect, Mr. Carol, I'm French and that was most certainly not my native tongue you were just about to speak. If you're going to curse, do it properly otherwise that's just lame."

Iris couldn't help cracking a small smile at that and Mr. Carol gave a weak chuckle. Returning more or less to his usual self, he gave the girl a mock bow as he responded meanwhile picking up the marker and replacing it's cap back on it.

"Why, of course, Miss Rocherforte. I shall keep your advice in the foremost of my mind and I shall curse properly in the future. If I have any more troubles I will most certainly consult you."

The girl nodded easily. The last of the tension seemed to disappate, however, the unease didn't - the writing on the board made sure of that. Both worried and uneasy, Iris turned to the only adult in the room:

"Um, Mr. Carol? What happened? Why were you like a zombie and what does that mean? It's not even in your handwriting."

Mr. Carol glanced back at the board upon hearing her words and his expression darkened considerably, before he sighed and turned back to face Iris, his face devoid of any of that anger. He shook his head, approaching the students.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, Miss Fawners. I know it won't be easy, but please try to put it out of your mind. I'd say you should all go and enjoy the rest of the Festival since it will be ending soon, but I do need your names, houses and future classes - just in case."

Jacob frowned and looked at Mr. Carol cautiously.

"In case of what?"

Mr. Carol sighed and looked the boy in the eyes, his expression completely honest.

"In case whoever that was" he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the ominous neat writing on the board "tries to contact any of you again. It shouldn't happen and neither should any of the strange things you've experienced, but just in case, alright?"

He looked at all 5 teenagers and they all nodded, some more hesitantly than others. He sat down on a desk and pointed the marker at Iris, smiling:

"Kids, don't do this. So, let's start with you."

"Sure. Iris Fawners, House Virgo, I'll be in 14A next year."

"Splendid. Though I didn't know you were in house Virgo."

Iris shrugged. " Late summer child. I was born on the 24th of August, just missed being a lion."

As with all schools within the UK, Liberta Academy had houses into which it sorted it's students. However, unlike other schools, Liberta Academy decided to go one step above and sort the students into twelve houses according to their birth dates. If the rumours Iris had heard were right, the man in front of them was responsible for the idea. No one minded it though. Mr. Carol pointed his marked at Jacob.

"You?"

"Jacob Jones, House Cancer, I'll be in 14C next year."

"Marvellous. Now, you."

The girl straightened up and nodded,crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ella Rocherfote, House Pisces and I'll be in the same year as blue eyes over there."

Iris frowned at the nickname, but didn't protest. She shouldn't have expected much different from her. Now that she knew her name Iris realised she'd encountered Ella Rocherforte before and she'd never been nice, though that wasn't personal - Ella seemed to be hostile and slightly rude towards everyone. Iris had never been bothered to find out why and now they were going to be in the next class the following September? Oh, joy. Meanwhile Mr. Carol had turned his marker towards the redhead:

"And you, my good man"

The boy frowned, but responded and unhappy expression on his face.

"Ugh. Matthew Ilves, also House Pisces and I too will be in 14A next year."

Mr. Carol nodded calmly, but Iris (who was closest to him in proximity) could have sworn she'd heard him snort and mutter something about two fish in the same barel. Whatever that meant. He finally turned to the blonde young man in the room.

"And last, but in no way least, you."

He gave a curt nod of his head and as impassively as ever responded.

"William Knight. House Scorpio. I will be part of Class 14C next year."

Out of the corner of her eye, Iris saw Matthew almost sag with relied before he threw an irritated glance in William's direction. Wait...William Knight? Where had she heard that name before? Iris didn't notice as she stared off into space, tapping her chin with one finger thoughtfully out of habit. Her eyes widened a fraction in surprise as she recognised the name. He was William Knight, the veritable "Stone Prince"?! Huh, maybe the girls in her class did have taste, but they were such hopeless romantics...Ugh. Iris quickly changed her train of thought. Mr. Carol stood to his feet and nodded.

"Right. Well, it's currently" he checked his watch " 15 past eight so I advise you to get going. There's still a little under an hour left of the Festival so I suggest you go enjoy yourselves, get your mind off that. I trust I'll see you all in September. Enjoy your summer holidays and be careful on roads. Now, shoo, off with you lot" 

Slowly, all of them filed out of the room leaving only Mr. Carol alone. 

***

"IRIS!" 

A resounding cry assaulted Iris's eardrums as soon as she stepped out of the school building. A moment later the girl found herself tackled into a hug of such force that she tripped and fell over. She looked down to see a familiar curly mop of red hair. Iris sighed in relief: Aster was okay, he'd come to find her. She saw a hand being held out to her and saw that William and Jacob had stopped beside her after seeing fall. She grasped Jacob's hand (which was closer) while William put her brother back on his feet. He turned to look at her and nodded before walking away, not giving her a chance to thank him. She shrugged and turned to Jacob, who was brushing the dust off Aster who was busy wiping his eyes. 

