II

Samson King sensed that something terrible was going to happen today. He couldn't tell if it was the after-effects of the drugs he snorted before his gig or the ones he smoked after it. He had met a girl during one of his pre-gig sessions. Although he couldn't remember her name, she had been a blast while high but even more fun to ride. Nothing, however, could have prepared him for the embarrassment of his sister walking in on them this morning. He thought he locked the door when he got in. Though if one climbed in a bedroom via a window, they would probably forget to lock the door too—especially if they're high and horny.After the drug haze had vanished and he sobered up, that anxious-dread-like feeling lingered. It didn't help he had a dream about a lion-goat-snake-thing hybrid creature. The dream felt too real, like the dreams he usually had that ended up coming true. He remembers asking his parents about his dreams as a child, such vivid dreams coming true that day or the next. The color from his father's face had drained, and his mother became more overbearing than ever. His parents then gifted him and Lena those black crystal necklaces.The instructions were simple: always to wear them or keep them nearby. Time turned the necklace into a crutch. Samson needed his crystal whenever his body tensed and his limbs tingled. Nights he would take the necklace off when he slept were the nights he had his dreams. The dreams weren't too terrifying. He sometimes took off the necklace before a big test to see the results. It wasn't cheating per se, but he always saw the correct answers in his dreams and remembered them during the test.Last night, he didn't mean to fall asleep without his crystal. He removed it before showering, then forgot to put it back on before the gig. On the drive to school, he couldn't shake the face of the mythical creature, even with his crystal on.Samson stole a quick glance at his sister, who remained silent during the entire ride to school. Lena never stayed quiet. Did she have a strange dream last night, too?For what Samson knew, Lena didn't have weird dreams of the future, or at least had mentioned nothing about it to him. He brought it up to her once, but that was when they were eight, but nothing of it since he was given the crystal.Pulling into the school parking lot, Lena mumbled, "This is the last time we will be here.""Or so we hope." He shot his sister a grin.Lena smiled back at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. Wherever Lena's mind wandered off to hadn't fully brought her back yet. Samson knew better than to push his sister; if it were something she wanted to talk to him about, she would've already brought it up. Neither twin moved when he parked. People in their class walked into the school. He gripped the stone on his necklace in his hand; it warmed to his touch, and he took a deep breath and opened the door.***"Hey, Sam!" A voice called, catching Samson's attention in the crowded gymnasium.He smiled as he recognized that voice. It belonged to Kyle; the drummer is Samson's band.Samson made his way to the little huddle of his band members. He'd miss these people the most. The band had been a massive part of his life, and he was sad they decided to part ways. Since he was the lead singer and guitar player, he always could go solo. He was still mulling it over. His mother made him promise at least one year of working, and then he'd pursue his musical career."That was some gig last night." Kyle winked and patted him on the back. "How was that groupie?"Darrin, the bass player, scoffed, "It was her first, and last gig, she ever attended, calling her a groupie is a stretch.""Oh please, you're just upset that she chose our Sammy boy here over you. Speaking of that Darrin, how is the virgin life?"Darrin's cheeks reddened and eyes flicked to Samson's. The bass player coughed into his fist like he was clearing his throat. Samson tried not to tease his friend much about his lack of sex life as it easily flustered Darrin once it got brought up. Kyle, on the other hand, had no such regard."Well Kyle, it's not so hard when you're the best looking one in the band." The corner of Samson's mouth curled.Kyle rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, yes, we all know your superior golden looks have brought you more girls over the years.""It's hard to say brought when they practically throw themselves at me.""King, Samson!" The principal called his name.Samson bid his friends farewell and went to grab his cap and gown. He meant to grab it earlier this week, but he got caught up with other things. Lena wanted to decorate their caps so they matched. He had rolled his eyes at her suggestion, but he agreed. The twins couldn't have been more different if they tried. It was almost laughable how their features, personalities, and interests were complete polar opposites. Their father always called them two sides of the same coin.Now, standing in front of the locker room mirror, the long red gown and the plain graduation cap, he wished he had stopped at the school earlier in the week to grab the cap and have Lena decorate it. He just looked plain. And plain wasn't quite the word people used to describe him. Samson tipped his cap at an angle to stand out. Some of his golden curls snuck out from under it.Samson exited the locker room and walked back into the gymnasium for the class photo before the class made their way out to the football field for the ceremony. An age-withered hand halted him. He dragged his eyes downward to the owner of the hand.Samson fought the urge to recoil from his old English teacher.Mrs. Dee gave Samson an assessing gaze. Kyle's mother, who had her when she attended High School, had told him she had been beautiful in her youth, but years of dealing with teenagers must've been terrible for her skin; there wasn't a blemish-free spot on her face. Grey streaked her pin straight black hair she always wore braided back. Her piercing blue-eyed stare studied his neck."No jewelry, mister King," Mrs. Dee said in her normal, unnaturally high-pitched tone.Samson stared back at her. No one had informed him about this. Why wouldn't he be allowed to wear his necklace? He tucked the necklace under the gown, but Mrs. Dee let out a grunting sound to stop him."Or I won't be able to let you walk, mister King."Samson raised his eyebrows at her. He had to give her his necklace, or couldn't walk at graduation? This was absurd! It was probably her last grab at authority toward him, as he knew she never particularly liked him or Lena for who knows why. Mrs. Dee had given him more detentions than he could count. He wasn't any teacher's favorite by any means, but the way Mrs. Dee always sneered at him, it was like he killed her cat.Samson reluctantly took off his necklace; for whatever reason she could make up to