Chapter 1
Sammy scribbled absentmindedly on a piece of paper. He glanced up at the clock and sighed. Four hours. It had been four hours since he’d started working on today’s homework. He straightened and pushed himself away from the desk, stupid math problems.
He looked outside wistfully, as he often did, wishing he went to school like normal kids. Instead, he was homeschooled, leaving his mom free to give him homework even during the summer. Sighing, he took a sip of water and turned on his desk fan.
His t-shirt was plastered to his chest with sweat underneath his hoodie. He wished he could take it off, even for a second, but he knew his mother would never approve of that. She had gone out one day and gotten him a sweater and ever since he had to wear one for every waking second. Yes, even in the summertime. The reasons were unknown to anybody except him and his family. That was probably for the best, anyways.
He had learned early on to accept that he was different. Knowing there was nothing he could do about it helped him deal with it. After all, his mom’s logic made sense, people who were different got singled out, so don’t let people know you’re different and you’ll be fine.
Even so, Sammy would try to be out of the house whenever he could. He loved the feeling of freedom it gave him, no matter how temporary. However, the time to go home always came eventually, and Sammy would walk home by himself.
He would jog for as long as he could, then he would slow down and walk. When he rounded the corner onto his street, his house was the first he saw. It stood out, just like him. The other houses were brown and white but his parents had insisted on painting theirs’ bright blue. Kind of sapphire. Pretty, but different. Sammy had learned the hard way that most people didn’t like things that were different.
Sammy was fourteen, and his fifteenth birthday was coming right around the corner. He was smaller and thinner than most of the boys his age. Different. His caramel hair never stayed out of his eyes, which were dark brown but seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Different. He wore a hoodie year round and ate honey with everything. Different.
Everything about him was different. One of the main reasons he stood out, and not in a good way.
He headed downstairs and found his mother sitting at the counter filling out some paperwork. Her deep green eyes were troubled and confused.
“Hi mom,” he called. No reply. His mother was always busy, always had some kind of excuse to ignore him. Although, at least she’d stuck around.
“Can I go outside?” he asked, tugging at his sweater.
“You’ll overheat,” his mother mumbled.
He sighed, “Alright, can I take off my sweater in my room if I close the curtains? Just for a bit.”
“Sure, lunch is in the fridge when you come back down,” and that was that.
Sammy blew the hair out of his face and went back upstairs. He closed the door to his room and shut the curtains, casting the room into shadow, not that he minded.
Taking a deep breath, Sammy took off his sweater and slowly spread his wings. That’s right, wings, or at least, that’s what he called them. The doctors had said they were abnormalities, mutations or growths. Never to his face of course, but he’d found the medical records. He’d always been a curious kid.
He had had them for as long as he could remember. First, he had hidden them under his shirt but soon, as he grew, so did they. After a while, they got too big, and he began wearing baggy sweaters year round with holes cut in his shirt so they would fit through.
When he was little, he used to think he could fly with them but after he’d chipped his tooth jumping off the couch, his mom stopped him from ever trying again.
He closed his eyes and let his mind wander, his wings flexing in time with his breathing. It wasn’t long before he’d fallen asleep, wishing he felt like he actually fit in with the world. Little did he know that he was never meant to be in the normal world at all.
It was a day like any other and Sammy was on his way home from the park when suddenly he was stopped by someone grabbing his arm. He looked up startled from his phone as he was tugged violently off the path and into the trees. He yelped and found himself staring at a stranger.
The stranger was a girl, and she looked very, very intimidating. She was wearing ripped black skinny jeans, a hoodie, and Converse high-tops. Her long, jet black hair fell over her shoulder in a low side ponytail, mostly hidden by her hood.
She looked mysterious, almost threatening, standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, and judging by her slim, athletic build, he definitely didn’t stand a chance against her if he had to fight. She looked to be about a few inches taller than him, around his age, though it was hard to tell exactly with her hood casting a dark shadow over most of her face.
She stared at him, hard, her piercing, jade green eyes, being the only patches of colour on her, boy, did they stand out. Sammy got the impression that she was looking right through him.
“Can I help you?” Sammy said weakly, trying to pull his arm away but she did not loosen her grip on him.
“Are you Sammy Anderson?” She asked, her voice was calm but determined, leaving no room for argument.
“Uh yeah, that’s me, hey look, I should be getting home, my mom is expecting me.” The words died in his throat as the girl glared at him.
“We don’t have much time, this will be easier for me to explain on our way back,” She said, “Look, the thing is, you do not fit in.” Tell me something I don’t already know, Sammy almost said.
“Most people are like that when they are born in this world,” she was still talking. “It isn’t your fault but I’ve come to take you to where you belong. Charles’ orders.”
Sammy blinked, What is this strange girl talking about? “What do you mean ‘born in this world?’ Who are you anyways and what do you want with me?” He demanded.
