Sky tossed and turned in his really uncomfortable bed. His sleep was plagued by nightmares; he'd never had that problem before. A dragon-like creature with glowing bloodred eyes chased him through the dark. He ran and ran and ran but couldn't escape its bloodstained talons...

—

  Deadlox had never had a nightmare. Never. Not until tonight. He ran through flames, away from a being that seemed to walk at a casual pace yet always seemed to be close to him. He could look straight at it but never could find any features except for glowing, blank white eyes and a grin. He kept hearing his real name. Ty, Ty, Ty.

—

  Sunlight broke through the window, bathing Sky's face in soft golden light. He blinked his eyes open, relieved that he was finally awake. 

  He reached for his sunglasses–only to find them gone.

  Sky shot out of the bed, panic coursing through him, when he saw Ian standing by the door that he thought was locked.

  His eyes were wide and he held Sky's sunglasses. "Dude, we need to talk."

*

  "So you spawned like this?" Ian asked.

  "Yes," Sky replied quietly.

  "Dude, this is not good," Ian groaned. Sky had answered every question that Ian had asked, knowing somewhere deep down that he could be trusted.

  "Yes, I know, but what I don't know is why it's not good." Sky tossed his sunglasses from one hand to the other. "It's not like I've hurt anybody."

  "Bro, there's a dude out there who hates immortal people like you and kills every one he finds." Ian's eyes were wide and serious; he had taken off his sunglasses, too, to reveal blue eyes the color of the sky.

  Sky froze. "Immortal? What? And who?"

  "Yeah dude. You haven't heard the myths-" Ian stopped, smacked his head, muttered something along the lines of "shut up," and continued. "-describing people with weird powers and stuff? And to answer your second question, this dude's name is Jason. And he lives in this city."

  Sky cursed and stood quickly. "Then I have to leave." He put on his belt and sword, placing the sunglasses over his eyes.

  Ian hesitated, then stood, too. "Can we come with you? Mitch and I, I mean?"

Surprised by the question, Sky could only think of one reply. "You're friends with Mitch?"

  "Yeah, dude," Ian nodded. "Of course. We've been friends for, like, years. And we have a couple of other friends in other cities." He smiled. "We're like a team."

  Sky felt a pang of sadness. He had made friends, but he had always lost touch with them since he was constantly on the move and never stayed in one place for very long. Aaaaaaand Ian was giving him puppy eyes.

  "Fine, you can come. I don't exactly see why you want to, but-"

  "We don't have a home, either, Sky," Ian chuckled. "Plus, we think of it as an adventure!"

  Sky smiled. He liked this guy.

  "I'm leaving today, though," he warned. He wanted to get away from the boy with red eyes that seemed to see right through him.
 
  "That's cool, bro," Ian agreed. "I'll tell Mitch that we need to pack!" With that, he practically skipped out of the room.
 
—

  These walls are ridiculously thin, Deadlox thought, sitting on his bed. So the other boy's name was Sky. The other two were Ian and Mitch. They were joining up and leaving. Deadlox had known about Jason, having almost been caught by him once before.

  He cursed silently. He needed to test his theory about Sky and now that the boy had companions, it was much harder now.

  He'd have to follow them. It wouldn't be that difficult, with Ian's muttering and Mitch's loud voice–which he could hear from four rooms away! Like, what even?!–and he could easily blend in with the crowd in the city.

  Deadlox packed his bags, waited a minute or two until the other three had left, and followed them quietly out of the hotel where their paths had crossed.