Awake

Copyright

2010 by Egan
Yip

Cover design by Egan Yip

Book design by Egan Yip

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information
storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from
the author.

ISBN-13
:

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated first and foremost
to the One for whom this book was written,
then to my loving
family
.

-Contents-

1-Breaking Point…1

2-Asleep…8

3-Korgen…13

4-The Nexus…21

5-Hunger…28

6-Evening Comes…37

7-Legendary Heroes…46

8-Into the Dark…52

9-Life and Death…59

10-Blues…67

11-All Alone…74

12-First Strike…81

13-Let the Games Begin…89

14-Run For It…106

15-Fight or Flight…114

16-Battle for Mankind…123

17-Paradise…135

18-No Future…145

19-Kindred…153

20-Denial…162

21-All is Well…170

Kevin Stiles stared at the computer screen,
his wide eyes twitching.

It was Monday morning. He had just finished
pulling an all-nighter to work on his research paper. And now it
was finally done. Well, not exactly
done
…but it was close
enough. Conclusion?
Screw it
, he decided.

He looked at his wristwatch. 7:20. He had
five minutes to reach the bus stop.

Kevin glanced down at his clothes: a simple
t-shirt and blue jeans. It was what he had worn the day before, but
now was not the time to be picky, even if his clothes did smell
slightly of old socks. He printed out his homework and shoved it
down his backpack. On his way out he stopped by the bathroom,
splashed cold water on his face, combed his hair, gargled with
mouthwash and dabbled a bit of cologne over his shirt—all under
thirty seconds. Then he rushed to the front door and eyed the table
of the living room. His lunch bag wasn’t there.

Kevin heaved a sigh.
Mom forgot. Again. I
guess I’ll just have to buy lunch.

Out the door he went, hurrying to the far
end of the driveway. Andrew Shoemaker, his next-door neighbor, sat
on the curb, leaning against the oak tree. Andrew had on a dress
shirt and baggy slacks. Within this suburban area, they both
attended the same public school, Rockville Middle. They were both
in the eighth grade. In fact, Andrew also attended a few of his
classes, though Kevin couldn’t really remember which ones.

Kevin stood next to Andrew, glimpsing at his
watch again. 7:25. He looked down the street. No sign of the bus.
No loud screeching. No flashing lights. Nothing. Though the bus
driver was known to be punctual, it wouldn’t be the first time she
was late.

Tired, Kevin closed his eyes for a moment.
Andrew played with a broken stick, tapping it against the asphalt.
They both waited quietly for the bus to arrive. The silence lasted
for a while.

Andrew finally spoke up and said, “What time
is it?”

Kevin took one hard look at the time. “Seven
forty-five!”

“School’s going to start,” said Andrew.
“Maybe we should walk. It’s only two miles.”

“Only two miles?” Kevin rolled his eyes.
“Can your parents give us a ride?”

Andrew shook his head. “My mom’s
working.”

“Same. My parents are always out the door at
seven.” Kevin sighed. “Looks like we don’t have a choice. We’re
going to be late.”

They headed down Grace Drive, quietly
following the sidewalk. The silence made Kevin uncomfortable. He
felt the need to say something. However, they never really talked
much and had almost nothing in common.

Kevin said suddenly, “Aren’t you in my
history class?”

Andrew replied, “Front row. Third seat.”

“Did you do the research paper?”

“Just barely. Did it all last night.”

“Me too!” Kevin chuckled. “It was like
midnight when I remembered to do it! I typed it up all morning.
Just used websites for sources. What’d you do yours on?”

“Alexander Hamilton.”

“Wow, the guy who discovered
electricity?”

“You’re probably thinking of Benjamin
Franklin—though I wouldn’t say he
discovered
electricity.”

“Then the guy who invented the
telephone?”

“Alexander Bell.”

Kevin’s interest waned. “Well, whatever.
Hamilton’s probably not that famous anyway.”

