My brother should not exist.

Everyone I told thought I hated him, that I was jealous of him, but it was the truth. He did not exist. Nick’s sister didn’t exist, Jack’s sister didn't exist, nor did Joe’s brother. 

No one’s twin sibling existed.

Except no one listened to me. Everyone had fake memories with their beloved twin. Families of three had jumped to six, with twisted family photos appearing out of nowhere. The first day after the split three weeks ago, and after a splitting headache, I had broken into my father’s safe to prove that I was the only one with a birth certificate. However, my brother’s record sat above mine. I wanted to believe the world was playing some type of prank on me, but every tiny and major detail was enough to convince me otherwise. Only one problem remained-

Why was I the only one to not fall under the spell of ignorance?

I liked to think it was because I am a genius. Or was a genius… my brother stole that from me along with my attribute. 

Instead of being top in my class at the top of the academy, I was stuck in the bottom  along with my class, who should have been at the top as well. While I saw a class of prodigies, the others saw a class of nobodies.

“Akira? Are you listening?” My teacher interrupted my daze. Damn it, how long did I space out? 

Looking at the scrambled problem on the board, I lied. “Of course. I’m always listening.”

“What is the answer, then?”

My eyes lingered on the math problem. I could always zone out in class and answer the problem without a sweat before the split. With the help of my attribute, my mind could solve any question just from a mere glance. But now? My mind jumbled everything. 

Where should I start? Were there even any numbers on the board? Maybe the first number was…a five? I should have paid more attention in class before the split, instead of cursing myself after.

“Negative two,” I said. Any answer was better than no answer.

My teacher, the original of her twin as well- I could tell by the way she held the chalk compared to the dry erase marker- sighed and called on a different student. Apparently, failure was common for this fake version of myself. All of my “past” report cards were hanging on by a D. 

The bell rang after another stretch of staring at the chipping wall, and lunch was finally upon us. Preparing to leave the room, the originals of my friends looked at me. I ignored their glances. Why couldn’t they see what was wrong with the world?

“Akira?”

I glared at the teacher standing before my desk.

She sighed, “Your scores aren’t improving on your attribute tests, and you’re falling behind in your other studies. Have you been taking your medicine?”

“Only for the last three weeks,” I replied, rolling my eyes. My attribute scores should’ve been higher than ever, instead of nonexistent, and my grades should have been straight A’s. I shouldn’t need to take medicine to keep up with my brother. 

“Would you mind staying here during your lunch break? I’ll help you catch up on what you missed during class.”

“Lucky me. I think I’ll pass.”

“Do you want me to assign you lunch detention? If you fail another test, you’ll have to visit the vice-principal.”

Stuffing my books in my backpack, I headed for the door. The last thing I wanted was to see him, but an honor student such as myself wouldn’t dream of wounding my pride on lunch detention.

The lunchroom was different at the bottom of the academy than at the top. It was stuffy, and the ceiling crushed down on the student body. Lights never stopped flickering. They were too bright over the tables, yet shadows lingered in the corners of the rooms. Just to smother us more, the walls were painted darker than the night.

It was a prison.

I waited in the line for the worst food ever. Looking ahead, my eyes landed on Nick. He said something to the others and walked towards me. Struggling grades, a failing attribute, teachers breathing down my neck; I was not in the mood to deal with others' ignorance.

“What does Mrs. Jamison want?” He asked, slowing his stride as he approached. Nick hung back an extra two feet compared to the usual distance he gave others.

I shrugged, “She wants to help me improve my grades.”

“If you need help, Aki, all you have to do is ask. The others and I may not have the best grades, but it's better than failing.”

He could just assume I was failing?

“I don’t need anyone’s help. I’ll figure this out myself,” I mumbled, turning away from him.

The flickering lights flashed in my vision as I stormed towards the exit. I’d rather deal with a hunger headache than be lectured by a blissful idiot. Ignoring the desk attendant’s calls, I left the academy’s entrance. The outside space may have been reserved for the top two levels of the academy, but I should be out there as well. 

Groups of honors students sat at scattered tables. Some played games further out or talked with friends in hammocks. One girl read at the end of the academy, alone, sitting against the wall. The closest table to me looked over at the bronze star pinned to my collar and sneered. Heading towards the side of the academy, I rolled my eyes. At least the forest on the west side would grant me whatever escape I needed.

Footsteps echoed from behind me. As I turned, an honor’s student– a football player, given his build– slammed me into the brick wall of the first floor. Black rippled through my vision. My head and lower back flared from the contact; both would be sore for days. What the hell was this kid's problem?

Blocking my escape with an arm, the beefy boy asked, “What’s a rat doing outside?” He slammed a fist into my gut when I didn’t respond. 

Air vanishing from my lungs, my body froze.

