Chapter 1

         There are only five of us left. At least, we're the only ones left that we know about. We've lost everything and everyone. Now we're in a different dimension and travel between the dimensions is very dangerous.

         The regular human can see three dimensions, the fourth dimension being time. However, we do not use numbers to name our dimensions. We use letters. Dimension A is the one we were born in. The one where we could live in peace. Dimension Z is where the dark and evil creatures live. There are, as you probably would have guessed, 26 dimensions, none of which should be played with. If any portal between them was made, it would result in utter chaos. The person who created and travelled through the portal would be lucky not to die as they passed through time and space.

         Dimension F is where the best things are. It is said to be a heaven. Where you can live life however you want. You would be able to eat whatever you want and it would still be good for you. Cake and ice cream for breakfast everyone. Root beer floats as a drink.

         Our kind study two different things; how to bend the elements to our will, and what is in the other dimensions. Our kind have thirteen years of school. Each semester we learn about a different Dimension. What is in it and how the people live or if they live at all.

          My name is Aden Jenkins. I have four brothers. Just so you know, the last name, Jenkins was not the name our parents gave us, we just have it because everyone else had a surname. I have red hair and brown eyes. I only have black, red, orange, or yellow clothing, whether it's shorts, shirts, socks, or shoes. My story started when I tried to understand the normal human race. I attended school but did not socialize. My brothers and I went to the same school and studied all of the required subjects including math and science. We learned all of the usual subjects quite well, for our kind are fast learners. Outside of school we studied the ways to bend the five elements, fire, earth, metal, water, wood, to our wills.

         My brothers and I all had a strong curiosity to learn more about the mortal world. We thought that the best place to study the mortal world would be to enroll in middle school. We were just starting our senior year of high school when I told our secrets to a human.

         This is not a book for entertainment though you may think of it that way if you want to. Though my brothers and I are an exception, our kind rarely make jokes amongst ourselves. I want to tell you about this because I want you to look for us or anyone who might be like us. Before you try to imagine or get a picture of my brothers and me, let me warn you, if you ever actually see one of our kind, we will not look human.

         My brothers and I are all the same age, although we're not quintuplets (please no questions there, even we don't understand it completely). We come in cycle so no one is older exactly, but I'll just describe them as they come after me.

         Demetrio has sandy hair and green eyes. He dresses in either green or yellow with occasional touches of white and purple. My next brother; Timur has golden, almost yellow skin and hair and when the sun hits his hair just right it glitters. Irvin has ocean blue eyes and dark brown hair, almost black. He dresses in blue and white most often. My other brother is Hearst. He has brown hair and eyes and dresses in brown or green. The colors of our clothing are the ones we feel most comfortable in. Others sometimes say we look handsome but I never really understood the meaning of that nor the word attractive. When we enter our own domain, we become something else.

         Okay, now that I've gotten you very confused, I'll settle down and start my story at the last week of 11th grade. Exams had ended and our scores were due back Monday. The last week of school was full of field trips. On Monday we would receive our test scores and go over them and have the rest of the period to hang out and talk. Tuesday would follow with a trip to a beach at an ocean reserve. It has a pier to dive off of and there is a small island about a mile out in the ocean. The day after we would go to an arcade place with an arena for laser-tag where we would have a laser-tag tournament. The last two days were for yearbook signing and saying our good-byes.

         My brothers and I live alone in Southern California. Our parents died fighting "the bad guys." We can't die of old age, but everyone must have an Achilles' heel. At one time a great sorcerer, who called himself Vadrak, created an army of innocent men whom he had placed under a curse; we call these men Heinous Knights. The Heinous Knights grew more and more powerful and destroyed many of our kind. Yet there were still some who were brave enough to oppose him. They formed an army and fought the Heinous Knights. They were winning at first, but eventually they were overwhelmed. Our parents fought and died in that battle.

         Anyway, we live in a modest house several miles away from our school in the city. Our parents left us everything we needed, so we're well off, but we didn't really want or need a mansion and servants. We're old enough to drive and we often carpool to school in one of the cars that we built ourselves. These cars look normal on the outside, but they use both solar and wind energy whenever it's available, so the only time we use gasoline is when it is not sunny or windy.

