The sun shone brightly in the world. The weather has been warmer since March. Edmund woke up a few seconds ago but didn't want to leave his bed yet, so he snuggled a bit. His eyes were burning due to lack of sleep, thanks to his twin sister, Evelyn. They were awake till midnight because she had to "draw" the new creature she learned in class in her sketchbook, and it must be "perfect". It's okay, Edmund thought. She promised to join me on my adventure today.

  Their mother, Kimberly, opened the door slowly and entered the room to wake up her children with a sweet tone.

  "Evie, Edd, good morning."

  "Good morning mom." Edmund replied.

  Kimberly smiled at his son and turned her gaze to her daughter, who refused to wake up.

  "Evie?"

  "Good morning," she mumbled. "But can I stay in bed for five more minutes?"

  Edmund wanted to say it was her fault for them being tired but held his tongue. For the adventure! For the cave we will explore today!

  "No can do." Kimberly smiled. "Today, the lottery will be made."

  Evelyn's eyes opened in a split second and she immediately got up from her bed, excited.

  "Was it today?" she said, her little heart pounding with excitement. Evelyn had been waiting for this day for one year. The day of 5 people among them would be chosen to ascend, to get superpowers and be heroes like what the neighbor in front of their apartment said, and to be called "vessels," hopefully. Evelyn always loved to hear stories about the old world even though her parents didn't look at that warmly. She was especially drawn to the fantasy stories.

  Edmund looked at her sister and couldn't believe she had forgotten what today was. Not because Edmund cared that much, but because Evelyn cared too much. She didn't stop talking about it for a month, and now she forgets it? He sighed while shaking his head like his self-defense teacher did when he was disappointed.

  "As always, so forgetful," Edmund replied to his sister with a smirk. Evelyn turned her head towards her brother.

  "No, I am not!" Evelyn protested, puffing her cheeks unconsciously.

  "Yes you are~!" Edmund said playfully. "You always forget where your sketchbook is too."

  "Because you always changed it's position!" Evelyn protested. "I never found it in it's place because of you!"

  Edmund frowned at Evelyn's responses.

  "No I am not!" he responded, this time with anger.

  "Liar!"

  "Enough you two!" Kimberly jumped, trying to be calm. She was already tired of staying awake all night, and she knew she shouldn't show it to the kids as if there weren't enough problems already. Especially since her coworker died yesterday, there was more job to do. She took a deep breath, trying to not show her stress.

  "Both of you are 10 years old already, stop fighting this much. Now, wear your clothes. We will leave within 10 minutes."

  "But we weren't fighting mom!" Edmund said with an innocent voice. "If we were fighting, I would do this, then this! And Evie would lose and cry like a baby." He said while swinging his arms around.

  "You wish!" Evelyn said. "Before you had a chance, I would've knocked you down!"

  "Wanna try?" Edmund said and made a move to leave his bed. Evelyn also followed her brother's step and got out from her bed, which stood parallel to his, both facing the door's direction with a nightstand beside each and a window nearby.

  "Enough!" Kimberly said in a strict tone. Twins stopped what they were doing and looked at their mother with a hint of fear.

  "10 minutes, or we won't go to the lottery. Chop chop." She said and left the room, closing the door behind her.

  "You are lucky that I really want to go to the lottery!" Evelyn said and walked to her little cupboard next to the end of her bed. "Or I would have kicked your poopy ass."

  "Says who?" Edmund replied to his sister, following her steps.

  "I always win against you at hand wrestling. I also run faster than you." Edmund said with a smirk, but his smile disappeared when something hit his head.

  "Hey!" Edmund yelled.

  "What? I thought your stro~ng and fa~st legs would save you." Evelyn said in a mocking tone. Edmund took the book his sister threw, and after debating whether he should throw it back or not, he decided to put it on his desk. Like a mature person does, he thought and smiled only for a second.

