Chapter 1

In Distant Dreams

“Get Out!” shouted the male owner of the restaurant as he tossed a young messy brown haired boy out of the place. The man glared darkly at the boy, “And don’t come back,” he said coldly before going back inside. The young boy huffed and glared at the restaurant before standing up and gathering his things from the ground.

“That was the seventh time this month…” the boy mumbled disappointedly as he rubbed his stomach. His frown quickly turned into a smile, “At least I got a little food this time though.” He said suddenly pleased with himself.

This boy’s name was Hyde Enamore and he’s a seventeen year old boy from the land of Ishimana. He’s the prince of this land and the country of Stell where Ishimana resides. Hyde left his home three years ago in search of power so that he could stop his father, James from the evil he was doing.

Since that time his father has sent many people after him in order to bring him back. His father didn’t seem to care if Hyde came back dead or alive as long as he was returned to the palace.

This of course, didn’t go over well with Hyde. He often claimed that his father was controlled. No one believed him though. His father had changed though. That’s what Hyde believed, no, that’s what he knew. He knew this better then anyone else. He had no doubts in his change. His choice was made and no one could change it.

Hyde being the only person who believed his father had changed was forced to leave and find the source of the change. He wasn’t sure what made him leave home to find the source but something called to him. He claimed it as a distant voice that he believed held the answer to what he didn’t understand. So, he went out searching for the owner of the voice.

He wasn’t weak, in mind or body. He had no intentions of heading home without an answer or at the very least a better understanding. He needed to find some way to stop his father, even if this source was only temporary. He couldn’t let his father go on like this.

During Hyde’s travels he’d come across many others who’d claimed this change in people. Some said that god changed these people. Hyde didn’t believe god or anything similar would do that. So he continued his travels. The more places he visited the more people claimed the same thing.

He’d even heard of a group called The Majira. If he asked about them though the people would run and hide as if he was placing some sort of curse on them. So Hyde was left in the dark without knowing who or what this group was. He wasn’t even completely sure that The Majira was a group at all. The mere thought of knowing something but not knowing something infuriated him.

Hyde looked up to the darkening sky, he’d need to find a place to stay soon or he’d be sleeping outside again. He frowned slightly at the thought, who would let him stay at their house or let him stay anywhere for free though? Acts of charity like that now-a-days were rare though and for him hard to find except on one of his few lucky days. Those lucky days were even rarer for him though. He didn’t always have the best of luck.

A bright light was suddenly shined in his face making him stop. A young defiant looking girl stood in front of him her flash light shining in his face.

“Who’re you?” she demanded to know. Her voice low, her brown eyes narrowed at him suspiciously.

“Um…I’m Hyde?” the boy replied. He was sure she was much younger then himself but somehow she intimidated him. He wondered if it was that look in her eyes, not that he completely understood the look either.

“Don’t you have a surname, Hyde?” she asked coldly.

Hyde was cautious. He didn’t like to give out his last name. By doing so he was giving his identity away. His name would spread and soon reach his father. That would only succeed in giving away his location.

“Come on, can’t you speak? It’s not like I’m gonna arrest you or something.” She huffed. She made him feel like he was some sort of idiot. He wasn’t sure he liked that. He thought he should be angrier with her but he wasn’t.

“It’s Hyde Enamore,” he finally replied.

“Enamore, huh? I’ve heard that before…” she commented her sentence trailing off. She lowered her flashlight some as she thought, “Oh! That’s right that king guy. I can’t remember his name.” she shrugged slightly. He couldn’t help but chuckle lightly at her lack of knowledge. “So that makes you like royalty right. So what’s some royal dude doing way out here?” she asked frowning slightly.

“I’m traveling I guess,”

“That’s a bad answer,” she stated giving him a blank face. Hyde rolled his eyes.

“Well it’s the best answer I have for you.” He stated simply.

“Fine, then where are you headed?” she asked nosily. By now she’d turned off her flashlight and tucked it into the back pocket of her baggy jeans which looked like they were four sizes too big.

“I’m not sure yet,” he admitted.

The girl sighed softly and shook her head.

“Well Hyde, you are an idiot then. You can’t just travel around aimlessly. Especially when you have people out searching for you.” She stated knowingly. Now it was Hyde’s turn to be suspicious. How would she know about the people his father had sent after him?

“How would you know about that?”

“Simple, I said I’d heard the name Enamore before. Hyde Enamore, your name. A group of men came through here about ten days ago looking for you. That’s when I heard that king guy’s name. I’ve never been one to care about rulers and all that, but when guys like that are out looking for others you gotta keep a sharp ear.” She explained.

Hyde fell silent. They had already been here for him. He wondered if maybe they were still hanging around. The mere thought made him glance around them nervously.

“I suppose I can assume you didn’t know that bit of information.”

“No, I didn’t,” he replied frowning slightly. He wouldn’t have liked to admit something like that to her but it was already obvious.

“Well, come on, they won’t find you if you keep walking this way.” She commented turning her back to him and heading in the direction he was previously going.