         I woke up that Monday morning feeling restless. I was worried about my test scores and woke from a nightmare of getting all zeroes. My siblings got up later and we discussed test problems and scores in our living room. We packed up our school stuff and took off at 8:00. School started at 8:30 and we usually worked or hung around until it was time for class. Throughout the day I found that I had gotten two zeroes on each of my tests, each with a one in front of the zeroes. I watched others as they argued over test scores and compared results.

         Jessica Sanders, who was in most of my classes, got in a fight with her boyfriend James (I can't remember his last name) about getting a better test score than he did. The couple had been kind of edgy for weeks, but I tried not to get my hopes up. I'm not saying I had a crush on her or anything, I'm just saying we might make nice friends, but I never had the chance to talk to her because James was almost always at her side.

         Jessica Sanders had a long brown pony-tail that came down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were brown and her skin was tan like she spent most of time on the beach. She was fairly athletic, and did well in school, which is why I liked her, not like like, but just like, oh, forget it. Her boyfriend, James, was powerfully built. The usual tall and well-built. He had a mean look in his eyes whenever he looked at me or anyone else but Jessica, like he was afraid we'd take his girl. His hair was really blonde, almost white and he had the most pale skin I had ever seen. He has bad acne and short and uneven bits of facial hair, like he shaved without the aid of a mirror.

         We didn't have homework or studying to do anymore, so at lunch Demetrio, Timur, Irvin, Hearst, and I walked around the campus. We went inside the school and hung around until the end of the day. As we packed up to leave, I saw James yelling at Jessica about something as James' friends (or maybe they were closer to bodyguards) stood and watched.

         "I'll be right back, guys," I said, and hurried to see what was going on.

         James appeared to have been angry about his test scores and was taking it out on Jessica. I reached them as he was yelling.

         "Oh yeah? Well, you could have lent me your notes sometime hmmm? What do you say to that?" he bawled.

         "I have an answer for you, next time you want a better grade than a 72, take your own notes and don't use me as your cheat sheet," she yelled, wiping tears from her eyes.

         "Why should I?"

         "Hey, James, lay off her," I told him.

         "This is none of your business pretty boy, if you don't get out of here right this instant, you're gonna wish you'd never been born!"

         I didn't move and James came after me. I didn't want to hurt him because he was Jessica's boyfriend, and he can actually be a bit nicer, but once he gets into "raging mode," there's no stopping him. I dodged his first strike and blocked his second. The third time he came after me, I flattened myself on the ground and he tripped over me. I thought his friends were going to join him and come after me, but instead they just ran away. James cursed me out and I walked over to Jessica.

         "Sorry about that," I told her.

         "No," she said, "thank you, he's been driving me nuts for weeks. Serves him right."

         I pretended that I didn't listen to them fighting before so I asked, "What were you arguing about?"

         "His stupid test scores. He got nothing higher than a 75 and has been blaming me for it because I didn't lend him my notes."

         "That's not fair," I told her. I didn't know what I was going to say, and I figured my brothers would be waiting for me so I said, "I should probably go."

         "Okay," she said, "we should hang out sometime."

         "Would James like that?" I asked her.

         "Definitely not, but that's one of the reasons I'd like to."

         "So you're asking to hang out with me just to annoy James?"

         "That's not the only reason, but I'll see you around."

         "Okay, see you later."

         She walked toward the parking lot on the north side of the school and I walked toward the west-side parking lot.

         "What was that about?" Timur asked me when I got back to the car.

         "Not much," I said.

         Thankfully, they dropped the subject and we rode home to our small house. The house had five bedrooms on the second floor and a living room on the ground floor where we had a couple of couches. My brothers and I had formed a band and our instruments were in the living room. We went inside and dumped our backpacks in our rooms and Irvin suggested we play some music. The rest of us agreed, though I was secretly thinking about Jessica's words " . . . we should hang out sometime."