[Book One] Destined for More

Chapter One _ New Car, New Possibilities (new everything, really)

Before time began, there was the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony. But, like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil. And so began the war. A war that ravaged our planet until it was consumed by death, and the Cube was lost to the far reaches of space. We scattered across the galaxy, hoping to find it, and rebuild our home. Searching every star, every world. And just when all hope seemed lost, message of a new discovery drew us to an unknown planet called... Earth.

But we were already too late.

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First of all, our fence was gone. How the heck was our whole fence gone, with the gate and everything? We had a short wall, a nicely cut hedge and... it just went poof. Gone.

Second of all, the houses were all wrong. I didn't recognize our neighborhood at all. Not even the street was the same. Usually there was a small street square in front of us, now there was just the street. Across the road, my now-neighbourgh was sitting in a dark green car with no roof. I had a strong sense of deja-vu when I saw him, that didn't stop when he looked at me and waved. I awkwardly raised my hand in response.

"C'mon, kiddo. Hop on!" He yelled. I turned back for a moment, but Mira already went back in, so I started crossing the street.

As I did, a boy came rushing out of the house, threw a backpack on the backseat, and rushed in again. When I saw him, I had the distinct feeling that I should've known him, and not only because he had a familiar face.

Confusion must've been written all over me, because the man in the car looked at me and said: "It happens every time." Then turned towards the house and yelled. "Sam! For God's sake, move it! We're gonna be late!" Then turned to me again. "Go ahead and take a seat, kid."

I thanked him and got in the backseat, with my backpack on my knees. I didn't know what to say, but thankfully we didn't have to wait long for the boy to run out again, this time with a second bag in hand.

"Hi, Percy." he greeted me, and then he threw me the small bag.

"Wha-" I barely caught it.

"Sorry. But it's my project, be careful."

"Project?" I peeked in the bag, and there were all sorts of weird objects and whatnots.

"Yeah. The family genealogy report, remember? You helped me with it last week."

"Uh-huh." Another thing I didn't remember to add to the list.

"And," Sam continued, pointing a finger at the man, his dad I guessed. "I'm gonna get that last A. I will get that car. Today."

His dad answered with an amused tone. "I believe you, son. I told you, you keep your hand of the deal and I'll keep mine. I already have a little something in mind. Oh, by the way Percy," I stopped staring at my hands and looked up. "I can bring you back home after school, but we might need to make a little detour. You okay with that?"

"Yeah, sure. No problem." I immediatly stopped. I said it without even thinking, like the words were coming out of me on their own. Now, I do zone out quite a lot, but this definetly never happened to me before.

The two started some small talk in the front seats, and I was just glad that no one thought about getting me involved. I checked my phone, and it was all the same as I was used to. I tapped on the nameless app and it opened up immediatly. The password to access had ten spaces. I put in the usual. It didn't work. Perplexed, I tried it again, but the result didn't change. After a few moments, my body moved on its own again, and my fingers digited something different. This time, it worked. I saw the usual welcome phrase: 'Welcome, Ath3na', followed by a 'You have (1) notification(s)'. It was about something I apparently did the evening before, although I had no memory of it.