  "This is the reason you keep losing things, as you can see," he started. "It was not me."

  Evelyn wanted to throw another book at his brother, but there was something more important than throwing another book. What should she should wear? It was an important occasion in the end.

  "White dress or yellow one?" She asked herself.

  "You would look fat with any of them," Edmund said as he put on a blue shirt.

  "Not helping! And I am not that fat!" Evelyn said as she put her hand on her stomach.

  "What would an outfit change?" Edmund said while wearing old grey jeans. "They are all the same, leftovers from the old world. Besides, no one will care how you look like."

  "But still," Evelyn murmured. "I want to look good." Her sadness was in her voice, and Edmund heard that. He sighed silently and shook his head drastically again. He was the only one allowed to make his sister sad and miserable, not a stupid dress or the lottery.

  "I think you will look less ugly in a white dress," Edmund mumbled. Evelyn's eyes shined with what Edmund said.

  "Knew it!" She said excitedly as she took out her pajamas.

  "Yeah, yeah," Edmund murmured. "I am going to the bathroom now," he said as he carefully moved to the door, not looking in his sister's direction, and left the room.

  Edmund couldn't stop himself from thinking. If she becomes sad about a stupid dress, how sad will she be when she won't selected for the lottery?

  Evelyn, meanwhile, happily wore the white dress with a smile and put on her old yet fashionable sunflower pantyhose. White shoes could be great with this dress! She thought and left the room with a smile and jumped happily to the bathroom. His brother was there, brushing his teeth.

  "Slow down, will you?" Edmund spoke, but Evelyn frowned as she tried to understand him. The toothbrush in his mouth made it difficult to hear him.

  "You will get scolded by mom again if you keep jumping on the corridors. And if you do it just because you would get away from our adventure, don't count on it."

  Evelyn quickly grabbed her comb and started brushing her long hair.

  "I am not," Evelyn said. She wasn't happy that she had to join his 'adventure.'

  "Also, look at yourself! It's because of your 'adventures' that you always get in trouble, and worse, you are dragging me too!" She sighed. "Seriously, how are you enjoying entering dangerous caves that are lurking with monsters and aliens? And there is always a chance that a monster shows up! It is dangerous, and that is why there is a rule that says we shouldn't enter!"

  Edmund glanced at his sister and then rolled his eyes.

  "Talk for yourself. You know that the longer your hair, the more problematic and dangerous it will be. Even teachers warn us about this. Monsters can easily grab you from your hair and kill you."

  "Don't include my hair in this!" Evelyn shouted.

  "Kids!" Kimberly called out from her room. "Be quiet, or we won't go."

  Evelyn and Edmund looked outside from the bathroom and said, "Okay," together. They turned their back again and continued to do what they were doing.

  "Seriously though," Edmund started. "Crying because your hair is getting cut is not normal."

  Evelyn glared at her brother. He was talking about last week. She hated going to hair salons. Also, cutting her beautiful hair should be a crime!

  "Be quiet, or I will remove your toolbox."

  Edmund's eyes grow bigger. He glared her back.

  "Don't you dare!"

  The toolbox was a gift from their neighbor, Steven. He was a nice fellow and made delicious dishes for the colony once a week. He knew how much Edmund loved to tinker with technological devices, so he gifted Edmund a toolbox on their 9th birthday.

  Evelyn shrugged and continued to brush her hair.

  "Then stop talking about my hair."

  "Hmph!" Edmund said and continued to brush his teeth.

  Even though Edmund and Evelyn were twins, their physical attributes had differences. Both had the same wavy hair and skin color came from their mother, and facial shape and lips came from their father, but the hair and eyes were different. Evelyn had dark blond hair and round brown eyes, just like her father. Edmund, meanwhile, took his attributes from his mother: jet-black hair and dark blue hooded eyes.

  Edmund quickly washed his mouth and fixed his hair. Evelyn glanced at him. She wanted to talk to him, but she wasn't sure. In the end, she shrugged and asked.

