One month ago:

  "Cayto. We need to talk."

  "What is it, Dad?"

  "Go to your room. We'll talk there."

  Feeling a knot in his stomach, Cayto dragged his feet to his bedroom and sat on the bed beside Martin. Martin looked at Cayto, who stared at his lap, averting his father's gaze. Then the older man opened the conversation:

  "I've noticed that you haven't been keeping up as much lately. Your teacher says you've been sleeping in class. An administrator from your school has told me that you’ve skipped your most recent student council meeting. The other day you brought home a B minus when you're normally an honor student, and yesterday, Sierra told me that you broke her favorite plate and lashed out at her for no reason. Then today you broke three shock tag vials at HACF. What's the matter with you? This isn't the mature, responsible Cayto I've always known."

  "I, uh…," Cayto began, but then he hesitated. Do I tell Dad I haven't been able to sleep for an entire week? He thought. Oh, nevermind. He'll probably just tell me that my anxiety and insomnia are not that big of a deal and I should simply get over it. "I'm tired, that's all."

  "Tired of what?"

  "Life, I guess."

  Martin shook his head. "That's not an excuse for your behavior," he stated. "Life can be exhausting, but that doesn't mean you can act in the way you've been acting lately. You are part of a distinguished family, and soon you'll be in charge of a company that's the biggest producer of electronics in Cloudgate. But right now, none of your behavior reflects that, and if anything, it's reflecting poorly on the rest of us, too. You better pull your act together while you can, because if you don't— " the man said as his voice dropped "—I may have to give up on you."

  As he gripped his bedsheets, Cayto felt himself tense up. "Do you really think I'm being a disappointment on purpose?" He retorted. "I'm literally burnt out because of…" no, I can't say it's because of you or Mom, Cayto thought, "...everything."

  Martin sighed. "Excuses excuses," he lamented. "I did not raise a son who made excuses for this kind of behavior. Burnout doesn't exist, you know. It's all in your head. Just get over it."

  A familiar sensation of dread washed over Cayto. "Then what if I told you I've been physically unable to fall asleep because I'm practically covered in shock burns from HACF, and because I can still hear Sierra's voice inside my head each night?" He asked his father. "Is that enough of an excuse for you?"

  Martin laughed at Cayto's question. "Oh, come on! Your mom isn't that bad, yet you make her out to be this evil, scary woman. She's just worried about the consequences of having you, a curse-bearer, around other people, that's all," he said. "And what do you mean by "voices inside your head?" Are you crazy? Only crazy people have voices in their head, and I know you're not crazy, Cayto."

  "Then what if I told you I didn't lash out at her for no reason, and that she lashed out at me first?" Cayto questioned. "In fact, I don't think I lashed out at her at all. What really happened was that I was washing the dishes, and accidentally dropped a plate. Then Mom blew up on me for breaking the plate and went on this tangent about how I destroyed her family and giving birth to me was her biggest mistake. I didn't say a word the whole time, but then she threw an empty glass bottle at me, and I dodged it. Since I thought it was hypocritical for her to get mad at me for breaking dishes while breaking more dishes herself, I pointed that out, and that's when she told me off for being disrespectful," he recounted.

  "To be fair, that plate was expensive, and glass bottles are cheap," Martin stated. "And think about it: even if your story is true and it was your mom who lashed out at you first, there's no way she would say something like that completely unprovoked— just look at yourself! While I do hope that investing in you will be worth it in the end, Sierra's not wrong about you being difficult. For example, you're always cold to everyone, then wonder why you don't have friends—"

  "Hey, you're the one who shamed me for showing any emotion at all, told me to break up with all of my past friends because they were "bad influences," and took away anything from me that made me happy so now I have nothing to connect to others with," Cayto pointed out.

  Martin rolled his eyes. "Backtalking, too? See, this is also why your mom wanted to get rid of you. You're nothing more than a spoiled, ungrateful brat that makes our lives difficult," he chastised. "Back when you were younger and well-behaved, I thought you had a chance, but now that you're almost grown up, suddenly you're being all lazy and stubborn, disrespecting us and making up stories about "burnout" to avoid responsibility. You're lucky I saw some potential in you despite your flaws, and that I didn't listen to your mom when she told me to disown you before things got worse. But here you are, making me look like the bad guy after all I've done for you."