Andrew raised a brow but stayed silent.

On their way to school they passed by a
large house surrounded by short walls of stone. It was eye-catching
to say the least—with its pink window frames and red roof. A black
cat reclined on the wall, licking itself clean. It stopped as soon
as it caught Kevin’s attention. Its eyes glazed, it stared at the
two boys as they walked past. Kevin couldn’t help but stare at its
dilating pupils. The cat’s gaze was entrancing.

From out of nowhere a yellow Labrador rushed
to the wall, barking profusely at the cat. Startled by it, Kevin
averted his eyes, hoping not to catch the mutt’s attention. After
the two boys reached the end of the block, the barking stopped.
Kevin glanced back. The two animals sat beside each other, watching
the boys disappear around the corner. Kevin looked at Andrew to see
if he was also curious about it, but Andrew paid it no mind. Kevin
couldn’t resist taking another look. That scene kept replaying in
his head. He spun around. However, the animals were gone.

“What’s wrong?” Andrew asked, looking
concerned.

Kevin rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know. I
think I’m starting to see things.”

“I know what you mean,” said Andrew. “Lack
of sleep will do that to you.”

Kevin and Andrew finally arrived at
Rockville Middle School. Compared to the other schools nearby,
Rockville Middle was pretty new. Built only ten years ago, the
school looked modern, clean and sturdy. The American flag rested on
a tall pole in a circular driveway. A long canopy served as shade
for the front entrance, covering several rows of benches. It
usually had buses flowing in and out, but then again, they were
nearly fifteen minutes late. All the buses were probably long gone
by now.

However, Kevin did find something most odd.
The glass doors of the entrance were closed.

The two boys stood in front of the school,
exchanging glances.

Kevin said, “Today
is
Monday,
right?”

Andrew scratched his head. “Yesterday was
Sunday….”

“Could it be a Holiday?”

“March twenty-third? What holiday would that
be?”

“Spring break?”

“That’s in April for us.”

“Hmm…” Kevin pondered for a moment. He said
half in jest, “Maybe it’s a new late-kids-aren’t-allowed-in
policy.”

Andrew replied, “Isn’t that against the
law?”

Abruptly, someone came from behind them and
pushed Andrew aside. He winced.

“Out of the way,” a girl growled.

Kevin looked to his left. A girl brushed
past them. Katie Evans. He recognized her from math class—though
she hadn’t showed up in class for the longest time.

Katie’s black hair reached her shoulders,
hanging over her face. She straightened out her dark blue jacket as
she approached the front doors. Katie rattled the handle. The door
didn’t budge. Exasperated, she kicked the door, screaming.

Kevin said flatly, “It’s locked.”

Katie glared at him. “You think I didn’t
figure that out?”

Kevin raised a brow at her, shaking his
head. “I didn’t say—”

“Shut up and watch,” she snapped, grabbing a
lone brick from the grass nearby. The brick must’ve been left over
from the construction. Kevin cocked his head.

Katie pulled her arm back and then launched
the brick into the door with all her might. The glass shattered,
scattering shards all over the concrete, tiles and grass. There was
now a big opening through the doorframe.

Kevin stared at the broken door, his mouth
agape. He shouted, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?”

Katie laughed loudly. “How’s that for
locked?” She brushed the broken glass aside with her sneakers,
carefully stepping over the threshold. Kevin and Andrew cautiously
followed her.

Once inside, Kevin snapped, “I can’t believe
you just did that. Aren’t you afraid of getting in trouble?”

“No one’s going to find out who did it. And
you’d be dumber than dumb to rat.” She snickered, “I’ll be going to
class now. Don’t bother thanking me. Just buy me lunch and we’ll
call it even.” She waved goodbye and left.

Kevin shot her a dirty look as she stopped
by her locker. “She’s got some screws loose.” He motioned for
Andrew to follow him. “We’d better get out of here before someone
sees us.”