  "Are you excited?"

  Edmund looked at his sister, confused. He was confused about his sister's question and how she acted despite their little quarrel.

  "Why should I be?" He shrugged. "We didn't win the lottery or anything," Edmund said with a bored tone.

  "I know, but still," Evelyn said and sighed. "I just can't stop imagining being a seeker one day. Think about it!" Evelyn said excitedly. Her eyes were shining.

  "When we reach 12, we have the right to enter the lottery, and maybe we can win within our first year and be a vessel!"

  "Or turn into a monster," Edmund continued his sister's sentence. "It is also a possibility since the serum that gives us powers is generated from the alien's blood." Thinking about his sister turning into a monster due to the serum made him feel uneasy. Edmund also dreamed of having powers, specifically being a "commander." He, like many, was always fascinated by them. Be able to control anything, such a strong yet hard-to-control power! But to be chosen by the lottery, you either need to be very lucky or very rich since making a serum was very hard.

  "Besides," Edmund continued before her sister could say anything. "It is a very low chance for us to be selected."

  "Thanks for the buzzkill, joy police," Evelyn said. Of course he had to remove my excitement as always, she thought, then brushed her hair one last time.

  "Okay, I am ready."

  "Ew," Edmund said, showing disgust. "You won't brush your teeth?"

  "Why should I? I didn't eat anything. It would be a waste of water."

  "Disgusting!" Edmund said as he pretended to gag and left the bathroom.

  "Oh, come on, stop being a drama queen!" Evelyn called out behind him, but Edmund quickly ran to his father, who was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, and ratted out his sister.

  "Dad, Evie didn't brush her teeth!"

  Arthur looked at his son, then looked outside of the kitchen.

  "Evelyn, brush your teeth," Arthur called.

  "But I didn't eat anything yet!"

  "You have a morning breath. Brush it."

  As Evelyn murmured to herself while squeezing toothpaste into her toothbrush, Edmund smirked. I won, he thought proudly, not knowing her sister was trying to find a way to destroy their adventure plan.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Arthur looked outside again and sighed. Yesterday, two breaches happened, and about 10 people died. Even though the number seemed small, it was a small colony with hardly 200 people living in it. He didn't want to take the children outside, but Kimberly assured him that since there were soldiers and vessels, everything would be fine.

  Edmund, following his father's step, started to look outside to see what his father was looking at so intensively but couldn't see anything except gray buildings and unnaturally created, pointy rocks.

  "What are you looking at dad?" Edmund asked. Arthur turned his gaze to his son and smiled.

  "I was just thinking."

  "What were you thinking about?" Edmund asked this time. Arthur caressed Edmund's hair.

  "Nothing important."

  Edmund nodded and looked outside again while Evelyn entered the kitchen.

  "I brushed my teeth." She said unhappily. She still believed that it was a waste of water but listened to his father's word. Arthur smiled.

  "Good job Evelyn. Now, if everyone is ready, we can leave." Arthur said as he got up. Edmund followed him.

  "Mom, are you ready?" Evelyn called out. Kimberly came out of her room with a bright smile.

  "I am, let's go."

  Together, they left the narrow apartment and walked down the stairs.

  "Mom, when will they fix the elevators?" Evelyn asked. "Going up 5 floors every day is very tiring."

  "Because you are fat." Edmund jumped.

  "Oh, stop that!" Evelyn said, disturbed. "You also said it was very tiring yesterday."

  "Yes, but still-"

  "See!" Evelyn jumped. "You also accepted."

  "It won't be fixed any time soon," Kimberly said. There was no one to fix it or enough resources to fix it anyway.

  "Oh, okay," Evelyn said, sulking. Edmund tried to stay natural, but he was sad deep down too.

  As they left the building, Evelyn saw many families like hers going to the old stadium, where the lottery would be held. Her sadness suddenly turned to excitement. She wanted to run there, but her mother was holding her hand.