  Cayto may have been too exhausted to get angry before, but now he was starting to feel his blood boil. "Fine! If I'm as much of a burden as you say I am, then I'll leave!" He snapped. "I never wanted to make shock tags, sign papers for the student council, or inherit your stupid business in the first place! I'm done with doing all this shit I hate just so you wouldn't get mad at me."

  "Fine. You can leave. But remember, if you leave, you'll have nowhere else to go." Martin reminded Cayto. "After all, Halifax Industries is the only place where a dirty, rotten curse-bearer like you will ever be wanted."

  ***

  One month later: (the present)

  Cayto had just moved into his new apartment, and he hated it. And why wouldn't he? First was the matter of his caretaker— who in Avriya had the genius idea of making Cayto live with his kidnapper? Though Orion tried to ease the tensions between him and Cayto with some useless "bonding" activities, Cayto rebuffed all of them. First, Orion tried to get Cayto to talk about himself:

  "Since we're here, why won't you introduce yourself to me?" Orion asked him.

  The boy gave Orion a cold look. "My name is Cayto, I'm seventeen going on eighteen, and I hate icebreakers. Next?"

  Orion sighed. "I dislike small talk as much as the next person, but you gotta cooperate more," he said. "You know I didn't mean for you to end up inside that van, but now that you're here, we're trying to accommodate you as best as we can."

  "If that’s what you’re trying to do, you’re not doing a very good job," Cayto said with a blank expression. "First, the heating in the shower doesn't work so I can't get clean without freezing my a— behind off. Second, it's impossible for me to sleep when there are explosions going off outside. Can't you tell Juliana to take them somewhere else so I don't get my ears blasted whenever I want to lie down?"

  Orion suppressed a laugh. "You really are a rich boy, aren't you?" He teased Cayto.

  "It has nothing to do with that!" Cayto retorted. "Just do something about the showers and explosions already."

  "I'm sorry, but the plumber won't come until Tuesday and I can't do anything about the explosions," Orion apologized. "Juliana has to practice for the Autumn's End Festival, y'know. The kids will be very disappointed if there are no fireworks this year—"

  Before Orion could finish speaking, Cayto headed for the door. "Hey! Where are you going?" The older mage asked as Cayto walked out of the room, slamming the door on him.

  After that, Orion attempted other methods to get Cayto to warm up to him. He tried asking more questions:

  "Cayto, what do you like about Avriya?"

  "Nothing. It's still a dumpster fire."

  "What are your hobbies?"

  "That's none of your business."

  "Do you have friends?"

  "No."

  "Oh. I'm really sorry to hear that."

  "I don't need your fake pity, Orion. I'm perfectly fine without them."

  "Then what about Ivan? You seemed to get along with him—"

  "He's not my friend!" Cayto protested, slightly flustered.

  "How about your home life, then? What is that like?"

  Silence.

  Orion sighed. "You're really hard to get along with, Cayto," he noted. "If talking about yourself doesn't work, would you like to play some games?"

  "I'm not interested in games."

  "Then how about we watch a movie?"

  "If it means you'll leave me alone for two hours, then yeah, I'll watch a movie," Cayto agreed, dragging himself to the living room before plopping onto the couch. Orion sat on the couch after him, grabbed the remote, and turned on the TV.

  "What kind of movies do you like?" Orion asked Cayto.

  "I don't know."

  "You don't know?"

  "Yeah. I usually just watch whatever my parents put on," Cayto replied.

  Suddenly that voice in Cayto's head began pestering him again. Oh look, it whispered. You don't even know what kind of movies you like? See, this is what happens when you spend your whole life on the straight and narrow, trying to appease your parents so you wouldn't become a reject, doing what you're supposed to do without ever listening to what you actually want. True, you may have been their high-achieving, responsible, obedient son, but are you anything more than that? You aren't. You don't even know who you are or what you like anymore, if you ever did at all. When was the last time you've truly been happy? When was the last time you connected with someone, anyone, on a deeper level? When was the last time you took a good look at yourself and felt anything other than emptiness, on a good day, or shame and disgust, on a bad day? Face it, Cayto. At the end of the day, you're no more than an empty, fragmented shell. No matter how many shock tags you charge, how many times you tear yourself apart and drown in self-hatred because you can't live up to society's expectations, how many times you try, and fail, to replace your own personality and dreams with the ones imposed on you because you hated everything about yourself and wished you were different, nobody will ever be satisfied with you—

  "Cayto? Are you still there?" Orion asked, a concerned look on his face.

