Chapter 1

I felt a little guilty that day. I skipped school because I just didn't feel like going. It wasn't for anything awesome, like a trip to a chocolate factory- I just didn't want to go, and my parents didn't care enough to force me as they left for work in the morning. My mom called the school and told them that I need some time for "rest and contemplation." I guess I have pretty cool parents. Then again, after that day, I never wanted to skip school again.

I was sitting in my living room watching some court show on television when a few loud, fast, obnoxious knocks came from my front door. My parents told me to just ignore anybody who comes to the door- safety around strangers and all that. I turned the television up louder and hoped that whoever it was would leave- maybe the person at the door would think that I couldn't hear them and would come back later.

Then, the knocks came again.

"It's urgent, Hegennerry, open up!" There was a gruff voice at the door- this guy knew my last name and even pronounced it right- maybe he wasn't some stranger? I was kind of nervous, but I wanted to know who he was. He banged on the door again as I ran down the hall, and through the frosted glass door I saw the shadow of a man in a trench coat. My hands were shaking a little as I opened the door. Before me there stood a man- he was kind of old, and had a face full of lines- most of them were on his forehead, and I guessed that he spent most of his spare time frowning. Little wisps of white hair sat in a circle around his head- this guy was going bald.

"Young Mr. Hegennerry, I presume?" He sounded bored- even if he knew my first name was Hildan, he didn't seem to care enough to use it.

"Yeah, that's me. Who are you?"

"Where are your parents?"

His coat was unbuttoned for some reason, and it unfurled like a flag in the chilly November wind, revealing a white tuxedo underneath. I stared at it for a moment before answering.

"They're at work, do you want me to-"

"Tell them that the trials were a disaster."

The man quickly turned around and walked away. I watched his coat flapping in the wind as he made his way off our porch and headed for the street. He got into a small gray car that was parked on the curb, and I decided to shut the door before he noticed I was still staring at him.

I went back to watching television and forgot about the mysterious man until my parents came home.

"So mom, how was your day?"

She shrugged. "Pretty ordinary. We got another box of kittens." My mom runs an animal shelter- it's a surprisingly dull place. Of course, this is a surprisingly dull town. I mean, it's not boring- we have museums and stuff- it's just that our local newspaper is full of stuff that happens in other towns, because nothing happens here.

"Nothing interesting, huh?"

She paused for a moment.

"One of the kittens wound up named Bartholomeow. That's it, really." She went upstairs to take a shower as my dad got started on dinner.

Later that night as we were sitting around the dinner table, I told my parents about the visitor. I wasn't used to seeing them worried, and when I told them what happened, they both started acting like they were different people. It was as if they were scared that the man who was at the door never drove away, and he was about to crawl out from under the table and burn our house down.

"He said that the trials were a disaster? Did he tell you about the advan- did he tell you anything else?"

"No. He got in his car and left."

After exchanging a look, my parents calmed down pretty quickly.

"He was probably from the DMV," said my dad after a long silence. "I think he was talking about the trial- you know, that new emissions test. That's probably it."

"Probably," I muttered. I could tell my dad was lying. Seriously, did he think I was still five or something? I knew that something was going on- I just didn't know what. That night, I stared at my ceiling for a good long time. I had no idea what was going on- were my parents crooks? That guy looked like he might've been in the mob, or maybe the FBI. That would explain the tuxedo.

I don't remember much of the next morning- I was half- asleep as my parents practically dragged me to the car. It was still pretty dark outside as I fell asleep in the back seat.

As I dozed off, I caught little pieces of conversation.

"…I hope they don't get rid of him."

"I won't let them," my dad sighed. "He's worth too much for…"

Before I heard the end of his sentence, I was asleep.