  "Don't run. We will get there eventually."

  "But mom!" Evelyn said. "They can start any minute! Can't we go faster?" Kimberly didn't respond to her since she did that all the time. Edmund said what his mother was thinking.

  "You always say that, and it will never start early." Evelyn looked at him, pissed. Edmund only shrugged.

  "On the other hand, I wish it started early. We always had to hear the same speech every year."

  "I like hearing that speech," Evelyn mumbled. The rest of the walk went in silence. About 15 minutes later, they arrived. Evelyn, with excitement, pulled her mother to one of the empty seats while Kimberly told her to calm down. Evelyn couldn't hear her anymore and only focused on finding the closest seats to the stage. Arthur and Edmund followed her. As they took their seats, Edmund cast a disapproving glance at her sister.

  "There is still half an hour," Edmund said, pointing to the digital clock.

  "The most exciting half an hour!" Evelyn responded. Edmund sighed, and together, with silence, they waited for the lottery to start. Arthur couldn't stop himself from finding an escape route for his family in case anything went wrong. Kimberly felt her husband's anxiety and nudged him.

  "It's okay. There are many soldiers and vessels here." Kimberly whispered. Arthur nodded. He didn't trust the soldiers and the so-called superhuman vessels one bit. He believed that once what mattered was secured, they would abandon the civilians to perish.

  When a man covered with black armor got up to the stage, Evelyn's heartbeat started to rise.

  "It's starting!" she said while holding her brother's arm. Then she started to shake him violently.

  "It's starti~ng!"

  "Okay, I got it! Stop!" Edmund said and pushed Evelyn away. The man started to talk.

  "59 years ago, the world as we knew it ended. What many believed were gifts from the stars—those radiant white raindrops called Holy Rain—were in fact the beginning of our downfall. What followed was not divine intervention, but devastation. Humanity was transformed—twisted—by what we now know as Xeno-viral Transmission. But we did not vanish. Against all odds, through ashes and blood, our scientists rose. And today, we do not kneel—we stand! This is our world. And we will never surrender it!"

  Many started to applaud the man on the stage. Evelyn, like many, got up and cheered him. Edmund sighed, arms crossed. Same words. Same cheers. Same everything!

  He mouthed the next lines before they were even spoken till Evelyn bumped him with her arm.

  "We've done the impossible. Using the alien-tainted DNA, we forged a serum—one that awakens abilities within us. Powers beyond imagination. We've classified these gifted individuals as Commanders, Seekers, Mimics, and Resilients—each with their own role in our survival. But this power comes with a cost. The serum is rare. Its creation—unstable. Not all who receive it become heroes. Some lose themselves, turning into the very monsters we fight. And that, citizens, is why we created the lottery system. Starting at age twelve, all may enter. With each passing year, your chances of selection increase. And now—" he said as a vase full of papers came in front of him.

  "—Let the lottery begin!"

  Everyone, again, started to applaud and cheer. Kimberly and Arthur looked at their daughter with sadness, who also joined the crowd's energy. They didn't trust the serum that was injected into them, and they didn't want their children to enter the lottery. Edmund didn't join the crowd's applause, but he was also feeling excited.

  As 5 names called, Evelyn and Edmund dreamed about themselves. The injected serum would take a day to kick in. After successful transformation, they got a role in the army to fight against them and could enjoy a life of luxury for their service. They couldn't wait to be 12 years old.

  As the last person was injected with the serum, the ground started to shake. The excitement and happiness quickly turned to fear.

  "Everyone calm down, there is nothing to wor-!" Before the man in black armor could continue, a very big worm emerged from the ground. The man quickly dodged the attack before it could eat him. As the children started to scream, Kimberly and Arthur quickly grabbed their children and, like many, tried to leave the area.

  "Open fire!" Man yelled, and soldiers started to attack the worm.