The halls were dead silent. Normally,
everyone would be sitting in class by now. Though the halls were
usually quiet at this time, it was typical to hear the mumble of
lectures or class discussions. But today was extra quiet. The only
sounds they heard were the annoying squeaks of their sneakers
echoing off the walls.

They arrived at the door of the main office.
Kevin knocked. No response. He knocked again, just in case. There
was still no response. Kevin slowly twisted the doorknob and opened
the door. The room was empty. Not a single person in sight. He
could see no sign of anyone having been in there recently.

“This is getting really weird and freaky,”
said Kevin. “No buses. No one at school. It’s Monday! Where’d
everyone go?”

Andrew said, “Maybe today
is
a day
off. It’s not like it always has to be a real holiday.”

“Then how come no one told us about it?”

“Look,” said Andrew, pointing down the hall.
“It’s Katie! She didn’t go to class.”

Kevin caught a fleeting sight of her as she
ran past. “Looks like she’s going home.”

“Maybe we should just go home.”

“Not yet.” Kevin reached into his pocket and
pulled out his cell phone. “I think I’ll call Brad. See what he’s
up to. Maybe he’s got some answers.”

Kevin called his friend. It rang three
times. No one answered. He quickly canceled the call and tried
again. No one was picking up.

Frustrated, Kevin grunted, “He’s not
answering. He always sleeps in when there’s no school.”

“That’s okay,” said Andrew dryly. “I think
I’ll just go home.”

Kevin thought of something. “Hey, let’s stop
by his place and see if he’s home. He lives really close to school.
Just up the road.”

“Is that okay? I don’t know him.”

“Sure. He’s fine with everything. If he’s
home, we can hang out. He won’t mind.”

Brad’s house was located in a residential
community behind the school. It was a two-story house with blue
siding. Kevin knocked on the door a few times and rang the bell
twice.

Andrew glanced around the exterior of the
home in great interest. Though it wasn’t really that amazing of a
house, it was definitely a step up from his neighborhood.

Kevin folded his arms. He waited but no one
came to the door. “I wonder where everyone went.” He reached into
his pocket for a key.

Andrew looked at him, curious. “You have a
key to his house?”

Kevin unlocked the door and entered. “Our
families are really close. I stop by after school pretty
often.”

They crossed the hall, stomping dirt over
the brown rug. The furnished living room was on their right and the
fancy dining room was on the left. The wooden stairs ahead curved
upward to the second floor.

Kevin ran up the staircase, yelling, “Brad!
Are you here?” Kevin went straight for his friend’s room. The door
was closed. He rapped on the door and said, “I’m coming in.” He
slowly opened the door and peered inside. Brad was in bed, snoring
loudly. Resting by the side of his bed was his collie, Max. The dog
raised his head to look up at Kevin as he entered the room.

Kevin’s eyes narrowed. “I knew it! You
were
sleeping!” He stood by the bed and gently shook it.
“Wake up. It’s almost nine. I said WAKE UP!” He screamed into
Brad’s ear, smacked his shoulder and finally jostled the bed. Brad
continued sleeping. He didn’t even stir.

Andrew heard the yelling. He stood by the
door of the bedroom. “Is everything all right?”

Kevin startled tickling Brad by the neck and
waist. Brad just rolled over. “Wow, he’s usually pretty ticklish.”
With a sly grin, Kevin told Andrew, “Get me some ice.”

Andrew nodded and left the room.

While waiting for Andrew to return, Kevin
took Brad’s pillow and whacked him over the face with it. He yelled
and shouted with all the air in his lungs. He kicked the footboard.
Nothing he did managed to even disturb Brad’s deep sleep. When
Andrew came back with a mug full of ice cubes, he handed it to
Kevin. Kevin took an ice cube and rubbed it all over Brad’s face.
After feeling the cold moisture on his face, Brad twitched, but
that was it. Max cocked his head and whined, as though he
disapproved of what the boys were doing to his owner.