Chapter 1

Cape Town, six months later...

"James, school. Get up!," came a shout a few rooms away.

'Exactly what I wanted to hear mom,' James Sulman thought dully as he struggled to get his eyes open. He forced himself out of bed and onto his feet while yawning and swallowing in discomfort. His mouth tasted dry and he was still half drunk with sleep.

"I'm up!," he hollered as he blinked the sleep from his eyes.

Immediately, as if on autopilot, he took some uneasy steps towards his dresser and tugged it open in a manner that suggested that it was a routine for him. He felt around for the hanger that held his clothes and his fingers brushed past a rough material. He brought it back to feel the texture again. It was his blazer. He unhooked the hanger and walked back to his bed where he then began getting dressed.

A couple of minutes later James stumbled into the kitchen and made his way towards the food cupboard, passing his mom.

"Morning sunshine," she called to him.

"Morning," James replied as he moved around her.

He opened the cupboard to scratch around for a box of cereal and after he found one he placed it on the table and stepped up to the fridge to get the carton of milk. His mom tapped him on the shoulder, so he turned to look at her.

"Yeah?"

"The milk's already out," she told him pointing back at the table where his cereal stood.

"Oh, thanks," he said to her after a short pause. He walked back to his bowl feeling slightly stupid.

He commenced pouring in the milk, getting a clean spoon out of another drawer nearby and carrying his bowl over to the connecting lounge at the opposite end of the adjacent room.

"Hey, you know the rules," his mom said giving him a condescending look.

"Sorry, but I need to see the news quick," James said back to her as he sat down.

Before his mother could protest further he grabbed the television remote and thumbed the power button. The TV was already tuned into the right channel, from when James last watched it the previous night, and he listened to the reporter with deep interest as he munched on his breakfast.

"-changed in last few months. People are still disappearing at a steady rate, ever since early March at the beginning of this year. The locals are all on edge over the supposed 'unexplainable presence' that is terrorizing this once peaceful town. Most of the residents claim that the kidnapper is not a human being but rather 'a sinister unseen force'. We do not have any details on the kidnapper and have so far been unable to track them. Readouts on vanishings will take place at the usual time, at 1:00 pm exactly. If you are-"

Before the reporter could mention anything new, James' mother quickly snatched the remote away from the coffee table and switched the TV off.

"Hey!," he yelled without thinking. Immediately he looked at her in apology, "Sorry."

She sighed, "It's fine James. But honestly, I don't know why you would want to watch stuff like that. It doesn't affect us. Isn't it happening all the way in America?"

'Just like everything that is unnatural, news breaking and interesting,' James thought moodily. He wasn't very surprised when he had first heard about where the sudden disappearances had been situated. Take the time to watch any blockbuster movie and you'd already know where the best stuff happens. It was always in America.

He brought his attention back to his mother and shrugged carelessly, "Yes, but most of the world is tuned into that news channel. I guess they all find what happened still surprising."

"You do as well, don't you? That's why you are still watching the same news channel since, well...," James' mom fell silent.

"It doesn't surprise me anymore really," he continued after the silence became uncomfortable, "I just find it...interesting in a way."

His mother looked at him for a moment.

"Finish your breakfast," she finally said to him as she walked to the front door, "We have to leave soon or else I'm going to be late for work."

"Okay, I'm almost done anyways," he replied picking his bowl back up.

James ate the last of his cereal and drank the milk left in it. After washing the bowl he packed his school bag and lugged it with him to his mom's Toyota. He ran back inside to brush his teeth and comb his hair. On his way to the front door he fished out a mint from his mother's sweet jar.

"James, come on!," she shouted at him as she simultaneously began pulling her car out of the driveway.

"Yeah, just wait a second!," he shouted back to her, pausing to lock the front door and throw the keys inside his bag. He opened the passenger door and hopped into the car, slamming the door shut.

"I swear, one of these days I am going to ride off without you," his mother told him as they drove towards his school.

"I know mom," James said rolling his eyes.

When the car reached the school entrance James' mom stopped the vehicle and lent over to hug her son, making him feel only briefly embarrassed. He turned in his seat and unclipped his seat belt, jumping out and onto the pavement. He pulled his bag over and onto his left shoulder again.

"Bye mom."

"Enjoy your day honey. And try to stay out of trouble," she told him jovially.

"Yeah, yeah. I will. Love you," he said back as he slammed the door shut for the last time.

He strode across the parking area and into the building, then down a couple of corridors and over to his register classroom where he dropped his schoolbag in the row of other bags. He flexed his shoulder and made his way outside and onto the field. As he ambled towards the rugby posts he saw a guy with wavy blonde hair and glasses jog over to him, grinning wryly.

"Hey Monty!," James called raising his arm for a high five from his best friend.

"Hey Jimmy!," Monty responded clapping James' waiting hand.

Monty knew that James hated the name from the very first day that he heard it so, naturally, Monty decided to call him by that name ever since. It annoyed James to no end.

"So, how's life?"

"Dude, I saw you three days ago," James reminded him. 'Just like I have to do every Monday,' he added to himself.

"So? A lot can happen in three days," came the expected reply on que.

"Yeah right."

With small talk done, they walked over to the thin tree that lay on the corner of the soccer field. It was the place where they usually hung out in the morning and at break. As the two of them neared the tree James saw Monty eyeing a nearby group of volleyball girls that were talking in low whispers. He smiled and punched his friend in the arm.

"Please tell me you finished your homework," he asked in a dramatic tone.

Monty turned back to James and feigned a groan, "Thanks for reminding me, and here I was thinking today wouldn't be so bad. No I didn't finish it," he lent against the peeling tree trunk and folded his arms, "What about you?"

James looked down at his feet and kicked at a clump of grass that sat apart from the rest, "Nah dude, I didn't even start it."

Monty frowned, "News channel again?"

James looked up and hesitated before he shrugged casually, "Yeah."

"I assume that you're going to be going to Mr Leary's class at break as well then?"

"Yeah," James repeated, "You wanna tag along?"

Monty shifted slightly in discomfort, "Nah man. I'm not into watching that stuff..."

"Don't tell me Monty Young is still scared," James smirked.

Monty gave his friend a hard look, "You shouldn't still be joking about things like that James, it's not right."

Of all the topics the two of them talked about, this was one neither one of them could agree or stop arguing on. Every week went down the same way, but James never gave up on the hope that he could get Monty to listen him at least once. He supposed that Monty hoped for the opposite.

James dropped his gaze, "It's not like that man. It's just that it's...," he struggled to find a good word.

"Hard to ignore?," Monty offered.

"Yes exactly," James replied lifting a finger, "I mean I still can't believe how crazy it is. For something like that to happen..."

"I don't want to talk about it dude," Monty said again, his face twisting into a small grimace.

"Okay, okay. I'll drop it," James promised holding up his hands.

"Thanks."

The bell rang, drawing their attention. Students started to slowly stream back into the school and they followed as well, in no hurry to get inside. James fixed his tie and looked above him at the drifting clouds. 'Now the day begins.'