“The cheese outside my hole was too tempting,” I coughed, air still struggling to return. The first few breaths felt like more punches to my abdomen. After taking a normal breath again, I tried to win the jock over, “Look, man. I just want to skip class today and wander the forest. We all have those days where the last thing we want to do is school.”

He crossed his arms and said, “Yeah, but you don’t get that luxury. You’re stuck at the bottom for a reason, rat. Go back to class and get your grades up.”

“Your grades can’t be much better.”

My words caused a storm to brew in the academy’s entrance. Winds carried homework in a vortex, knocking over drinks and backpacks. Something smashed into the window beside me, but I didn’t take my focus away from the boy’s assault.

The next punch came for my head, and I ducked, letting the dumbass break all of his fingers on the wall. I bolted under his other arm as his screams filled the air. Focusing on escape, I slid down a hill separating the academy from the forest, picked up a rock, and wove between the trees. Angry grunts and heavy steps chased after me. A little further, and the pond came into view, along with plenty of thicker trees. Placing the rock between my teeth, I climbed up a maple tree. Its abundant leaves– just starting to change color– provided enough cover to hide me from the threat below. 

Members of the football team ran past my tree, splitting up around the pond. They covered the area like guards looking for an escaped inmate. A few yelled questions to each other across from the pond. One of the jocks circled back near the tree I was hidden in while the others continued searching. I took the rock from my mouth and hurled it through an opening in the leaves. It hit something, and the nearest honor student yelled for his scattered friends to chase after the sound. They must have been accepted into the honors class only for their attributes and athletic ability. The rock I threw was smarter.

I returned to the ground– keeping my ears sharp– and headed in the opposite direction. After a short walk, I reached the hole in the ground I called the Dude Den. When my parents had first enrolled me into the esteemed Wheaton Academy, I had spent most of my after school time in the forest with my friends. Upon entering middle school, I decided to make a forest base no one else knew about. The small valley I found grew deeper with each shovel strike. To hide it from all sides, I covered the trench with a tarp and four fallen trees. After, I buried the logs and tarp with dirt and relocated some moss and small bushes on top. One side of the Dude Den remained open, and I had covered the opening with a see-through camo mesh. Eventually, I filled the inside with a portable hammock, a cooler, and books.

Listening to the birds fill the forest with a melody, I collapsed into the hammock and fished out a book. Once, I went through a book a day, but ever since the split, words scrambled as much as numbers unless I focused. After an hour and not even twenty pages read, I closed the book and shut my eyes. 

Why did I have to remember life before the split? My life would have been easier if I had just forgotten like everyone else. False memories would guide me through the academy, and I wouldn’t feel self conscious about needing help. Nor would I be at odds with my friends, and I might not care if I had a fake brother. 

A branch snapped, and I shot up. Damn it, how could I let myself fall asleep when I had a pissed off football team searching for me!

“Aki?”

Someone worse than the team arrived. What was he doing here?

A shadow stood before the setting sun, holding open the camo mesh. He had the same ebony hair as me, but he kept his clean look while I failed to care after the split. The boy stole my unwavering smile, confident eyes, and gold star. He appeared the same as me, but stole every good feature of mine. 

He stole everything.

I grabbed his collar and shoved him out of the Dude Den. “How did you find this place?” 

He didn’t struggle in my grasp. Closer, without the sun darkening his face, I saw tape over his nose and a deep purple painting his right eye.

“We built it together, Aki,” He answered.

“Don’t call me that! You don’t get to call me that!” I pushed him away. Returning to the Dude Den, I grabbed my backpack and cut through the trees. My house was on the other side; another reason why I like the forest so much.

He followed me.

After ten minutes, I saw the rope swing and zipline my dad tied up when I was younger. A second rope hung by the first on a branch my dad had cut down years ago. It hung right over the lawn and too many sticks fell. He hated picking up the sticks whenever he mowed the lawn, but my brother must have convinced him to keep it in some fake memory I didn’t have.

On the deck with her arms crossed, my mother waited. Just what I wanted; another scolding. I dodged the stairs of the deck and tried the downstairs sliding glass door. It didn’t budge. The garage door and front door were most likely locked too.

“Just give up, Akira,” My brother said, walking up the stairs.

I had other means of entering, though. Walking up the hill on the side of the house, I dropped into the window well at the top. My frog prisoners scrambled to the corners. Feeling around, I found the twine buried beneath the saplings, pulled it across the window, and unlocked the latch from within. A gap from the string released, and I wiggled my fingers underneath the pane. I slid in, landing between my bed and desk before closing the window.

“You really want to be left alone, Aki?” My dad asked, and my body slammed into the wall. Where was he hiding?

He stood up from the floor beside my bed, always knowing the best angles to hide from view.

I sat down. That’s why he told me to give up; my brother knew dad was waiting for me here. I’d rather take my chances with dad instead of mother anyways.

