The Duns

The Ceremony

Chapter Three

Peter

6:00pm

I stare at myself while changing into a white shirt and suit- appropriate for the important function today. My scars are healing, slowly, marks of what torture the ridiculous giant had put me through, all his 'generosity' having disappeared after mom's recent death; a new one that I had just received from his ruthless whip is now turning into its usual shade of purple.

My skin is similar to my mother's, as are my eyes and hair, but the rest of the features of my face resembled my father exactly. I pull up my trousers and fix on a belt, letting go of the aching memories.

I already know a little about what I am. We call ourselves 'Oi Alloi' or 'The Others'. We are a group of normal everyday people with extraordinary powers; not always physical, but powers that make us different, greater.

Our leader, though no one knows his real name, is called Igetis. He is the oldest and strongest of us all. No one dares to stand against him- it would be too big a risk often ending in unknown death- which was hilarious because we all know who committed the sin.

Oh, and fun fact: No one has ever seen his face-ever.

Igetis starts giving each one of us missions from our very first year of joining Oi Alloi. These often mean killing innocent people or putting them in deep trouble- but hey, no one stands up to Igetis.

On turning 17, every member of the Oi Alloi attends a special Ceremony, and when they walk out, they are henceforth termed as 'men'.

I pull on my blazer and button up all three buttons that positioned themselves lower down. I smile at myself in the mirror as I brush through my hair with my hand. Max was right. Taking one last glance at the happy boy that faced me, I suck in a deep breath in and leave the room just as Ester howls for me from the outside.

I quickly jog out of the house and pull open the backseat door for myself, settling in. I should be thinking about what was coming up this evening, on me turning 17, the Grand Ceremony that would be held for me and all the other 17 year olds having now reached 'adulthood', but all I can think of was her hand in mine, her torturous smile. I groan quietly. I will miss her more than I can express.

I sigh and look away from the window, staring down at my palms.

Sometimes happiness is a pain in the ass.

6:45pm

7 boys- all in formal wear-are lined up against each other on the oh-so-familiar stage. Our parents once again, are seated in front of us, except for three things: (1) Mine are both dead; (2) Even though the surroundings are similar, the reason is most certainly not and; (3) The audience is filled with males only- no sight of feminine bodies are visible- or allowed to be visible here right now.

Igetis occupies our Principals place onstage at the lectern, the school emblem still distinguishable, and is delivering the most convincing speech to everyone seated inside the auditorium. He is wearing a long black coat- as always- that covers every single part of his body. A hood covers his face, making me wonder how he could see anything. But today, my mind is somewhere else.

Since we got here, there has been a sixth sense in my mind, constantly trying to tell me- perhaps even warn me, almost something of a lethologica. It is terribly annoying, and is making me desperate. There's someone out here. Someone not part of the Oi Alloi. Who? Where? But scaringly, the very idea of me able to sense something like this is spooky. Igetis had mentioned about our powers finally coming to be, but I never expected them to come to light this soon, or for them to be this effective.