The girl sighed, “Maybe this will explain a few things,” a pause, and then “Don’t run, I promise I’m faster,” she added as an afterthought. She let go of his arm and pulled her hood down. Sammy almost screamed. She had two pairs of ears! Aside from her human ears, poking out from beneath her hair was a pair of black cat ears.
At first, he thought they might be fake but then they twitched and Sammy felt as though he was going to pass out.
“You, you’re like me!” he stuttered, his wings buzzing beneath his hoodie. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined that there could be others like him. Or at least, partly like him.
“That’s right” replied the girl. She stuck out her hand. “My name’s Katherine, Katherine Jade Thompson, but I go by Jade. You are what is called an Anthro, just like me, part human, part animal. I come from another world, a world unknown to humans. I’ve been asked to come and take you with me to where you belong, to the world of the Animal Kingdom.”
Sammy slowly reached out to shake her hand and was about to reply when something dawned on him. “You’re messing with me aren’t you? This is some sort of sick joke. There’s no such thing as other worlds.”
Jade huffed in annoyance, “You think I’d waste my time playing pranks? As if. Especially not on someone like you, I don’t even personally know you.”
Sammy looked around warily, “Are there cameras here or something? I’m not supposed to trust strangers for this exact reason.”
Jade rolled her eyes, “They warned me this might happen,” she muttered. “Fine, I didn’t want to have to do this but,” she held up her hand, a device on her palm glowing blue.
Sammy took a nervous step back, “What are you doing?”
“This won’t hurt,” next thing he knew, Jade had pressed her hand against his forehead and he was frozen.
A series of images flooded his mind. Flashes of people and places he’d never seen, each one clear as day. And although he did not know what was happening, a single thought filled his mind, these were Jade’s memories.
A mountain, a school, a tower, and most importantly, people. Each one bearing animal features, be it ears, a tail, or something even more extraordinary.
When it was over, Jade lowered her hand and Sammy stumbled backwards, the trance broken. “It’s real.” He said, stunned.
“Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Jade hissed, “Now are you going to come with me or am I going to have to make you?”
Sammy was about to agree when he suddenly thought of something. “But, what about my mom?” He asked, “I can’t just leave her alone, not after my dad and,” he trailed off.
Jade pulled a glass orb out of her pocket. It was the size of a marble and seemed to be filled with a softly glowing gas of some sort. “I was given a spell of forgetfulness by one of our mages, your mother will not remember having a son nor will she remember her husband. She will be free to continue her life as normal.”
“She won’t remember me?” Sammy asked softly. As much as he’d hated his life, she was still his mom, she’d still raised him.
“It’s for the best,” Jade replied, “The longer you’re here, the more you become a danger to both yourself and to our world.” She shrugged, “The only reason we didn’t contact you sooner is because you were not giving off much of a signal. Probably for the best on your part but it makes things much more difficult for us. I’m guessing you don’t fly much do you?”
“I can fly?”
Jade snapped her fingers, “Yes, but let’s try to focus, okay? Do I have to do this by force or will you cooperate?”
Sammy tugged at his sleeves, everything was moving so quickly, how was he supposed to just decide on the spot? But as he thought back to the nights when he’d heard his mom quietly sobbing in her room, and how hard she’d worked herself, trying to support them, he certainly wasn’t cheap, he realised his decision had already been made. “Okay.”
Jade smiled softly for the first time since he’d met her, “I know it can’t be easy but you made the smart decision, now come on, let’s get this over with.”
Together, they walked back to Sammy’s house. Jade had put her hood back up and was explaining what was about to happen. “I will put the spell on her and then we will go to where I have people waiting for us. They will provide transportation for us to get back to the entrance to my world. There will be no need for you to bring anything save for personal keepsakes. Charles makes sure that all citizens are provided with anything they need.”
They soon came to his house and Sammy stepped up to open the door. Right as he was about to reach it, he froze, his hand hovering above the doorknob, “I’m doing the right thing, aren’t I?”
“Yes, we’ll take care of things here once you’re gone, there is no need to worry,” Jade promised.
Sammy turned to face her properly and held his hand out, “Can I do it? I just want to say goodbye, alone.”
Jade seemed about to refuse but then her expression softened, “Sure, all you have to do is break the spell onto her. It will put her to sleep for 24 hours and when she awakes, she will believe that she has never married and never had a child. The spell will also erase any trace of you or your father from the surrounding area. Roughly the size of the neighbourhood.”
Satisfied, Sammy took the orb delicately and went inside. He headed straight upstairs and filled a backpack with some pictures and clothes but quickly realised he didn’t own that many things with memories connected to them.
It’s not as if his mom ever had the urge or the money to take him on vacations. Nor was there ever the time to provide extravagant presents, not even for Christmas or his birthday.
At last, after he could stall no longer, he went back downstairs. He went to the kitchen and stopped at the entrance. He stood there for a moment, watching his mother work.
