It Started with Twelve

Chapter One

Aries

  What in the world...? He shot up, hitting his head on something above him and falling back down, his arms flailing in surprise. The thing he was laying on was soft and comfortable, a white sheet-like blanket over his body. His eyes began to adjust to the dark and he saw that he was on a lower bunk of a small bed, and when he had hit his head he woke up the person above him.

"What the hell! I was sleeping, you asshat." A shrill voice could be heard from above, too low to be female. Other groans sounded from around the room, all who seemed male. He slid out of his bunk, his hazel eyes meeting dark green ones. "Who are you?" The green-eyed boy asked, knitting his eyebrows and tilting his head. His voice was tight with annoyance, "What is this place? Wait, how did I get here?" He also slid down off his bed, about five inches shorter than Aries, and looked up at the other boy. Aries just shrugged. "I don't know. I don't remember how I got here..." And that was when he realized, he didn't remember anything. He didn't know how he got here, who he was, what this place was. Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. A thought that wasn't his own.

Your name is Aries. You are eighteen. Welcome to Stage One.

He knit his eyebrows as people started to talk quietly, confused. There were names passed around the room, like Scorpio, Taurus, and Cancer. He looked at the smaller boy. Stage one? "Did you hear that?"

"What? That thing in my head?"

"Yeah. What's your name?"

"Um," he paused, narrowing his eyes at the other in clear distrust. "Pisces. Now you tell me yours."

"Aries. Strange names, right? I mean, aren't these zodiacs?" Aries remembered nothing of his past life, but he still had his basic knowledge. He could remember the stars, animals, how to write and read, and so on. But despite the panic slowly rising in his stomach, he plastered a kind smile on his face. Sure, he did seem a little intimidating to the smaller boy, but that was because of his large muscles and tall figure.

"Uhuh. Weird names. Stars." Pisces seemed distracted as he looked around the room. It seemed as though people were finally realizing that they didn't couldn't recall how they got here, and frightened cries spread throughout the spacious room. Aries could only make out the figures of the people around him.

"Hey! What are we all doing standing around? That's not gonna get us any light! Find a light switch!" Aries called out, parting from the strawberry blond boy and running his hand along the walls. Suddenly, bright white lights shone from above, everyone groaning in protest. He looked around to see six boys, including himself. No one there looked alike. They all had different colored hair, eyes, and heights. Some were skinny and some larger, both in muscle and skin. They all were wearing the same clothes: baggy white shirts and shapeless grey pants that felt marvelous against their skin.

"Now what?" A velvety, deep voice came from the corner of the room, and everyone turned to see a pale, black-haired boy with calming blue eyes. He had a skeptical look on his face, and the intense look in his eye gave Aries a bad feeling.

"Well, first things first, we should introduce ourselves to each other. If we're all stuck in this room together, might as well know who we're stuck with. I'll go first. I'm Aries." He looked around expectantly.

"Taurus," he looked for the nonchalant voice, his eyes landing on a skinny boy with long shaggy hair and murky blue eyes.

A soft noise that sounded like someone clearing their throat came from one of the beds, a name soon following. "Cancer," his looks really fit his voice, as he had a rounded face with big, oval ebony eyes and a splash of red freckles across his face. He also had a pile of red hair curled on top of his head.