CHAPTER 1 (ONE)
Creak! Creak! The noisy attic door opened as Cadmus and his sister, Hazel stepped in. He glanced at the golden box shimmering at the corner of the attic. Only if he could get there…suddenly, a blast knocked Cadmus off his feet. A flash of green light, and he and Hazel saw a small, but destructive tornado. The two tried to run, but within seconds, they were caught in the tornado, ripping across the room. Then, something happened; Cadmus got blasted onto wet grass…
Cadmus flashed back to about twenty minutes ago, when he was at school, having math class. “Now, students, I will assign you a test, and you need to finish the test before lunch, you have about half an hour to finish, and if you don’t finish, I won’t be sad to let you clean the floor at the end of the day. Good luck!” The classroom was silent for a moment. Suddenly, a flash of green light appeared in front of Cadmus’ eyes.
“Whoa, did you see that?” He muttered. Nobody even heard him. The teacher was already handing out the test books, saying, good luck, good luck. Maybe the flash was part of Cadmus’ imagination. As soon as he received his test book, he jumped. The flash was back. Without raising his hand, Cadmus ran out of the classroom, ignoring the other students’ stares. He ran to the hallway, and then gasped. “Hazel?” His trusty sister was standing right outside the grade 7th classroom door. “I’ve been seeing weird things!” Hazel exclaimed. “Me too. Something is wrong.” The siblings locked eyes. They ran out the building and into the noisy crowd of citizens. Except, all Cadmus and Hazel heard was the wind whistling. This was New York, and now it was more like that all the people had fainted in their houses. Cadmus turned and saw a house with a red-painted attic. “Is that an attic?” Cadmus even had a feeling that they needed to step in the attic, and see what was inside. “We need to do this. Something's in there. Maybe treasure, or a key that can save this city!” He insisted. “I hope you’re right.” Hazel decided as they slowly walked into the attic.
Cadmus’ knees buckled. Hazel held him before he fell onto the damp floor of the attic. Wait, attic? She looked around and saw nothing but white mist. Suddenly, the white mist formed into the shape of a man—a ghost. The air turned as cold as a frozen fridge full of ice. “W-w-what is that?” Cadmus wondered. “Wait, don’t move.” Hazel slowly approached the ghost. Another blast knocked her back. The ghost’s eyes opened, and his mouth began to move. Then, the ghost spit green mist out of his mouth and recited, You shall find the keys of hope Where the tower looms on the lope But first you must battle the monsters of doom When you find the tower, you must find the right room. The ghost disappeared. “Wow. So cool.” Cadmus said with no enthusiasm. “It’s not time for sarcasm!” Hazel said. “Dude!” Cadmus exclaimed. “Not funny.” Hazel muttered. The two stared into the distance. “I just want to know what happened back there in the attic.” Cadmus said. “Are you kidding? Me too!” “Are you going to freak?” “What question is that? Of course!” Suddenly, a faint buzz began. Then, “things” appeared out of the white mist. When Cadmus focused more on the “things”, they looked like, well, pigs. “RUN!” Hazel cried. Hazel and Cadmus sprinted as fast as their legs could carry them. “Do you have a strategy?” Cadmus had to scream to avoid not getting muted by the wind. “No!” Hazel yelled back. The next few seconds were a blur. Cadmus heard a snap of a bowstring, followed by a zip! A somehow familiar voice shouted, “Get out of here!” Cadmus grabbed Hazel’s hand and pulled her towards the opposite way they were running from. When they reached safety under the cover of the misty bushes, Cadmus told Hazel about the voice. Hazel weakly replied, “a…voice?” Cadmus looked puzzled. “You didn’t hear it? It also sounded kind of familiar!” Hazel shook her head. But Cadmus knew that voice more than anything. It was the voice of his father. Chapter 2 (Two) Warm memories filled Cadmus. First, he was back at Central Park in New York, basking under the sun’s warmth with his loving father. He’d asked, “have you ever met mom?” Cadmus’ father chuckled as he ran through his hand in Cadmus’ hair. “I’ve never met her, but you’re going to meet her someday. Say hello to her for me, okay?” “How do you know that?” Cadmus asked. “She visited me in a dream.” He answered as he told Cadmus the story. Then, the vision melted away. Next, Cadmus was on the ferry, circling the Statue of Liberty. Hazel guided him to the front deck and showed him the waves of the gorgeous ocean. The scene dissolved, and Cadmus gasped. Hazel was looking at him. “Are you okay? You passed out.” “How long?” Cadmus was afraid that he had slept for more than a day. That would not happen. “two hours.” Hazel told him. Cadmus breathed a sigh of relief. “Any updates on where we are?” Cadmus ventured. “Not really, though I really want to go back home.” “Did you not believe me when I told you the voice was my father’s?” “Of course!” Then: “I’m not sure if it’s our father, Cadmus, it might have been a vision or—” “No. If you don’t believe me, I’m going to find out what the heck is going on right now.” “Cadmus—” “STOP!” With that, Cadmus stormed away. As Cadmus walked away, he thought if he had done something wrong. Suddenly, movement began ahead in the misty bushes. People with black hair and black suits emerged from the bushes. Cadmus knew not to move. “What are you doing here, child?.” He spoke that word like he would say hell. “Who are you?” Cadmus asked when he had his courage again. The men laughed like crazy people. Then they shouted, “ DIE!” And charged towards Cadmus.