At 13, my learning disability really made me depressed; I was to begin junior high. Over the past years, Domenic and I forged a great friendship. He was to be in 7th grade as well. (He was held back in 6th grade.) I had told Domenic about my learning disability and he listened without interruption. He only posed a question here and there, helping me along my way. It was the beginning of November, when I noticed Domenic trying to avoid me. I never fully understood why. On our bus ride home, I tried talking with him, but he skirted away. I finally gave up and worked on some of my homework. When the bus came to my bus stop, I got out and walked down the sidewalk to my house; I looked over my shoulder and saw Domenic step off out of the bus and onto the sidewalk. He started down but was stopped abruptly when some black car screeched out of an alleyway and stopped in front of him. A man stepped out of the driver’s seat and talked briefly with Domenic. I heard Domenic say something, but another man stepped out from behind a tree and knocked him unconscious. I couldn’t believe it, but I just had witnessed a kidnapping. I ran the rest of the way to my house, and told my mother. She didn’t believe me. I implored and cajoled her into checking, she finally consented. We went out onto our porch and looked down the street; there was nothing, no black car, no man, no Domenic. My mother turned to me and said, “Mike, you really had me hooked, but I remember the time you told me that your brother was an alien. Are you feeling alright?” I shook with quiet anger, I just saw my best friend kidnapped and my mom doesn’t understand? I stormed into the house and up the stairs to my room. I closed the door and threw myself onto my unmade bed. I was mad, no, I was furious. Hot, scalding tears ran down my face. I didn’t brush them away, I let them run free. I was awakened by Shawn, I looked at my wrist watch and was surprised at the time it was 6:30. I must’ve cried myself to sleep, because my eyes were really red, and puffy. I arose from my bed, and followed Shawn downstairs. When I entered the dining room, my parents were seated and talking in low voices. They grew quiet when I entered. Talking about me, I surmised. I didn’t care. We began eating our supper when the phone rang. My mom excused herself and went to answer it. She came back minutes later, “Mike, Mrs. Daniels is on the phone.” I jumped up from my chair and walked into the kitchen. I picked up the phone and I heard Mrs. Daniels weeping. I didn’t know what to do, so I remained quiet and waited. Mrs. Daniels finally composed herself and asked, “Michael, do you remember seeing Domenic on the bus? He hasn’t come home yet, and I was wondering, being his friend and all, that you might know where he has gone.” I chocked, “Umm… yes. He was on the bus, but I saw him picked up by someone.” Mrs. Daniels grew very, very quiet, “Who?” she asked. I didn’t know, “The person I saw was about 5’6 maybe in his late 30s, early 40s.” I heard Mrs. Daniels gasp. She thanked me and hung up. I stumbled back into the dining room, my mind racing. I tried finishing my supper but couldn’t. My mother noticed this and suggested I go to bed. I did just that.
In the middle of the night, I was awakened by a ping pang of a stone being thrown at my window. I got up and dressed myself and walked over to the window. Down on the front sidewalk stood Domenic. I quietly walked downstairs and onto the porch, there I put my shoes on. Domenic walked up to me and said, “I am in trouble. I need your assistance.” I was a bit groggy but I agreed. Domenic then handed me a small disk, and disappeared into the growing fog. As I was walking into my house I heard a screech of tires and a slamming of doors. I knew Domenic had been followed. I raced up to my room and booted my computer up. A video opened up and began playing. It showed illegal smugglings and one image remained, on one of the people’s forearm was a black snakehead. I panicked when I heard shuffling around. I removed the CD and placed it in a secret pocket in my backpack. Jumped into bed, and pretended to sleep. My mom opened my door and peered in. She didn’t walk further in, just stood in the doorway. Several minutes had passed and she left my room shutting the door quietly behind her. I tried sleeping but my mind was racing.