  "What is a tunnel maw doing?" Evelyn said with fear, hugging her mother tightly. As the worm moved in their direction, soldiers started to throw bombs at it, trying to take its attention from civilians to them. Commanders moved any items that could be used against the worm to fight.

  "Wasn't any seeker saw this!" Arthur shouted. His heart was pounding with fear as he hugged Edmund tightly.

  "Probably no tier 4 seeker was present," Kimberly said, and when they were about to leave, many monsters started to enter the stadium through doors or any gap they could find.

  "The breach," Arthur whispered. The system that defended the area showed many malfunctions yesterday. And now, with this, it was safe to assume that the system was down. Evelyn started to cry while Edmund froze with fear, didn't know where to look in his father's arms.

  "Arthur," Kimberly said. "What should we do?" She was not worried about her life, she was worried about her children's lives. Arthur, trying to find a way out for his family, saw a group of parents hiding their children under the seats. He quickly guided his wife to seats and put their children down together. There was enough space for them to hide.

  "No matter what, don't move!" Arthur said. "Do you understand? Don't move till us or soldiers come to get you!"

  Evelyn and Edmund nodded, fear in their eyes as they hugged each other, trembling with fear. When Kimberly gave her husband a metal stick, something strange happened to the twins. A light appeared in front of the twin's eyes. They blinked to get rid of the light, but voices became blurry while the light kept increasing. Next blink, and the light was gone. The screams turned into soft waves. They were looking at the yellow-orange sky.

  "What?" Evelyn mumbled, trying to understand what was going on. Edmund, who was next to Evelyn, was also the same. They were sitting and hugging, but now lying down? Why were they lying down? And what happened to the stadium, to their parents?

  "Mom? Dad?" Edmund said with a sudden realization and sat up. But he was shocked. His body felt different. His voice sounds different. Even the environment they were in was different.

  "What?" Edmund whispered, trying to understand what was going on.

  "What the?" Evelyn said and stood up.

  "Who are you?" She asked the male, who looked similar to her brother. "Where am I? Where is mom and dad?" She stopped, surprised about how her voice sounded like. Then she shook her head and glanced at the boy in front of him with a menacing look. "Did you kidnap me?"

  "Miss," Edmund said, looking at the girl in front of him. "I am 10 years old! If anything, you would be my kidnapper."

  "10 years old!" Evelyn shouted. "You are literally an old man, mister!"

  "Me! A mister!" Edmund said while pointing at himself. "Miss, you should better get glasses."

  "Don't call me 'miss'!" Evelyn said. "I am not that old and I have a name, Evelyn!"

  "Evelyn!" Edmund jumped, confused. Yes, she looked like his sister, slimmer and muscular. But his sister was 10 years old. I must be imagining it, but what if? Edmund thought. He gulped and asked.

  "Evelyn Evans?"

  "Yes?" Evelyn said, not sure if it was the right thing to tell the boy in front of him who she was. Edmund looked at her carefully. But what if she is an impostor, he thought, then smirked. Only one way to find out.

  "If you are really Evelyn Evans, answer this," he started. "Did you pee in your pants on the first day at our school because someone dressed as a monster showed up and scared you?"

  "How did you-!" Evelyn shouted, her cheeks turned to bright red. "I didn't pee to my pants!"

  "Evelyn!" Edmund said happily and hugged her!

  "What are you-"

  "You are okay!" Edmund interrupted her, hugging her more tightly. "You are really okay! But what happened to you?" Edmund asked, confused about his sister's new appearance.

  "Let me go!" Evelyn shouted again and tried to push him.

  "Someone! Help me! Pervert!"

  "No, no, no!" Edmund said and quickly let her go. "It's me, Edmund! Your brother!"

  "Edmund!" Evelyn said and got up. She walked a circle around her brother and couldn't believe what she was looking at. What's going on? She thought. His wavy hair was a bit longer but wasn't passing his neck. He had muscles and a good physique. But something black was around his body.

