Marcus
"Still searching for a way home…"
Mr. Carter's voice echoed through the classroom, steady and distant.
The Odyssey.
A story about someone lost, trying to return to a place that might not even exist anymore.
Funny.
Because that part hit me harder than anything else.
Not because I was listening.
But because I understood it.
Somewhere inside me… that idea wasn't fiction.
It was personal.
I wasn't even sure what "home" meant anymore.
The house I lived in now? Yes.
But the one before that—
The one buried behind the missing years—
That place didn't exist in my mind.
Or maybe it did.
I just couldn't reach it.
The words on the board started to blur.
My eyes felt heavy.
Not normal tiredness.
Something deeper.
Like my body was pulling away from me.
Riley tapped my foot under the desk.
"Don't sleep," she whispered.
It was a joke.
But I didn't laugh.
Because I wasn't tired.
I was slipping.
The air in the classroom changed.
It felt thicker.
Warmer.
Like the room itself was slowly tightening around me.
Mr. Carter kept reading.
"…Odysseus… still searching…"
My heartbeat stuttered.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
Everything tilted.
Riley's voice cut through it.
"Marcus?"
But it was too far away now.
Too distorted.
The classroom dissolved.
The Forest Returns
I was standing in the forest again.
Same place.
Same impossible firelight bleeding through the trees.
No sound.
No wind.
Just heat pressing against my skin like something alive was breathing through the air.
Chains rattled somewhere ahead.
Slow.
Metallic.
Dragging.
Then I saw it.
A figure.
Tall.
Still.
Dressed in white that didn't belong in a place like this.
Its face was not clear.
But its presence—
Its presence felt like recognition.
"Rocco…"
The voice didn't come from outside.
It came from inside my head.
"You're running out of time."
The chains snapped tighter somewhere beyond the trees.
"You were supposed to remember by now."
The fire surged forward.
Fast.
Too fast—
"Marcus!!"
Back to Reality
I jolted awake so hard my book flew off the desk and hit the floor.
The classroom erupted in laughter.
But it sounded distant.
Muted.
Like I was still partially somewhere else.
My chest rose and fell too quickly.
Mr. Carter lowered his glasses slowly.
He looked at me like I had personally insulted literature itself.
"Mr. Cole," he said flatly, "if Homer has become too overwhelming for you, perhaps you'd like to read aloud instead."
"N-no, sir," I muttered. "Sorry."
He nodded once and continued like nothing happened.
Riley leaned closer.
"Hey," she whispered. "You fully spaced out. What happened?"
I wiped sweat from my forehead.
"I don't know," I lied.
When I bent down to pick up my book—
I saw it.
Black smudges on the floor.
I froze.
Ash.
Cold.
Real.
My stomach dropped instantly.
That wasn't part of the dream anymore.
That was here.
In the real world.
Lunch
The bell rang like an escape signal.
Everyone rushed out.
I didn't.
My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
I kept wiping them on my jeans, but the feeling didn't go away.
Riley stayed close the entire walk to the cafeteria.
Watching me.
Checking me.
Like I might disappear again.
The cafeteria hit us with noise and heat.
Food smells. Chairs scraping. Voices overlapping.
Normal life pretending nothing was wrong.
We sat down at our usual table.
Noah looked up immediately.
"What took you guys so long?"
Riley didn't sit before speaking.
"Marcus fainted in literature."
My head snapped toward her.
"Riley—"
"I'm not lying," she said quickly. "He fully blacked out."
Noah's eyes widened.
"Wait—what?"
"I didn't faint," I muttered, dropping my tray. "I just zoned out."
"That wasn't zoning out," Riley said seriously. "You were frozen. Eyes open. Gone."
Noah leaned forward now.
"That's not normal, Marcus."
I hated the way they looked at me.
Like I was fragile.
Like I was breaking.
"I'm fine," I said, gripping my water bottle.
"Fine?" Riley gave a short laugh. "There was ash on your desk."
Noah froze.
"Ash?"
I swallowed hard.
"It's nothing."
"No, it's not nothing," he said gently.
Riley lowered her voice.
"Tell us what you saw."
Silence.
The cafeteria noise faded into something dull.
I stared at my hands.
At the faint black marks still clinging to my skin.
And for a moment—
I considered telling them.
Everything.
The forest.
The fire.
The voice calling me Rocco.
But—
A tray slammed onto our table.
Darren Returns
We looked up.
Darren.
One of Bryce's group.
Smirking like he'd been waiting for this exact moment.
"Seriously?" Noah muttered, standing slightly.
Darren ignored him.
His eyes stayed on me.
"Cole," he said slowly. "Didn't expect to see you in literature today."
Noah stepped forward.
"Back off, Darren."
But Darren didn't move.
He leaned closer instead.
"You should be careful," he said quietly.
His voice dropped.
"And some people wouldn't be happy to see you back."
Silence.
That word—
Back.
My body reacted before my mind did.
A cold drop in my stomach.
Riley frowned immediately.
"What does that mean?" she muttered.
But Darren was already walking away.
Like he'd said exactly what he came to say.
No more.
No less.
I stared after him.
My vision tightened slightly at the edges.
Something in me shifted.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
Like something inside me had just woken up and started listening.
Riley touched my arm.
"Marcus?"
But I didn't answer.
Because suddenly—
I wasn't sure anymore if I was being followed.
Or being remembered.