Chapter 1

~~ A New Day ~~

Gasp!

Ian jolted awake with a sharp breath.

As half his body sprang up from the bed, he got entangled in his white blanket and fell to the ground with a thud. He had rolled over to the edge of the bed while in deep slumber, his sudden body shift just pushed him over.

“Ouch...”

His thin pink lips opened as he groaned, letting out a fowl morning breath. His nose wrinkled from inhaling the pungent breath. He moved his upper body up and sat gently on his butt, resting his back on the bed's wooden frame.

He was shirtless, while his lower body was wrapped in his white blanket. His fair skinned body was of a very light tone, that it almost looked white. A weird tattoo of unknown symbols was inscribed on the left side of his chest.

He moved his right arm up, placing his palm on his white lustrous hair with silvery tints. His hair was styled as a faux hawk with undercut.

He ruffled his hair over and over into a mess, till the consistent throbbing he felt dissipated.

“Damn. It was just another weird dream,” he muttered to himself as he opened his eyes. His irises were grey and deep; one could almost mistake them as black.

“But... This one was horrific and long. I mean, I never got past that never ending white space. This one felt real... Too real!”

He paused with pouted lips and dropped his arm. His eye rolled like balls as he scanned his room to confirm that he was awake and at home.

The room was a square, with blue painted walls. His bed was situated at an edge where two walls met. Next to it was a small wooden drawer, which had a digital alarm clock and an android phone placed on it.

Just adjacent the bed was a curtained window - the only window in the room. It was till dawn, the sun had barely peeked out of the horizon, shedding faint light into the room.

Opposite the window was a brown door. His deep grey eyes sighted wallpapers of musical instruments and quotes from famous books, plastered on the wall opposite him.

Yeah, being an introvert from birth had left him with very few things to have interest in. He was a music lover, a reader and fiction nerd.

Oof... He sighed in relief. This was his room after all.

His chest pacs burgeoned, whilst his abdominal muscles stiffened as he rose to his feet, the white blanket spiraling off him. As he fell back on his bed for a short sleep before it was time to wake up...

Ring! Ring!!

His digitalized alarm clock shrieked loudly with a buzz, piercing Ian's ears like needles. His brows arched down as he frowned.

“Come on!” he half-yelled in exasperation, before pulling himself up.

He checked the time on the alarm clock. It was 06:00am.

He lazily walks into the bathroom and freshens up. He came out about ten minutes later and dressed up. A starched black shirt and gray trousers. He was about lacing his white sneakers, when he heard a feminine voice yell his name.

“Ian! Breakfast is ready! You don't want to be late for school!”

‘Tch. School. Like I'm willing to go to school,’ he retorted sarcastically and scoffed.

“Coming!” he yelled back.

Properly lacing his shoes, he grabbed his blue backpack and opened the door.

~

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Ian jogged down the stairs while holding the sheen banisters. From his descent, he could see the living room and dining.

The dining was set behind a couch in the living room. There wasn't really any demarcation, just the space of a few feet. However, the dining was set closer to the kitchen.

Seated on the six-chaired dining was a little brown haired girl and a brown haired man. They were seated opposite each other.

A woman with a long black hair, who looked so young and beautiful to be a mother, served the man and girl in their transparent tumblers, before spotting the descending Ian.

She smiled, “Quick. Get over here before the pancakes get cold”

“Heh... Good morning, mum...” he took his last step from the staircase and nodded at the little girl, “ ...Avery?”

“Morning, Ian,” his little sister, Avery, smiled heartily at him.

Ian winked, placing his hands on a chair, about to pull it out. Then his mood dropped to an apathetic one as he turned his attention towards the brown haired man, who had his mouth stuffed with pancakes.

“Peter,” Ian nodded, pulled the chair and sat down.

Peter Rhodes was his stepfather. A man Ian never got comfortable with. He had opposed him so many times when his mum dated him. The man was really ripped for someone in his mid-forties, benevolent and rich too.

Ian had always and will always be suspicious of him, because he believed there was no such thing as a 'perfect man', that his mum described Peter as. But the kindled joy, warmth and safety his mum expressed anytime they were together, melted Ian's taut belief. All he wanted was for his mum to be happy.