  Evelyn stopped right in front of her brother and looked at his eyes. First thing first, she thought and kicked his leg.

  "Hey!" Edmund called out, but Evelyn didn't listen.

  "You big blabbermouth!" Evelyn yelled. "You promised to never, ever, talk about that! You snitch!"

  "Geez, sorry," Edmund said, trying to calm his sister down. "But this was the only way to make sure if it was you."

  "There were tons of other ways!" Evelyn yelled again. But when they heard a voice, they went quiet. Evelyn quickly grabbed her brother's arm and pulled him to get him up. Together, they ran towards a big rock and hid behind it.

  "Maybe you should have screamed less," Edmund whispered. Evelyn glared at him.

  "And who's fault is this?" She whispered back. "Besides, what happened to you? Why are you so big? And what is that black thing on your body!"

  "Me?" Edmund whispered back. "Look at yourself! You are also big and have the black thing and-!" Edmund whispered but stopped.

  "What?" Evelyn asked, but Edmund pressed his lips together and didn't answer her question. Especially since there was something here, telling her the truth would probably gave their position away.

  "Tell me!"

  "Just wait for a second," Edmund whispered and looked from the corner of the rock. There was nothing visible. The voice that they heard earlier also seemed gone. Edmund took a deep breath and looked at his sister again.

  "Yes?" Evelyn whispered.

  "Before this, promise me you won't make noise, okay? No, actually, pinky promise!" Edmund said and raised his finger. Evelyn raised hers too and gave her pinky promise.

  "Okay, now tell me!"

  "Your hair," Edmund gulped. "It's short."

  "No," Evelyn said and held to her hair. It's short! She thought, panic sweeping over her. Her hair, which had been reaching her waist just minutes ago, was now almost to her shoulders.

  "No!" Her voice raised, and she tried to find a long lock of hair in a panic.

  "Please calm down," Edmund said before her sister screamed in agony.

  "No!"

  Edmund quickly covered his sister's mouth.

  "You promised not to scream!" He said, but when he saw that Evelyn had started crying, he began to panic.

  "No, no, no! It's okay, it will grow back!" Edmund said as he put his hands on Evelyn's shoulder, trying to calm her down. She hiccuped again. My beautiful hair! She thought as she held them tightly. My beautiful long hair! It's gone!

  "Please stop acting like it's the end of the world. It wasn't that important!"

  Evelyn's hiccups stopped with Edmund's sentence. She slowly raised her head and glared at him. Edmund gulped as Evelyn pushed him away. "Not important!" Evelyn said and punched his arm with all her power. "Oww," Edmund said, but Evelyn's hand hurt more than his arm. She shook her hand and continued to speak.

  "My beautiful hair is gone! The only thing that is precious to me after my sketchbook is gone!"

  "It is not like you turned bald!" Edmund said.

  "It is exactly like I turned bald!" Evelyn said and started crying again. Edmund scanned the area for monsters before looking at his sister again.

  "Look," he started with a soft tone, trying to mimic his mother. "It really looks good on you, and I am serious!" Edmund said while patting her head. "Your hair really goes well with your physique, and you know that I never say you look good. So stop crying, please," Edmund said.

  "Did you mean it?" Evelyn sniffed. "Is it really beautiful?"

  "It is!" Edmund answered instantly. "It really is beautiful and suits you well."

  Evelyn nodded, her heart broken, and took deep breaths to calm down.

  "What happened to us?" Evelyn sniffed, leaning her head against the big rock behind her, looking at the sea; at least, she believed that it was. They were on a shore, but where they lived was away from any seaside.

  Edmund looked at her, then followed his sister's gaze before answering her.

  "I have no clue. The last thing I remember was that we were at the stadium in the middle of the lottery. What about you?" Edmund asked. Evelyn nodded.

