The hallway was filled with shadows. Ferno could hear voices but the long school hallway was vacant. He hadn't expierenced this before the deep blue lockers along with the tightly tiled waxed floors. It was all out of a some cheap high school movie or TV drama. Ferno stepped forward aligning with two doors on both his left and right. He leaned back peeking into the left one, which was dimly lit and empty. He looked to his right into the classroom. This one was full of artificial light and the voices proceeded to become louder.

As Ferno began to walk towards the lit room something flashed out of the corner of his eye. Ferno swung his head back the way he came to see an a tall shadow vanishing into a room.

"Hello?" Ferno called up the school hallway.

No response came. Ferno began to direct his body towards the way the shadow had disappeared and began to walk. Each step echoed off the walls and the ceiling of the rectangular hallway. He made his way to the next set of opposite facing doors. The door to his left started shaking abruptly, never coming loose from its lock.

Curious, Ferno stepped closer reaching his hand out a cold air was being released from the cracks of the door making him shiver.

"WHAAAA! WHAAA! WHAAA!" A loud shriek rang in Ferno's ears.

Ferno was jolted away from the door and nearly fell off the couch in his sisters living room.

"I want PANCAKES!" The high pitched shriek came from Ferno's niece Audrey.

Ferno sighed and stretched cracking his whole back. He rose up from his sisters dark red recliner couch and pulled off the blankets he had slept under. The recliner was only a week brand new, but his twin nieces had, if possible, jumped out all the cushioning. With ease, Ferno folded them and laid them in his sisters messy pile of blankets

"Are you excited for school!" Ferno's nephew Wolker popped out of the hallway that led into the living room.

"Ugh its not until tomorrow Wolk," Ferno sighed rubbing his face and yanking open the blinds.

Ferno yanked a green shirt from the ground that he had worn yesterday and slipped it over his head. His father had always told him green looked best on him since it matched his eyes.

"Yes but you're going to be in The Choosing!" Wolker's chubby cheeks beamed as he spoke.

"Yea okay," Ferno answered and scooted past him to make his way to the kitchen.

Ferno remembered His sister, Rina, talking about The Choosing assessment to his parents who were taking a one year trip to Africa to help their marriage. Ferno had thought it was dumb that they should just divorce, but obviously they didn't listen to him and shipped him to his older sisters house. They thought it best for Rina, who had five kids, and had lost her husband five months prior to a mine explosion. The excuse being 'Rina needs a man in the house to help her out'.

Ferno hadn't ever gotten to know his sister since he was only one when she had gotten pregnant with Wolker and ran off with her now deceased husband to the town of Timberland. His parents, the perfectly normal couple, brushed off Rina any time she was brought up in conversation. As if she never had existed. This, Ferno assumed, was how they believed to keep up their perfect normal family image. However, Ferno remained optimistic with the whole situation. He'd been homeschooled his whole life and was very curious to see how public school really was.

The kitchen smelled of warm toast and eggs, it was a tight kitchen for five kids not counting Ferno. By the double panned window sat the four year old twins Audrey and Athena pouting their puffy lips and whining in unreasonably high pitched voices for pancakes. They were both completely identical with their long wavy sandy brown hair and bright hazel brown eyes, a trait they'd been gifted by their mother.

 In the corner sat a tall plastic Minnie mouse highchair that was clearly worn out, but still useful for Rina. Inside sat a chunky blonde baby boy with the darkest green eyes possible. That was one year old Raine who clearly despised the eggs like his sisters and was protesting. He wouldn't of been the last if his father hadn't been blown to bits.

Towards the main center of the kitchen was Rina fantically cooking pancakes over a dirty stove that desperately needed some washing. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a messy bun with a few strands off to the side, she was a little heavyset but not one person Ferno met so far thought she was thirty two. About everyone in town swore Rina didn't look a day over twenty five.

Behind Rina on the counter was Kaen, the second oldest and frankly the only string bean in his family of what Rina called "Chunky monkeys". He sat reading a book with his glasses at the tip of his nose revealing his blue eyes that matched Wolkers and the twins.

"Oh Ferno you're up!" Rina exclaimed as she served the girls their pancakes and Raine as well.

"Yes you said you wanted me to get some milk from the store last night." Ferno reminded his sister.

"Oh yes! Thank you!"

Rina reached into her back pocket puling out a five dollar bill and handed it to Ferno.

"Oh I'll come with you!" Wolker shouted grabbing his red worn out backpack that looked fit for a five year old more than a thirteen year old.

Ferno sighed. Wolker had taken it upon himself to show Ferno everywhere in town. It was generous and all, but it got quite annoying always having a tour guide over his shoulder.

The two boys stepped out the shoe cluttered hallway and into the misty air. Outside the small four bedroom apartment the town of Timberland was also waking up and getting ready for a new day. As the boys made their way to the crumbling old side walk worn old cars were passing them on the road. It seemed that no one in Timberland owned anything new.

Historical buildings stood tall in the fog but with a second look anyone could see all the cracking in their stones. Houses that might of been mansions back in the day stood out between the newly built apartments built around them. As the boys crossed the street the old cobblestone sidewalk disappeared and led way to the more modern concrete. Before them stood a nearly run down gas station. The muck that stuck to the walls outside would of been revolting to Ferno, but since his many trips here with Wolker he'd grown immune to it's disgust.

Inside the gas station was parted into two sections. To one side was the shopping section and to the other was an almost cafe like eatery where Wolker and his friends would come and play some murder mystery card game. It was clearly no one ever cleaned seeing as they always had to clean off a table before they sat.

Above a bell rang as Ferno opened one of the double doors leading into the gas station. Inside one of the overhead lights was flickering by the cashier stand. The cashier was clearly out of sight, probably smoking out back. At first glance it seemed as if no one was inside until Ferno gave the cafe area another once over.

In the far corner curled up by the window sat a dark haired girl. A book was up in her face but for barely a heartbeat she lifted her doe brown eyes up to meet Fernos.

*SHOULD I FINISH OR LOST CAUSE?!?!*