Saturday morning dawned and I was the first person awake. Go figure. My parents weren’t up yet, so I decided to go for a walk. The night chill wasn’t totally gone yet but I saw the first rays of sunlight in the eastern sky. I walked down the sidewalk, past the Daniels residence, past the McGovern residence, and past Jim Thorpe Park. As I walked, my mind drifted back to last night. I didn’t understand why but as I reviewed the events from last night, I uncovered a peculiarity of what had transpired. Domenic’s appearance seemed wrong. He should’ve been wearing his black sports jacket. He wasn’t. I also noticed a peculiarity in the way he spoke. The Domenic I knew, had a clearer voice, the one I met last night spoke quietly but with a sinister underpinning. As I mauled this realization over in my mind, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise. Was I being watched? I didn’t want to know because my mind was on a heightened alert. Believe me this scared me more than the thought of being watched did. I am not the sort of kid who is nervous beyond comprehension. Ask my parents, I am a level-headed 13- year-old. I took off down the road like a scared jackrabbit, I knew my way around the neighborhood, and so I ducked and weaved in and out of alleyways. Behind me, I heard tires squeal but they soon dissipated. My lungs screamed for air, and my legs begged me to stop, but I couldn’t. I was being pursued. I rounded the corner of my block from the back way and I saw a black car sitting 2000 ft down the road, diagonal to my house. I retreated into the shadows of a hedge and thought. I needed to get to the alley and come in from behind. So I retraced my steps and ended up on St. Charles Ave. I found the alley and walked down it. At the end of the alleyway I saw another person staring at me, not the casual glance mind you, but a serious gaze. I wasn’t 100% sure if that person was a friend or an enemy. As I entered my backyard I heard what sounded like the thrumming of helicopter rotors. The sound of the rotors reverberates in my skull even now: Thrum-Thrum-Thrum. I made it into my house and I walked to the kitchen, grabbed a can of soda and sat down at the table my head in my hands. I sat at the table for what I think as being half an hour, and then I remembered the CD and my strange encounter. I took my can of soda and walked to my room. The CD was still in my backpack, so I took it out. Again the screen filled with the illegal smugglers and one soul image, the man with the black snake head on his forearm. Then the screen changed into something different, it appeared to show deep in some warehouse an assembly line. What came off the assembly sent chills up and down my spine; an army of clones based off of my best friend. I knew I had to tell someone so what I did was telephone my friend, Gregory Hitchcox. You see, his father was an agent for the CIA, and his son was up-to-date on every ‘organization.’
When he arrived I took him straight up to my room and showed him my rough rendition of the black snakehead, because I didn’t want him to know what I knew. When he looked at it he simply said, “Serpent Brotherhood.” I was surprised to hear my friend so stoic, usually he would be pouring over every inch of the drawing, trying to figure it out but he just sat on my desk chair with a straight face. I grew nervous, “Serpent Brotherhood. What’re they?” Gregory answered stoically, “A group of power hungry men over in England, they aren’t as ‘radical’ as most ‘organizations’ are.” I nodded, thanked him and he went home. I, in the meantime, did a little research, and found nothing on them except a small article that wasn’t much help. I decided to hit the library. When I arrived no one was there except for the librarian and her kids. I migrated over to a shady area of the library, away from prying eyes, setting my backpack by my foot. I motioned to the librarian and she came over to me. When I told her what I was looking for she immediately went to the mythology and informational sections of the library and brought back a couple large books, The Rise of the Black Serpent, and The Brotherhood Ideals and set them on the table in front of me. She disappeared and I dove into the books. I discovered that the brotherhoods originally stemmed from ancient ideals established by ancient Celtic and Roman beliefs. Originally the brotherhoods were established to balance out two parties, as a neutral party, but soon, under the governing of Tyrone Lucas II, they became what we now know as ‘organizations.’

I was so engrossed in my research that I wasn’t aware of the sun slipping behind the horizon. I was about to leave but I found out later that it was 11:30 in the evening. I couldn’t as well get home the library was locked. So I found a coach in a side room and fell asleep there. The next time I opened my eyes I found sunlight streaming through the windows. Already morning I thought. I looked at my watch and sat up with a start: 7:30 in the morning. I arose and stretched and found the librarian at her desk. When I walked over to the desk she looked up with a start, “Michael? You were here all night?” I nodded trying to hide my embarrassment, “Yes, I got engrossed in the two books you gave me yesterday that I lost track of time.” She smiled and waved goodbye. When I arrived home no one was there to scold me so I moseyed up to my bedroom, changed my clothes and walked to school. One of the librarians kids came up to me and asked, “Mike did you stay at my mom’s library all night?” I nodded and shushed him. He walked off. I, in the meantime, caught up several friends of mine. We horsed around until the bell rang and then proceeded inside. The first several classes weren’t much to talk about. In between my classes I caught a glance of Domenic, though I’d call him an imposter Domenic. Anyway I caught up with him and exchanged some words. His answers were vague so I left him. I threw a quick glance over my shoulder and saw him talking to a silhouetted figure. I knew he must be talking about me, I hightailed it out of there. It was during my lunch break that I noticed the silhouetted figure and imposter Domenic walking toward me. I whispered to my friends to talk to me. They didn’t understand why and I didn’t give them an answer. When they got within a stone’s throw of me I heard them talking, “Is he the one we’re looking for?” Imposter Domenic answered, “Yeah, he’s the one but I don’t think we should bother him right now. His friends might protect him.” The silhouetted figure smiled, “Not if we stun them before we take him.” Imposter Domenic smiled and laughed wickedly, “That would work.” The silhouetted figure brought out a small stick like thing and flicked it on. What emitted from the stick like thing was a high pitched scream. I covered my ears but the sound still reverberated in my head.