“Why wouldn’t they?” he asked following her hesitantly.

“Again, simple, the sign at the bottom of the road that you ignored said private property. That means that we’re high up in the world. We’re trust worthy.” She answered glancing back at him.

Hyde nodded understanding now.

“So that’s why you stopped me,”

“Yep,” she replied with a sudden smile, “My name’s Michelle Allon, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you,”

“Same,” she replied and with that the conversation ended. She didn’t seem very talkative unlike he first assumed. She was a bit different to say the least though - different in the sense that she didn’t go along with how any of the town’s people looked or acted.

She was a tall, thin girl with straight brown hair which she pulled up into two pigtails with some kind of swirl design around the hair band. He wasn’t sure how to explain it but he’d never seen anything so perfect or fancy in town. Her make-up was done in cold colors that brought out her dark brown eyes even more.

He wondered what she’d been doing earlier by the cuts on her arms and her heavily torn t-shirt. The screwdriver in her back right pocket made him wonder if she was a builder or engineer of some sort. If she was high class though like she said she was, then that wouldn’t be an accurate guess. High class woman were supposed to be elegant for the most part. Getting dirty, and wearing such clothes would be considered a disgrace to her family name.

“You really shouldn’t stare,” she spoke up suddenly.

Hyde jumped slightly at her sudden words. She never looked back at him so he hadn’t been under the impression that she knew.

“Sorry,” he said quietly almost under his breath.

“What were you thinking about? Why were you staring?” she asked finally turning to look back at him.

“I wanted to know…What you were doing earlier. Your clothes and the cuts on your arms,”

“I was working on a car.” She replied simply. He gave her a curious look obviously wanting some kind of explanation. “You’re suspicious now because I said I was high up. That’s true and your suspicions are understandable.” She added after a moment with a small laugh.

“My parents are dead. I’ve never met the rest of my family. So I live here alone. Someone needs to get the work done, so that’s me.” She added softly. She sounded honest so for now he decided to believe her.

He went to say something else but stopped as they reached the edge of the road. A large three story house sat in the opening of the trees. The lights from the town didn’t reach past the trees here. It was quiet, peaceful. He thought of what she said, living here alone. The quietness must have made being alone here even worse.

He was tempted to ask what she thought of it but didn’t. Instead the two walked into the nice house where Michelle showed him to one of the guest bedrooms and told him where everything was. After that she left quietly. She seemed like the type to be more talkative. He tried not to think about it any further but it was harder then he thought to do.

Sometime during the night Hyde was woken up by the sound of distant music. He rubbed his eyes slightly before opening them and listening more carefully. The words were unclear – too far away, he thought. He sat up slowly and pushed open the bedroom window letting the sound rush into the room. It was louder now.

“A savior one day, in an ever distant dream; we’re all waiting for him. Looking out, I wonder when he’ll come. In my thoughts I wonder if he’s been born. I’ve heard so many stories, so many lies. It’s hard to tell the truth between the lies anymore; so many people calling.”

Hyde questioned the song not understanding the meaning. He turned away from the window and left the room following the faint melody downstairs. He hesitated but slipped through the first floor of the house till he was led down a dark hall. The hall was lit by a distant light somewhere further away.

He slowed down looking around, this part of the house was much older it seemed. Old pictures lined the walls, maps and news paper clippings covering over some. He paused glancing over some of the news headlines. They dated back to a time even before he was born.

A small frown crossed his features; he couldn’t read any of these maps or papers. It was a language he was unfamiliar with though the characters were familiar. He glanced back down the hall towards the light again before continuing towards it. The melody had grown louder. He listened carefully to the words trying to understand the meaning behind them.

“We once called him but he never came. Some gave up and many went away. I know it’s hard to keep believing. Those were the words she said. I still hear them clearly in my mind. Even now I try hard to keep moving on. I still wait for him, we still pray for him but still he has not come. Soon this will come to an end and it will have been too late.”

Hyde came to the source of the light. This door was the only thing in sight that looked new. It looked heavily used though. He hesitated but pushed the door open slowly. The room was brightly lit blinding him for a moment.

His eyes ran over the large room, a mechanics’ heaven he thought. The room was filled with cars, new and old. Equipment one could only dream of, things Hyde had never seen, some he’d never heard of thus having no idea what they were.

“I try hard to believe; so many have lost their hope. I’ll stay here and wait for the world to change. I hope that our savior will arrive one day. This life or the next, nothing lasts forever. I’m praying he sees that, I don’t have to tell him.”

The melody came from the girl in the center of them room. It was Michelle. She stood under a car held up on a lift working hard. Did she work on all of these cars? He guessed there were at least a hundred, maybe more.

“I used to cry when I heard my parents speak. Their words were maddening to me. They had changed with time, no one believed me. Things were stressful, they feared for the worst, that’s what I still hear. Then they died and never knew why. I’m waiting for him, our savior to tell me why. Only he knows, what triggers this change? So we wait for our savior to one day come and save those who will soon die.”

