Phoenix-6

Chapter 5- Zak

I stood in front of the mirror in my dorm, in my pajamas. I turned around, making sure no one was watching, then sighed. This was one of the few times I allowed my secret to be exposed.

I had to hide my neck away from the world, with only a thin bandana. Why? I have gills. Functional gills, like the kind straight off a Gilly. The problem? I'm supposed to be a pure Human. The only people who know other than me and a few others are my parents, but they threatened to disown me if anyone else found out.

Suddenly, the mirror in front of me shattered, revealing an endless crowd of pure species. I tried to cover my neck, but it was too late. They had already seen, and were laughing uncontrollably. I tried to turn and run, but some invisible force was holding me in place. I yelled, but could barely hear my voice over the crowd.

"Zak! Dude! Wake up!" My eyes opened in a flash. I was laying in bed in my dorm, Zaen hovering over me.

"Duude! Are you okay?"

"Umm... I think so..." I rubbed my eyes, then checked to make sure my bandana was on. Luckily, it was secure. "What happened?"

"I think you might've had another one of those nightmare things. You were screaming like someone was trying to kill ya!" I just groaned. I thought this would be over by now.

"Did you get the therapy that I suggested over the summer?" Ahron half-yelled across the room.

"No way!" I sat up, and checked my watch. It was about time to get up anyway.

"Guyyys! I'm trying to sleeep," Taylor groaned and covered his head with a pillow in the bed next to mine.

"Why not?" Ahron whispered.

"Because. No Insee soldier's gonna want to say that they had to go have therapy for their bad dreams. It'll make me look weak."

"I think what you're having isn't just 'bad dreams'. I think it's slowly morphing into night terrors, or some other psychological disorder, and we don't want that."

"Even if I did want therapy, it's too late. School has already started."

"Not necessarily. You could go to Mrs. Livetson..."

"I already tried that freshman year. Liveston's old and cranky. I don't know why the school keeps her around."

"If you don't do anything about this, then I will force you to." Ahron smirked. It only made me even more pissed. At six in the morning, I definitely didn't need Ahron telling me what to do.

"Dude, just leave it alone. We need to get ready for today." Zaen stood up, then walked over to the mini fridge. He got out a Guzzle, then held it up.

"Breakfast in a can..." he threw a second one to me.

"More like death in a can" Ahron muttered.

"Dude. Have you ever tried one?" Zaen cracked it open, and shoved it in Ahron's face.

"Unfortunately, yes. They're sickening." They continued to argue while I groggily got ready for the day. We were already a week into school, and it wasn't getting any easier.

Eventually, the Zaen and I headed to our first class, Universal History, across the school in the core wing, while Ahron headed to Uncommon Languages II, and Taylor went to Woods. We always like to get there early, so we can chat with Caerin and Kelsiegh. As usual, they were sitting in the back row, waiting for us.

"Heeeey Caerin!" I plopped down on the desk in front of her. She looked at me with a stern expression, and said nothing.

"Geez Zackary, what'd you do now?" Zaen tried to jokingly elbow me in the ribcage, but I blocked him.