13 13. Breakfast Club.

ADAM DAVIS.

Sunday morning and Adam was alone. He could no longer recognize his own home. The smiles that painted the walls, the voices that filled the halls were absent. His mother spent all of her time at the hospital. Adam was trapped in a personalized nightmare. Aren't all nightmares personalized? Woven by the fabric of our subconscious? A hell of our own making.

Sunday used to be reserved for the family, especially breakfast. Instead, he ate cold cereal alone. It used to be the three of them. It wasn't even good cereal. Just some healthy air. Since his father's first serious illness, his mother was very particular about everything. Maybe it was her way to cope. Her way to feel as if she had any sway over death. 

After a scenic drive through Tony's fancy side of Bell Valley, he came to an even more fancy section. The rich of the rich. The Mahari mansion stood proud in dark grey and glass walls. Adam didn't know much about architecture but he was sure this was some kind of architectural masterpiece. 

The house hidden in the thicket seemed to be part of nature. It was a fusion of something he just didn't know. He however knew one person who would, Steve. He remembered how bad Steve had looked the day before at the beach. An image flashed of Steve's glowing blue eyes. Everything was going too fast. He hoped that in that meeting, they would get answers or least of all, fair warning on exactly what was to come.

"Glad you could make it." Mandy greeted at the door. He couldn't sense sarcasm in her voice.

"How is he?" Adam asked, walking in.

"Recovering." she answered seriously.

She led him down a hallway and into what looked like a formal dining room. It was minimally yet tastefully decorated. A floor to ceiling glass wall pierced the glory from outside. Adam had never seen anything like it before. A very natural looking pond sat right at the edge of the glass. It was breathtaking. He could spot gleaming golden scales.

"It's all natural." Mandy whispered to him.

Steve walked in from another room, book in hand. Adam could tell immediately that the room went tense. Steve dropped the book on the table and everyone nearly jumped up.

"Relax," Steve chuckled. "It won't bite."

"H ..how can y...y... you say that?" Ben struggled.

"Yeah, that thing nearly killed us the last time we saw it." Josh added.

"I know but it did apologize." Steve said with a smile. Was he joking?

"Okay nutso! We need to find the connection." Mia said.

"There clearly is one." Mandy posed after a while.

"Maybe the book is doing it." Adam seconded.

"No." Steve jumped in.

"Well what else could it be?" Adam returned.

"It could be that you're jumping into conclusions…"

"Umm… guys." Beth's voice cut everyone short. The book had been moving. No one was touching it.

"Okay, this is creepy as fuck!" Mia retorted. "You mean to tell me that the book that nearly blew our brains out couldn't possibly throw ships at us?"

"Yes, that's the only logical conclusion."

"Don't patronize me, Mandy." Mia warned.

"I was agreeing with you," Mandy corrected. "I say we destroy it. We have a furnace in the south wing. It will leave no trace."

"Yes." Adam agreed.

"No! We're not destroying anything." 

With that, Steve stood up and so did Mandy. As the two yelled, Adam could see the book beginning to move again. Beth, who was directly across, gave him a puzzled look. The book was moving rapidly up and down. He didn't like it one bit. The piercing headache from the library was enough motivation.

"Shut up!" Adam said, slamming his palm into the table. "Look at it."

Everyone stopped and once again, it settled down. They were in over their heads. Everyone turned to Steve. More clarity was needed. Steve took a seat and closed his eyes. 

"What is he doing?" Mia asked and Steve shushed her. "Rude."

"I was expecting something a bit more dramatic." Beth said from her position looking out into the pond.

"This is what I did last time." Steve defended.

"No you didn't. Back in the car, the book just randomly did it."

"Well I don't know, Mandy." Steve sighed, aggravated.

"Well, I'm hungry." Josh announced, heading into the kitchen.

"Don't touch my bacon!" Mandy ran after him.

Everyone pretty much went into the kitchen to eat Mandy's bacon. Apparently the pigs it was made from had honey in their diet. If you asked Adam, it tasted like regular bacon. After grabbing a piece he walked back to the doorway. Steve was still seated, flipping the empty pages. Just as he approached, Josh appeared and sat next to Steve. Adam sighed and walked away.

He found himself wandering the halls. The Mahari mansion was intimidating. Deceptively understated. From everywhere in the house he went, there was always a view of the nature outside. Finally he arrived at a long hallway. Pictures hang all over the house. He knew Mandy's father, who didn't. He was a tech tycoon and philanthropist. Her mother was born for the camera. Tall and gorgeous. Her ebony skin burning with gold upon his surface. 

Then he came to a small frame that was easy to miss. It looked the most genuine. Here, Mandy looked truly happy. Beside her were two grinning boys. Steve and Josh. They were on a boat. Adam bit back, remembering how he and his dad always took Steve along. Just as he reached out to touch it, he heard someone cry something and he ran towards it. 

He arrived at the previous room. The book was open and Steve's eyes were glowing that blaze blue. Like blue flames whipped within his orbs. Finally the book dropped and Steve went back to normal. Visibly exasperated. Mandy held his hand, righting him on his chair. Everyone stayed silent in anticipation.

"I can't tell you… it was all too much. I… I couldn't…" Steve heaved. "But it can show all of you."

"How?". Beth asked.

"We all touch it. All of us." he whispered.