stop him from walking because he didn't give her his necklace, she would do it.Her old, aged-spot hand wrapped around the black crystal tied around the chain. "Come seek me out after the ceremony."He scowled at her. Mrs. Dee either didn't notice his expression or chose to ignore it. She walked away without saying another word, and he assumed she was off to harass another innocent bystander."What did Mrs. Dee want?" Kyle asked, coming up next to Samson."She wanted my necklace," Samson said in a hushed tone, his eyes following Mrs. Dee.The old hag of a teacher stepped in the way of his sister's path. A look of shock spread across Lena's face. Lena wasn't one to argue with authority...well, at least not in a public setting, anyway. She slowly unclasped the necklace, the crease between her brow getting deeper."Why?" Kyle asked.Samson's eyes never left Mrs. Dee, who tucked Lena's necklace into her purse. She left the gymnasium, not bothering to intercede any other students who might be wearing jewelry.Samson gritted his teeth and muttered, "I don't know."***Samson caught himself zoning out at least five times during the graduation ceremony, with speeches from their class valedictorian, salutatorian, student council president, student council vice president, and the student council treasurer for whatever reason. There were way too many people allowed to give speeches at this thing. Samson almost swore with gratitude for being able to stretch his legs when it came time to hand out the diplomas."Be nice." Lena scolded behind him like she read his thoughts.Samson shot her a glare, knowing she was counting her blessings they were finally getting to the good part. The line inched closer to the stage, and the anxious-dread feeling he had all day grew in his gut.He nervously reached for his necklace before he caught himself, remembering Mrs. Dee had taken it."Samson King!" Called principal Jones.Samson walked up the stairs, and Lena's hand brushed his from behind, the dread coming in full-blown. With each step he took, his chest tightened. He fought the urge to vomit while shaking the principal's hand after being given his diploma."Selena Ki—"The stage exploded into flames. Samson was hurled into the podium Principal Jones stood at by the force, his head colliding with the corner of the structure. The sounds of the spectators' screaming rang in his ears. Silhouettes of people pushing past each other shadowed in the flames.Samson stood to his feet, and stars blurred his vision. His gaze swept the area where Lena had been standing, but now the stage was empty except for him."Lena!" He called, voice rasp.Samson let out a smoke-inhaled cough. Attempting to walk, he swayed on his feet. He needed off this stage, the lack of oxygen was going to kill him, and he be damned if he was going to die before he became a rockstar."Selena!" He wheezed.Samson forced himself to the stage's stairs and swayed every so often from the lack of oxygen and violent coughing. Instinctively, he threw out a hand to steady himself, but flames engulfed the handle. His eyes widened; he felt nothing. No heat, no pain, nor was there any scarring or bubbling appearing on his hand for touching the fire.It must be from the adrenaline. He reasoned while making down the steps."Selena!"Emerging from the fiery inferno, absolute pandemonium greeted Samson on the field. Families fought to find one another, and people ran to get out and into the parking lot on the opposite side of the school. He saw the fire truck's sirens, but his ears continued to ring.Samson wanted to let out a scream, but only a hoarse whisper escaped his lips, "Selena!"Where are you? He thought.Sam!Great, and now he was hearing things.Samson!Samson's head snapped right; his eyes focused on the bleacher seats from the ceremony. Sprawled on the polyurethane of the track, Lena's head rested on the metal seat of the bench.He ran to his sister."Lena!" Samson called to her. "Are you alright?"Lena reached out to him. Samson caught her arms to help lift her up; she swayed on her feet. He placed a hand on her back to help steady her. Lena's silver eyes were bloodshot; blood coated her forehead.Lena coughed and asked, "What happened?"Samson shook his head at his sister. "I don't know. I was leaving the stage when the fire came out of nowhere."Lena's eyes met his. "It was like—" she shook her head. "Do you know where Mom and Dad are?" Her voice was hoarse, like she, too, had undergone a fit of coughs from the smoke inhalation.Samson's eyes scanned the stadium bleachers, once filled with spectators. People scattered, reigning chaos, calling out to one another in a frantic attempt to find safety. He only saw one person sitting on top, completely still. The wind blew his platinum hair out of his face watching the situation unfold before him. Samson swore the boy was looking at Lena."I don't see them," Samson said, his attention returning to his sister. "Did you know where they were sitting?"Lena jerked her head and let out a hiss, pressing the heel of her left palm to her forehead. "I saw them just about to get onto the stadium bleachers while we were walking out before the ceremony started."The stage collapsed, and Samson's eyes narrowed. The heat surged toward the twins, causing Lena to wince. He shielded his sister, positioning himself between her and the flames. The heat grounded him."We need to go find them," Lena said through gritted teeth.Samson nodded. "Can you walk?"Lena shrugged but groaned at the slight movement.Samson bit his lip. What were the signs of a concussion, again? Was painful sudden movements one of them?He needed to get her to a paramedic or a fireman he was sure were either on their way or already in the school parking lot. He threw her arm around his neck. She gave him a small smile, palm still pressed to her forehead, leaning into him, and they limped toward the parking lot.Lena stopped dead in her tracks. "What was that?"Samson glanced at his twin. "We need to get going."He tried pulling her along, but she put all her weight on her feet to prevent him from moving."Did you hear that?"Irritation flowed through him. They needed to leave. They didn't have time for Lena's overactive imagination. Samson snapped his head behind them to see what she was talking about.Lena turned around with him, her arm falling from his shoulder.Samson sucked in his breath and his blood ran cold.Emerging from the flames' shadow, a lion-like creature appeared; a goat's head and neck sprouted from its left shoulder. Its tail swayed back and forth, and Samson swore it had a snake's head. He bristled.Fire shot out of the goat's mouth into an empty space in the air. An icy wave of fear reverberated down Samson's spine. The creature he had dreamed was real and heading straight towards him and Lena.The lion's gaze fixed on Samson; its lips curled upward.