  Cayto blinked. "Yes. I'm here." He stated. "Have you chosen a movie yet?"

  "I'm trying!" Orion replied as he selected a channel. The first movie he came across was a survival movie. "Acacia Forest: A Story of Struggle and Survival," he read. "How does that sound?"

  Cayto shrugged. "I dunno. I'll pass on that one."

  Orion changed the channel, and a description for an office romcom appeared on TV. "Rae, the latest hire at Frostfield Firms, keeps getting on her boss's nerves with her antics, but he eventually grows to be enamored by them— and by her."

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Cayto shook his head. "Pass again."

  Orion changed the channel again, and the news station appeared. A pale, bearded man held out a microphone, and a jacketed woman with a bobbed haircut and medium-brown skin stood next to him. Upon noticing the woman, Cayto gulped. "Don't change the channel yet," he instructed Orion.

  Orion nodded. "Okay."

  Meanwhile, the reporter on TV started speaking. "Hello, this is Lance Williams from Cloudgate Daily News," he introduced himself. "For today's story, we will be covering the disappearance of Cayto Halifax, Martin Halifax's son and the upcoming CEO of HI. We will also be interviewing a special guest, so everybody say hello to Sierra!"

  The woman in the leather jacket waved at the camera, and Cayto tensed up. Orion shot a nervous glance at Cayto. "Is that your mom?" The older mage asked.

  "Yes, unfortunately," Cayto mumbled.

  "What do you mean by "unfortunately?" Orion asked with a concerned look.

  "Nothing."

  On TV, the news reporter continued to speak. "One month ago, Cayto was last seen at the Halifax Aura Correctional Center in Thunderport, assisting with the distribution of shock tags to customers. HACF's receptionist had informed us that just before his disappearance, Cayto was seen leading a group of clients out of the building, supposedly to call an ambulance for one of them, who had fainted. Nobody had seen Cayto since then, and none of the clients he was with have gotten tagged, either. In fact, Cayto's disappearance seems to be linked with the string of disappearances of shock tag clients that have started occurring almost a year ago. We do not know who or what is causing these disappearances, but the police departments at Skypoint and Thunderport are on the case."

  Orion's eyes widened. "Wow. This is bad," he remarked. "I sure hope the police don't find us."

  On TV, the news reporter held out his microphone in front of Sierra. "Mrs Halifax, we're sorry about your situation. Your son going missing must be highly distressing for you. But other than that, is there anything you'd like to tell us about what happened to you?" He asked her.

  "Indeed there is," Sierra responded. "Though I do not know where Cayto may be, I think I may have another explanation for why he disappeared."

  "Really?" The reporter asked. "What is it?"

  "I believe he might have run away."

  The reporter looked taken aback. "Why would your son run away?" He questioned. "He never seemed like the type to do that. Also, you and your husband are quite wealthy, and from what I heard, you both treat Cayto rather well. Not to mention that he has a promising future ahead of him as a member of your family, and a spot reserved for him as the CEO of your husband's company, too! A lot of people would kill to be in your son's position. I wonder why he would abandon it."

  "So do I," Sierra agreed. "But according to my husband, he got into an argument with Cayto right before he dissapeared. Then Cayto threatened to leave, claiming he's fed up with us when we've been nothing but kind to him," she reported. "I didn't think he was serious at first, but then he disappeared without a trace, taking nothing with him except for his phone and the clothes on his back. It's all quite strange, really. I don't know if Cayto is going through some teenage rebellion phase or if it's something else, but he was acting extremely odd before he left. The way he ran away is atypical for him, too— I thought that if Cayto did go off on his own, he'd at least be better prepared and take more items with him, since he's normally quite organized. But no, he barely took anything. I'm puzzled."

  The reporter gave Sierra an acknowledging nod. "I can imagine how confusing this must be for you," he responded. "Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

  "Yes, but would you mind giving me the mic? I have one last message for the viewers of this program," Sierra replied as Lance handed her the microphone. Then Sierra turned directly to the camera. "Cayto, I know you're out there, and your dad and I miss you," she said with a sickening sweetness disguising hostility. "But as soon as you come home, we're gonna have a long talk." Then she handed the microphone back to Lance, who looked ever the more perplexed. Meanwhile, in Orion's living room, a faint gasp could be heard from Cayto.

  "Whoa, what was that?" Orion remarked. "You looked uncomfortable when your mom appeared. Also, did you actually want to run away from home?"