  "In my memories, the monsters attacked before the lottery ended," Evelyn whispered. Edmund felt chills on his neck. He remembered how bad and helpless he felt.

  "Did you think we teleported?" Edmund asked.

  "Maybe," Evelyn replied. "But how did we get big all of a sudden, and what's this," she raised her arm, "black thing?"

  "No idea," Edmund said and looked at his hand. The black thing covering their arm looked like black veins and seemed to be entering inside their skin.

  "Do you think it is stuck with us?" Evelyn asked. Edmund shrugged. "I don't know."

  Evelyn took a deep breath and looked at his brother.

  "We need to move like our teacher said. If we hide here for too long, the monsters will find us and kill us."

  "Right," Edmund approved, and together, they got up.

  "Oh," she said, a little smile appeared on her face. "I got taller!"

  "Me too!" Edmund said, and they both started to check their body.

  "Whoa!" Edmund said and poked his arm. "I got muscles like our self-defense teacher and controllers! I can win against dad at hand wrestling easily!"

  "I have muscles too!" Evelyn said. "Real muscles and- Haa!" She said and grabbed her chest.

  "I have a chest like mom's! Yes!" Evelyn said excitedly while holding them. It felt weird under her hands.

  "Really?" Edmund asked, surprised. He thought her sister would never have a chest like mom's or any female he saw.

  "Look! Look!" Evelyn jumped. "I think that makes me grown up!" Evelyn said proudly.

  "When did that happen?" Edmund asked, concerned. Evelyn shrugged.

  "I don't know. Maybe they came with muscles."

  "But mom didn't have muscles," Edmund frowned and looked at his sister's eyes seriously.

  "You didn't stuff oranges while I wasn't looking, right? To make it look like mom's?" He asked.

  "No!" Evelyn answered, her cheeks got redder. "And I was 6! Stop bringing up embarrassing memories, okay, or I will never go on another adventure with you!"

  "Okay, okay, sorry!" Edmund said. "And stop holding them already! No grown-up holds their chest like this! If they see you like that, they will realize that you are a child in no time."

  Evelyn stopped holding them but couldn't contain her smirk.

  "You're only jealous because you don't have a chest like mine and mom's."

  "But father didn't have a chest like yours or mom's too!"

  "Oh, then you probably get 'chestless' genes from father," Evelyn smirked. "Chestless, chestless," she mocked.

  "I might be chestless!" Edmund said, sulking and puffing his cheeks. "But I have bigger muscles than yours!"

  "I can have that much muscle too!"

  "Oh yeah?" Edmund smirked. "And how are you going to do that? I am sure your muscles were already hardly made."

  "Just you wait!" Evelyn said. "I will have my muscles, but you will never have these!" Evelyn said as she pointed to her chest.

  "Hmph," Edmund said and looked away. Their conversation ended like that, and both started to look around. The area was covered with sand, and there were multiple pointy rocks. Near them was a stair connected to the road above them.

  "Why do you think we are here and suddenly grow up?" Evelyn asked. Edmund shrugged. He was wondering the same thing.

  "Maybe aliens did that," Evelyn responded to her own question.

  "But why?" Edmund asked, then looked at Evelyn. "Do you think the same thing happened to mom and dad too?" Edmund asked.

  "I don't know. But we need to find them." Evelyn said. "They probably worried sick."

  "But we don't even know where we are!" Edmund said.

  "Maybe we could know," Evelyn said when an idea struck her. "If we were here alone, I would probably draw our way and how we came here."

  Edmund's eyes shinned. "You are right!" He said. "In the end, you never trusted me. Never thought this would become handy."

  "See!" Evelyn smirked. "Told you I couldn’t trust you with directions."

  "Right!" Edmund said, smiling, then froze. "Wait a minute."

  Evelyn laughed and started to run away.

  "Don't you dare run!" Edmund called out and ran behind his sister. "Just you wait! I am going to show you who is trustable and who is not!"