"w-What the FUCK IS THAT?!"
Tracing his gaze up to the starry night sky James looked at his brother in concern, a deep frown forming on his face.
"Max-"
"EUAARGHH!!"
An inhuman screech resounded from his brother's lungs as he let out a beastly scream that was somewhere between that of a blood-curdling wail and the sickly sound of someone vomiting profusely. The latter had not been too far off as searing blood ripped from his gut and made its way up his throat, bubbling from his mouth in a grotesquely chilling display. His eyes still seen peering into the distance suddenly grew vague and hazy before becoming dull and lifeless. His body buckled and collapsed in a heap of flesh and warm blood.
Yet somewhere, up there— far away in the vast expanse of the cosmos, between Orion's Belt and the Big Dipper, the sky rippled... and shattered. A piece of the illusory veil plummeting to reveal a lightless, macabre void, boundless and overflowing with pure madness.
***
"Last class we discussed the first law of thermodynamics which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. Now the second law states that entropy..."
Ms. Nelson dragged on, much to the dismay of her students.
Sitting in an AP Physics class, Maxie was blankly staring at the whiteboard where his teacher could be seen furiously writing down a series of archaic symbols and formulas. She seemed to be uniquely passionate about the vexing subject, which didn't quite suit her aloof and unfriendly demeanor. Why she wanted to be a teacher if she didn't even like kids, much less people, was beyond him.
Nevertheless, she continued, "This poses an interesting question, if entropy is the property of the universe which indomitably moves toward dullness, how is it possible that the conditions for complex organisms to evolve were met? You have 20 seconds to discuss with your elbow partners before I call on someone."
'God?' Maxie thought despite himself.
The brief period of discussion time ended before he could seriously consider the question. Loudly shuffling a glass jar filled with popsicle sticks Ms. Nelson delicately picked one up and paused for a moment before looking directly at him.
'Fuck'
"Maxwell? Have you come up with an answer yet?"
He thought for a minute and tactically decided to call in for reinforcements. Glancing to his side he met the gaze of a girl with short, unkept, auburn hair and a tomboyish style. Pleading with his eyes it was as if he was saying 'Ive absolutely no idea what the hell she's talking about'.
With words unspoken, she stared back at him, deliberating her words for a moment, eventually whispering in a hushed tone, "Uhh... luck?". Olivia was undoubtedly smarter than him and for her to only come up with something as frivolous as luck was saying something.
He shifted to look back over to Ms. Nelson, eyes filled with wavering confidence, "Maybe luck?"
Maxie announced with uncertainty, silently cursing his own for receiving one of the few questions neither him or Olivia could give an answer to. However to his surprise the haphazard response seemed to satisfy his otherwise unforgiving teacher.
"Well yes.."
***
Walking out of class he felt drained thinking that there couldn't be a subject more dull, well maybe other than entropy.
'Huh, I guess I did learn something'
Shaking his head he looked around, where he caught the image of a well-built boy with reddish brown hair, tan skin, and piercing hazel eyes that seemed to change from light brown to muted green depending on the light. His face, while not particularly attractive, was angular and adorned with a scattering of several carefully placed piercings, giving him an edgy look that radiated an air of measured confidence.
It was James, his twin brother, though they didn't look much alike. Maxie wasn't one to care much about his appearance, and while he wasn't particularly out of shape being on the wrestling team and all, his brother seemed to trump him in that regard with a toned musculature you'd only see on social media.
'Ah, I'm envious'
As if sensing Maxie's gaze land on him, James turned from his group of friends that surrounded him from nearly all sides and looked over, flashing a subtle smile as their eyes locked. Despite what many liked to rumor about, the two shared a good relationship. However, it did make sense why people would jump to conclusions considering the pair's stark differences.
While Maxie immersed himself in his studies, preferring to work on his goals rather than engaging in recreational rebellion, James was the exact opposite. Their parents were very religious growing up and made simply living under the same roof seem stiff. Where other parents would shower their children with affection simply by virtue of being their kid, in the Clerk household, parental love and affection had been a hot commodity in short supply. Faced with the emotional drought that was their family, the two only had each other to satiate their burgeoning ardor, and thus became inseparable at a very young age. In fact, his nickname, Maxie, which he just about exclusively goes by, was coined by James when they were six.
Maxie had long since taken the role of placater between James and their parents since he very frequently found himself in hot waters when faced with their strict rules and nigh-constant preaching of pious behavior.
But that's neither here nor there.
Walking over to his hunched figure, James unceremoniously whammed his back in a friendly gesture that nearly sent him toppling. Glaring behind him he gathered his wits, turned around, and said through gritted teeth, an agitated expression marring his face, "What the hell man, a simple "hello" would have sufficed!"
"Haha, yeah sorry, its whatever though. The gang is 'bouta to hit up MP after school today, you down?"