Finally, he walked in, leaving his bag at the threshold. “Mom?”
His mom looked up at the emotion in his voice, “Is something wrong?” She asked wearily.
He shook his head and before either of them could say anything he lunged forward and enveloped her in a hug. “I love you, mom.” He said, choking back tears.
Sammy’s mom was shocked at first, unsure of how to react, “Where is this coming from?” she asked jokingly.
“I love you,” Sammy repeated, his voice strangled.
At last, she returned the hug, “I love you too, son.”
“I’m sorry,” Sammy whispered and crushed the spell against her back.
There was a faint whispering sound as her eyes fluttered shut and she fell asleep. Straining, Sammy set her head down on the table, making sure she was in a comfortable position. He lingered a moment longer, watching her seem more at peace than she’d looked in a long time.
After what felt like an eternity, he left. Collecting his bag on the way out and locking the door behind him. “It’s done.” He said numbly.
Jade, who had been leaning against the wall beside the door, stood up and nodded. “Let us go then, we don’t want to keep them waiting.”
The two marched solemnly, back towards the forest where Jade had first found him. On more than one occasion, he found himself looking back to where his house stood. Blue and beautiful and different. No, not different, special.
By the time they stopped, they had reached a small clearing deep in the forest where Sammy had never been before. Standing there, waiting for them, was a boy. Also, like Jade, he looked around Sammy’s age, perhaps a little older. He looked up as they approached him. He had ice blue eyes, skin so pale it almost had a bluish tinge to it, and what they could see of his long, shaggy hair, with his hood up, was pure white.
He was tall too, nearly a head taller than Sammy. He was wearing a large, pale blue baggy hoodie, and blue jeans with running shoes.
“Oh, hey, you’re back, about time” he called to Jade.
Jade turned around and looked at Sammy. “This is my friend, Everest. He came with me, along with his twin sister, Phoenix,” she explained. “Who should be here with him right now.” she glared accusingly at Everest with a look that Sammy could clearly tell meant ′Where is she?’.
Everest shrugged, “We were hungry, you were taking forever, she went to get food.”
“Seriously? You couldn’t have been just a little more patient?” Jade asked, clearly annoyed.
Everest said nothing, just shuffled his feet nervously.
As Jade went off to search for Phoenix, Sammy turned to Everest, trying to guess what animal he could be. But it was impossible when he was wearing that giant baggy sweater. Sammy assumed that was the point.
Sammy sighed and in spite of himself, his thoughts started wandering back to his house. Jade mentioning that Everest had a sister made him think of his own family and he wondered what exactly was going to happen to his mother. Jade had said she would be well taken care of but what did that mean?
No matter how powerful, this Charles person was, surely he could not think of everything. A dozen worst-case scenarios started crowding into his mind leaving him suddenly breathless as his eyes began to water.
Everest started talking, blissfully oblivious to what was going through Sammy’s mind. “You must be Sammy. Nice to meet you.” He smiled.
Sammy nodded in return, not meeting Everest’s gaze. Despite his best efforts, he felt a tear start to run down his face.
“Not much of a talker? Or, oh wait,” his smile melted slightly. “How do you feel?” He asked awkwardly, noticing Sammy’s pained expression.
Sammy shrugged, “Weird,” he managed to say.
“You looked a bit worn out.” He said sympathetically, “Forgetting is tough, isn’t it?” Sammy nodded again. “I can’t even imagine,” Everest went on, he seemed to have a need to break the silence with conversation, even if the other person wasn’t exactly engaged in said conversation.
As Sammy tried to wipe his face as discreetly as possible, Everest’s voice continued to fill the small clearing.
“I mean, I just imagine Phoenix forgetting I ever existed and shudder. Like I’m an Ice Dragon, I don’t get cold, but the thought just gives me chills. She’s annoying but she’s still my sister you know?” He looked at Sammy and smiled questioningly, “Don’t tell her I said that huh? I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Sammy stared at him in confusion, tears briefly forgotten, “Uh, yeah for sure,” he stuttered, “But, what did you say you were?”
“Oh, right. I’m an Ice Dragon, here I’ll show you.” Without waiting for a response, Everest lifted his sweater over his head and took it off.
Sammy couldn’t help but gasp in surprise. On Everest’s back were two majestic white wings. Dragon-wings, to be exact. They looked like they were made of packed snow and they sparkled like ice in the sun. The edges looked as sharp as icicles.
“Cool,” he breathed, Sammy would never have guessed that there were people out there who could be mythical creatures. Then again, up until a few minutes ago, he didn’t think other people could be any animals at all.
Everest chuckled. “Cold actually, but thanks.” He took a step forward and put a hand on Sammy’s shoulder, “You’re going to be okay? Alright? You’re worrying about nothing, Jade always keeps her promises, trust me.”
Sammy nodded slowly. And somehow, he believed him.