"Jacob, thanks."

"No problem. Have a good summer, Iris."

"You too."

He smiled and walked away. Well at least one of the people she'd run into wasn't nice. Jacob Jones was generally a nice, happy-go-lucky guy who lived life to the full, never wasting a single day. He was one of those few people who were kind to everyone they met and treated even people who didn't like them with care. Iris smiled, shaking her head: what was wrong with today? Had she hit her head while looking for Aster? 

   Aster. Iris turned to her younger brother, bending a little to be on eye level with him. She ran a hand over his curly hair, smiling gently.

"Are you okay?"

He sniffed and nodded, his hands still covering his face. Iris sighed.

"Were you scared?"

"No! It's just people said they saw you disappear into thin air and then you weren't answering your wristband so..so..so..SO I THOUGHT A GHOST TOOK YOU!"

He nearly yelled out the last part in an effort to get it out beforehand breaking down into sobs. Iris looked surprised for a moment before carefully prying Aster's hands from his face. She wipe down his tears away with her hands and smiled cockily at him.

"Come on, Captain. Stop crying. Do you really think some measly little ghost could take your big sister?"

Aster hiccuped, his tears slowing. In a quiet voice he asked.

"Which one? I have 3 and a big brother. It could take Daisy."

Iris couldn't hold back a light laugh at that as she imagined her oldest, 25 year old sister, being attacked by ghost. She shook her head, sending her short, barely curly raven hair swinging.

"Nah, it'd be too scared. She'd clobber it to death with her endless collection of stilettos."

Aster cracked a shadow of a grin, looking more and more liked the normal little boy she knew and loved, even though he annoyed her to no end at times.

"With the neon pink ones. They hate neon pink."

"I hate them. Gah, where did Daisy get them?!"

"Yup. And the ghost couldn't take Ivy, too. She'd make it fall asleep with her bedtime stories like she does me and Wendy."

Iris nodded, smiling at the thought of her second oldest sister tucking the ghost into bed along with her two year old daughter, Iris's niece. Catching onto the little game that had started, Iris pretended to consider her older by 2 years sister:

"What about Heather? It could take her."

Aster vehemently shook his head in denial of that idea.

"Nope, it couldn't. It'd fall in love with her - Heather's too pretty and too nice. Oh, wait, that'd be bad too. I don't want a ghost for a brother-in-law! Come on, Iris, we have to save, Heather! "

Aster suddenly grabbed Iris around the wrist and dragged her off after him as he broke into a mad sprint. Iris laughed and ran after him, her mind completely discarding the uneasy and scary memory of the last half an hour from the recent memories pile. A small they ran, Aster grinned over his shoulder and breathlessly added.

"Oh, yeah, and it definitely couldn't take you, Iri!"

Iris smiled and raised her eyebrows to question his logic. Aster laughed before explaining.

"Well, apart from the fact that you'd have Ren and I to protect you, you have some sort of power yourself, Iri. I don't know what it is. You're way too smart to be caught by a ghost anyway!"

"Oh, really?"

Aster nodded confidently as they rounded a corner, pulling Iris after him.

"'Course. You could take any monster, Iri! No ghost, wizard, fairy or even alien could even touch my big sister!"

"Aster, I love you sometimes."

Iris exclaimed lunging to grab her brother, but he easily dodged her. Laughing, he sprinted away from her down the hill towards the bus station.

"Just 'cause you're awesome, don't let it go to your head, Nomad Baboon!"

Iris's eyes widened and narrowed playfully as her brother compared her to one of the mobs he frequently fought in his little adventure video-game. Iris retorted by dashing after him, yelling: "GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE DEKU BABA!"

***

The man in the empty classroom crossed his arms and a dark expression came over his face as he looked at the writing. This was not good. He had pretended that it was nothing bad in front of the children, but even he knew he hadn't fooled them completely. Well, of course, he hadn't - they'd seen him be used like a puppet, for pete's sake! It had, no doubt, been terrifying. These children... The writing said they had been "chosen". What did that mean? He knew it had to be one of the 14, but who? If the residual fabric disruptions he had noticed upon coming back to himself were true then that meant someone had teleported the children there. That was definitely not good. They were not allowed to do that. Something like that could cause excruciating pain to the kids. Growling quietly to himself, Owen Carol picked up the whiteboard wipe and quickly cut across the writing, proceeding to furiously erase it from existence. Why were they interfering?! Why? Glancing out of the window, he saw one of the girls exit the school building. His hand clenched into a fist: he had to get to the bottom of this before October came, but he had to do it discreetly. There was no room for mistakes or blind accusations. Great Stars above, he knew that.