MSP Academy

Chapter 1: Half Past Death in the Morning

Dark rain fell from the sky. Red and black soaked the ground. A dark gray skinned Rose stood beside him with her wands in hand. John could see his father on the ground along with a woman, dead. Jack Noir stood before them. John pulled out his Zillyhoo, but even before the fight had started it was done. A blade jutted from John’s chest and a cold nothingness took over. John slowly fell and the vision went dark. He heard Rose’s scream as she faced the undefeatable monster.

“NO!” John yelled jerking upright. He panted heavily, a cold sweat wetted his body. Again? John had been having similar dreams where he and his friends played a game and they’d became gods. It was so weird, it was if everyone he knew was on the brink of death and were simply fighting just to survive. And even stranger was the fact that they didn't have Trolls on Earth. John had made many friends who were Trolls.

“John!” His father’s voice called. “You okay up there?”

“Yeah dad, I’m fine!” John replied. He jumped out of bed and checked his calendar. Today was the first day of highschool. John grinned, not because of school, but for the fact that he was going to meet his friends again and hang out. John walked to the bathroom and shed his wet clothing. He stopped to stare at his reflection. It was slightly out of focus because he wasn’t wearing his glass, but he could make out his ruffled black hair and athletic physique from his time running and playing sports over the summer.  He stepped into the shower and let the warm water wash away his troubles. That was the second time he’d died in that world. He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Grabbing a towel from the rail, John dried himself off and made his way back to his room. Time to select some clothing. John opened his dresser and looked at his shirts. John debated and settled on his favorite white longsleeve shirt with a green ghost on the front. He grabbed a pair of underwear, socks, and white shorts. It was somewhat cold out, but it was warm enough to still wear shorts for a few days. Summer is over, but it’s not quite Fall yet.

John snatched his glasses from his bedside table and bounded downstairs towards the kitchen. His father was in there waiting for him along with a stack of still warm homemade pancakes. His father looked at him concerned.

“You were screaming in your sleep,” He spoke softly. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, dad.” John replied as he sat down at the table. “It was just a strange dream.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s not that big of deal, okay? We don’t need to talk about it.” A moment was spent in silence as a plate of pancakes was laid before John. John looked up at his father and saw a smile. “Everything okay with you?” John asked.

“I’m just so proud of you.” His father praised. “You’ve become a strong, young man. It’s hard to believe that you are starting your freshmen year of high school. I think I might cry.” His father raised his hand to wipe the non-existent tear. John smiled. It was his father’s way of showing humor as wells as his fatherly love. Although, it looked more like a strange joke while his father wore a white apron over his work clothes.

“Come on dad, you need to calm down a bit and leave the jokes and pranks to me.”

“Your right. Hurry up and eat now otherwise you’ll miss the bus.” John quickly turned his attention to his breakfast and ate to his stomach’s content. As he finished he pulled out his cell phone and checked the time. He still had a few minutes before the bus would arrive.

John moved with purpose, gathering his school supplies, double checking he had everything, and even triple checking before he headed outside.