  Cayto shook his head. "No, I didn't want to run away," he answered. "It was just a stupid thing I blurted out in the heat of the moment, and it happened to be right before I got abducted by you all. So now my mom thinks I actually ran away." And I'm gonna get in huge trouble for it once I get home, Cayto thought. That is, unless I clear up the misunderstanding and prove I got kidnapped.

  "Do you miss your parents?" Orion asked.

  An uneasy expression fell over Cayto. "I don't know," he said.

  ***

  The Silver Run District's main office, which was a ten minute walk from Orion's apartment, had an empty front desk and a bulletin board in the waiting area. Cayto, who was planning to bring up a complaint about his housing situation to the office, sat on the couch by the bulletin board, reading the fliers, ads, and notices posted on it while he waited. It wasn't so much that he found the board all that interesting, but it was right in front of him, and he had nothing to do, so that was how he spent his extra time.

  Autumn's End Festival 2048— West Shore, Avriya, one flier read with an image of three fireworks in the sky. Go to Long Beach for an evening of fun and festivities! Party will include:

  Dancing

  Food and drink stalls

  Carnival games

  Competitions

  Firework viewing

  And more!

  Event will be held on November 26 from 5-9 pm. Special thanks to the students and staff at Silver Run Academy for making it happen.

  We'll see you there!

  Cayto looked at the flier disinterestedly. He knew he wasn't going to attend the Autumn's End Festival despite the fact that everybody at school was talking about it, specifically who was bringing who as a date. They could waste their time gossiping for all he cared— Cayto wouldn't be around. If all went well, he'd be out of Avriya before then.

  But what if you actually wanted to go? The voice inside his head piped up. Wouldn't you want to ask out—

  Shut it, Cayto thought. I'm not asking anyone out, I'm not going, and that is final.

  The next post on the bulletin board that Cayto read was an ad for something called the Aura Games. Attention, mages! The top of the paper displayed in a big font. Now you can win money and prizes by competing in tournaments involving magic! Check out our website for more details. Below the headline was a QR code, which Cayto would've scanned had his phone not been confiscated when he was "rescued" from HACF. Well crap, he thought. I could've used the money. Note to self: retrieve my cell phone and check out the website.

  Next to the Aura Games ad was a notice for an aura level evaluation test on November 6th, which Cayto shuddered at. Not gonna be doing that again, he thought. Not after what happened last time. No way.

  "You know you'll have to do the evaluation test to participate in the Games, right?" A high-pitched, girlish voice spoke up.

  Cayto turned around to look at the speaker, coming face-to-face with a pink-haired girl. "Alexis?" He asked, startled by the telepath's presence. "Can you not read my mind without my permission, please?"

  Alexis laughed. "No way," she said. "Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to. You think way too loudly."

  "I what?"

  "Yeah, you're a loud thinker. I can practically hear you from across the room when we're at school," she told Cayto.

  Cayto looked at Alexis with a dumbfounded expression. "And what am I supposed to do with this information?" He enquired.

  "Nothing," Alexis said as she grinned cheekily. "In fact it makes for great blog content."

  "Blog content?" Cayto asked, a hint of anxiety in his voice. "What do you mean by that? Wait, no— don't tell me you've been uploading my thoughts to the internet, have you?"

  Alexis laughed again. "Hey, if you think that me posting a few of your unspoken insults without your name attached is bad, wait until you hear about this one author who uploads all of your thoughts on writing websites, and with your name too! Well, not all of your thoughts, but still, most of them."

  "Tell this author to stop posting about me then," Cayto replied, visibly disturbed by Alexis's comment.

  Alexis shrugged. "Sorry, I can't. She lives in another dimension."

  Cayto let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, so you were lying about the author. Thank goodness."

  "I never lie," Alexis stated, giving Cayto her signature wide-eyed stare. "And by the way, I know where your phone is. I'll tell you how to get it back on two conditions:

  1) That you never use it to call your parents again unless it's to tell them about how awful they were and that you're leaving them forever and

  2) That you don't tell anybody outside of Avriya about Avriya. No turning us over to the authorities. I know your plan, Cayto."

  Cayto took a few steps back. "Okay, this is getting creepy," he remarked. "You know way too much about me and it's making me uncomfortable. I'll just find a way to get out of here without using my phone, thank you very much. I can always buy a new one."