This was nine years ago and they've been living together as one big, not so happy, family. Not so happy because both males never got together. Their conversations barely exceeded a minute. Their relationship wasn't based on hatred. No. Ian actually grew to like him a bit. But the trust wasn't just there.

The man, Peter, drank a gulp of juice before answering with a nod also, “Ian”

Ian's mum and Avery watched keenly as the two men greet each other coldly. Then, the ladies burst into a round of laughter, causing Ian and Peter to raise their brows.

“This never gets old,” Ian's mum said with a chuckle as she took a seat.

“What?” Peter asked, puzzled by their laugh.

“Can't you two, for once, greet each other like normal people do?” Ian's mum asked with thrown hands.

“Come on, Jocelyn. Did you expect us to hug or something?” Peter scoffed and grabbed his cup.

“Now that'll be weird,” Jocelyn answered.

“And worth seeing too,” the eight year old Avery, chipped in.

“True,” Jocelyn nodded with a smile.

“Yeah. Probably in a hundred years,” Ian muttered sarcastically, serving himself some pancakes.

Click!

He flicked open the lid of the maple syrup and squirted its contents on his layered pancakes. He dropped the bottle and grabbed his fork.

“Take it easy, Peter,” Jocelyn warned with a chortle when she noticed how fast her husband consumed his meal.

“You could choke, you know,” she added with a motherly tone.

On hearing this, Peter chewed faster and swallowed. Then he grabbed his cup of water and emptied it tasteless content, in one go.

Sigh... He sighed, dropping the cup.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized with a burp and chuckled nervously. “I really just have to get to work on time today”

“Huh?” Jocelyn was a little puzzled. Her lips parted for words to come out, but little Avery cut in with her light and tender voice.

“But you don't start work until 09:00am.”

“Exactly,” Jocelyn seconded. Avery had taken the words right out of her mouth.

Ian just concentrated on enjoying his hot pancakes; he couldn't care less.

“Well, there's been reports of missing campers and thrill seekers in the woods, over the past few days. They were said to have gone missing during the night time,” Peter explained.

“Oh!...” Jocelyn used her palm to cover her mouth as she gasped. “That's terrible.”

Ian's eyes narrowed. He didn't stop eating though.

“I know. Since the company I work at, is a security Agency, it's our job to investigate and fish out whoever's behind this. That's why I have to get there as early as possible,” Peter gave his reason and leaned back against his chair.

“What about the police? Isn't that their job?” Avery quizzed. She and Jocelyn were fans of thriller and telenovela series, so this wasn't fresh news to her.

“Heh...” Peter chuckled. “There are just some cases that are too tough for the cops to handle alone. I mean, D.O.D.T has been their backbone ever since it was established in Huntsville.”

He pressed his palms on the table's edge as he pushed himself up and exhaled. He was clad in a white starched shirt, black trousers and black cooperate leather shoes. He yanked the black suit from the chair's back and wore it.

“I guess--”

Jocelyn interrupted him, “Hold on,” she turned to the two siblings. “Come on, finish up. Let Peter drive you to school. You're late already.”

Ian frowned, “No thanks. We're okay on our own.”

“Hm-hmm,” Avery supported with a nod, her innocent light blue eyes wide open.

She'd always admired her big stepbrother and is fond of doing anything he says or does. They had different fathers but their bond is quite impeccable.

“Uh... I'll be outside,” Peter kissed Jocelyn before walking out of the house.

“Ian!...” Jocelyn said with a deeper tone, glaring at the stubborn teenager.

‘Damn! She's serious’

No matter how hard he tried, those fiery glares of hers always gets him.

“Okay, okay. You win,” he raised his hands in submission and stood up, grabbing his backpack.

Avery stood up also. She was clad in a white dotted, red gown and pink sneakers. She hung her pink backpack on her shoulders and was ready to go.

“Okay. Bye bye now,” Jocelyn said and kissed both of them on the forehead. Of course, Ian tried to resist, but his mom was persistent and surprisingly strong.

“Don't cause any trouble today, young man. And watch over your sister, okay?” Jocelyn instructed.

Ian nodded.

“Psst. Avery. Make sure to look after your brother for me, okay?” Jocelyn whispered to Avery.

“No problem, mum,” Avery answered with a smile.

Ian grabbed his sister by the wrist, “C'mon, Avery. Let's go to school.”