Her voice faded away slowly the melody disappearing from the room. Had her parents died because of the change, because of the same change his father was going through?

“Hyde, grab me that robot against the wall next to you and bring it here please.” Michelle spoke to him suddenly.

“Oh! Um…sure…” he replied glancing to the wall. A robotic person leaned lifelessly against the wall next to him. He hesitated but picked it up surprised by its heaviness and carried it over to her.

“Here,” he said placing the robot on its feet in front of her. She stopped what she was doing and went over to it. She unscrewed the opening on the chest and connected a few wires before closing it and tapping the robots head lightly.

The robots eyes opened and it stood up.

“What may I do for you, my Lady,” he asked bowing politely.

“Please get Hyde and I some tea.” She requested, a soft smile crossing her features.

“Of course, my lady.” It replied before leaving the room quickly. Hyde stood there shocked, robots weren’t built yet. At least, not that he knew of. He had seen them in movies, but he never believed they were real.

“I built him, his name is Clide.” Michelle spoke before heading over to a table a little ways away and sitting down.

“I’m sorry if I woke you.” She said suddenly.

“No, no, it’s fine.” He replied sitting down as well. He had so many questions for her. She obviously knew.

“That robot; Clide, how were you able to build him? Robots are things for movies, they’re not real...are they?” he asked deciding to start out with that.

“Witches often use magic to control the bodies of clay dolls which are used in the same way as robots.” She replied as Clide came over with the tea. “Those robots are only temporary though as the magic fades within a few days.” She said as he placed the tea cups in front of them and poured the tea.

“Thank you Clide, please go clean up the kitchen for me.” She requested before taking a sip of her tea.

“Of course, my lady.” He replied before leaving.

“So what does that have to do with Clide?” Hyde asked frowning.

“Hyde, when you have years to do to whatever you want because you already have everything, you learn many things.” She stated looking up at him with emotionless eyes. He didn’t understand and she knew that.

“I have been alone since I was seven, that’s eight years. As you have probably seen already, this house has everything as any high class house would. It has many bedrooms, big and small. It has a pool, a lovely kitchen, beautiful furniture, cars, this room, and money beyond compare. I lack in nothing so I have to work for nothing.” She explained as she stared down at her tea.

“When you already have everything, you don’t have to work for it. Life becomes very dull, so I studied in electronics. I have learned much these passed years. I have built, and fixed many things in all my time, but I have not found what I am looking for.”

“The savior from your song?” he asked assuming. She looked up at him with sad eyes.

“Yes, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, my parents died because of a change. They changed personality and all. They became obsessive, compulsive people that I no longer knew. They were searching, studying about the change in others so much that they didn’t even notice when they had changed themselves.

“The maps and news paper clippings that lined the walls eventually lead to their old office where they spent much of their time. One day, they went out to buy new maps and supplies for their research and they were killed by the very people who they were studying to save. The people, who had changed, killed them.” She explained calmly as she stared passed Hyde with distant eyes. He wondered what thoughts, what memories ran through her mind, but he didn’t ask.

“As a little girl I was promised that a savior would one day come and save all the people that were changed. The savior would come and save them from the evil in their hearts.” She gave a sad laugh, “Years and years later, one day it will be too late I’m afraid. The savior won’t be needed then because there will be no one left to save.” She said sadly bowing her head her eyes closed.

Hyde cupped her chin making her look at him. She blinked looking at him questionably.

“You can’t give up on the idea though. If you do, the change may affect you too. I know it’s hard to keep going when you think there’s nothing left but if you give up too where’s that going to get you?” he asked. She smiled slightly understanding his point.

“It wouldn’t get me anywhere,” she replied softly.

He smiled back and let go of her chin.

“Right, so don’t give up. One day things will be okay.” He promised. Now he just hoped that promise would never be broken.

A soft smiled crossed her face again and she nodded.

“Okay,” she replied softly before taking a sip of her tea. She looked up at him again after a moment. She didn’t say anything though. Instead she placed her cup down carefully and stood up to go back to work.

“Why do you continue to work on these cars?” he asked after a bit of watching her work.

“The more problems the vehicle has, the more time it takes to fix. The more time it takes, the more I learn about it. I fix them merely to learn. That’s how I was able to build Clide.” She explained as she worked.

Hyde seemed to accept the answer because he did not ask anything else again. Instead he offered to help to which she happily accepted.

So I finally finished chapter one. I would have had it out sooner, but I wanted the chapter to be more then six pages. I hate to say it, but that didn't work. I hate how short this chapter is, I feel it should have been longer. Sadly though, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it any longer then this.

Still, I think the chapter came out really nicely. You've officially met Hyde and Michelle. Yes, both characters are slightly undevelopted I think but I'm working on them, i assure you.

If anyone has any suggestions, aka constructive critisism, feel free to say something! :) I would love to read over some suggestions. At the moment I could use anything really. lol

Anyways, thanks so much for reading. Please remember to review. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter out soon! I'm already working on it! :D