  "So that's what you're gonna do? Turn down my deal and try to leave anyway?" Alexis asked with a menacing look. "Fine! Then I'll tell everybody about your plan to escape and turn us over so it will be extra hard for you! At this point it's your choice: would you rather be stuck on Avriya without your phone or with your phone?" She offered. Then she winked and lowered her voice. "I'll give you Ivan's number once you get it back."

  Cayto felt his cheeks burn. "Alright, I accept your conditions," he agreed, throwing his hands up. "But this is going too far. I'm only agreeing because I have no other choice, you know."

  A triumphant smirk made its way across Alexis's face. "Go to room 5 of this building. Find the safe on the countertop by the window. Open the safe. Passcode is 1230," she told him. "And by the way, I have another condition— remember to follow my blog. I'll give you the link once you get your phone back."

  "Should I give you my contact information?" Cayto asked.

  "No need to. I already know how to contact you."

  Cayto walked away from Alexis as fast as possible. Man, this girl's terrifying, he thought. Then, following the telepath's instructions, he made his way down the corridor to a room labeled 5, and opened the door. Thankfully the room was empty, with the exception of a round table, a few chairs, and some shelves. Just as Alexis had told him, he located the safe on a countertop to the left, pressed in the passcode, and opened the safe. I swear if this is some sort of trick…

  The safe clicked open, with Cayto's phone inside. He exhaled. Thank the spirits, he thought, reaching for his phone. Cayto tried turning it on, but his phone was dead, so he put it in his pocket. Chances are I'm not supposed to be here, he thought. Better if I leave unnoticed.

  Just then, Cayto heard footsteps outside and held his breath, hiding behind the door. Fortunately, they passed as quickly as they came. After the footsteps could no longer be heard, Cayto peeked at the corridor through the gap between the door and the doorframe to see if it was safe to go outside. Nobody else was there. Seeing that the coast was clear, he left the room.

  Now that he had retrieved his cell phone, Cayto moved on to his next task: filing a complaint to the main office, which was the reason why he came in the first place. Walking down the corridor in the opposite direction, he ended up back by the reception desk, where a man sat. "Hello?" Cayto asked. "May I have a word with you?"

  The man looked up at Cayto through his glasses. "Sure," he responded. "What is it that you have to say?"

  "I really don't like my new apartment," Cayto explained. "Is it possible to move to another one?"

  The man shook his head. "Sorry, but that's not an option," he answered. "But what is it that you don't like? Perhaps we can make some changes to your current living situation so it will be more pleasant for you."

  "My main issue is with the explosions," Cayto replied. "It's impossible to sleep when Juliana is setting off explosions in the parking lot outside the building."

  "You know those are fireworks, right?" The man asked. "Juliana's setting off fireworks to practice for the Autumn's End Festival."

  Cayto sighed. "Yes, I know they're fireworks, which are really just pretty explosions," he acknowledged. "And if having them is that important for the Autumn's End Festival, why can't you all just buy them like normal people? Relying on magic to produce fireworks seems dangerous to me. Auras are unstable. There's too much of a risk that comes with using them for that purpose."

  "We're on a budget, Cayto. Store-bought fireworks get expensive around this time of year," the man said.

  "...Oh." Cayto paused. "So can Juliana at least move her practice site somewhere else?"

  The man adjusted his glasses. "We'll see about that," he replied. "Do you have any other complaints?"

  "Yes. The shower temperature doesn't work, the toilet floods a lot, the beds are squeaky, and Orion always brings home instant noodles each day. I don't even like instant noodles," Cayto complained. "Also, why am I living with my kidnapper?"

  The man sighed. "Orion's going through a rough spot right now," he explained. "Have some sympathy for him. He's setting aside his time and resources for you while struggling on his own already."

  "I mean, it can't be that hard to find another adult I can live with, right?" Cayto asked.

  The man shook his head again. "Unfortunately, it is that hard. Avriya, especially the Silver Run region of Avriya, has a problem of having too many children and teens and not enough adults to take care of them. The few adults that do live here are often unable to make space for another person in their homes."

  "Oh. Guess I'll stick with Orion's apartment, then," Cayto agreed. Then, with a heavy feeling in his gut, he walked away.

  I should have expected an answer like that, Cayto thought, disappointed. After all, it is common knowledge that aura-havers, on average, live much shorter lives than the rest of the population.

  But hey, at least that means I'll get to die sooner.