Dad took a seat on my bed and said, “I heard you broke a kid’s hand today.”

“He punched me first. It’s not my fault he happened to punch the wall a second time,” I sighed. Did anyone care about my side of the story? I couldn’t beat up a football player; therefore, I had to use my wits in a fight.

“That mouth of yours has always been trouble, though. The kids went after Claudius. All of them have been suspended, and you have lunch detention with the vice principal for the next two weeks.”

“You’re kidding me! I didn’t do anything!”

“You could have gone to a teacher, but you skipped class in the forest. Mrs. Jamison said you were supposed to eat lunch with her because you weren’t paying attention in class. Why did you go outside in the first place?”

“It doesn’t matter. You wouldn’t understand.”

He couldn’t.

When the split occurred, my dad’s brother didn’t get the preferential treatment my brother did. My uncle didn’t take anything from my dad, so dad kept all of his great memories. Nothing was tarnished in his past. He graduated top of his class at Wheaton, remained on the third floor of the honors students, and was free to do whatever he pleased. I was accepted into Wheaton because my dad was a great student, and I followed in his footsteps. Now, I only get to stay because my brother was at the top of his class. His high school days were filled with the luxury of a prince while I was trapped in the dark. 

“Then help me to, Aki,” My dad said, “If you want, we can transfer you to a different school after the quarter is over. I hear the public school follows the same district calendar as Wheaton.”

Making a fist, I snarled, “I don’t want to leave. I just want things to go back to normal.”

“How have things changed?”

“I’ve already told you. Every accomplishment…Claudius has done was my accomplishment! I should be at the top of the academy, not him! He--”

I fell quiet. 

Pain clouded my dad’s eyes. Genuine pain. He loved the fake twin of mine. To him, Claudius and I grew up together our whole life. He would never be able to understand, and I would never live life the same again.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, “I’m angry because my grades are awful, my attribute doesn’t exist, and I’m too stubborn to accept help.”

He shook his head. “Wheaton is a difficult school, and they make it harder on those who struggle wielding their attributes. I thought you would acquire some of your powers if you were enrolled there, but I was wrong… I’m sorry.”

“I’ll go see the vice principal tomorrow and try to get my grades up.”

My dad rose and messed with my hair. He told me he would call when it was time for dinner after he calmed Mother down.

Mom changed the most after the split. She became quiet and cold; the opposite of her old self.

Like me, her sister took her attribute, but she didn’t have the memories from her life before. Both of my parents’ attributes were mental-related. My dad could solve any problem just by looking at it, and my mom knew what the best course of action was in every situation. I had received the best of both their attributes. My scores were never below a 100% on any test and I could weasel my way out of most situations. Making things even better, my memory was practically photographic. Nothing could escape my mind. 

My dad called my name, and I rose.

The evening news echoed above as I left the basement. A news anchor covered a story about another building cut in half. Six months ago, buildings, powerlines, and the earth started receiving gashes every day. The phenomenon decreased as the months went on. Countless lives, however, perished to the random slices, and the government opened an investigation. Terrorists and hostile countries were suspected, but no one had been blamed. The best answer the government could give was that someone’s attribute had run wild.

“Don’t you have something to say to your brother?” My mother asked me. Not a single speck of my real mom remained.

“It’s fine, mom. It wasn’t Aki’s- Akira’s fault,” Claudius said, moving a tomato around on his plate.

“Your nose is broken because of his actions. You-”

“That frown doesn’t look good on your face,” I spat, turning away from the table before I had the chance to sit down.

My dad scolded, “Akira!”

I ignored him and headed for the basement. Shutting my door, I leaned against it and took a breath. Making things worse seemed to be my specialty. 

I grabbed the small orange bottle off my desk. Why did I need this medication? I never used it before, but it showed up with the split. Everyday, someone told me to take it. I turned it over. The label said it was to increase my attribute, but my current attribute was nonexistent. If I kept taking it, maybe someday it would return…

After swallowing the medicine, I collapsed onto my bed. Homework could wait. I didn’t know how to do it anyways.

The slightest click turned my door’s handle.

“What do you want?” I groaned, not looking to see who it was.

The door shut. “You’ve been acting weird since classes started after break. Did something happen?” Claudius asked.

“Nothing at all.”

He threw something on my bed, but I didn’t open my eyes. If I ignored him, he’d leave me be like everyone else. He walked over to me instead.

“Leave me alone,” I said.

“What happened?” He asked, “We used to play all the time as kids.”

“Really? I don’t remember playing with any sibling, let alone having a brother.” I let my words sting him. Claudius turned. Good; he was leaving. 

A weight crushed my back. Raking open my eyes, I pushed up on my arms. “Get off! You’re heavy!”

“How can someone who doesn’t exist be heavy? Maybe if you agree to a game, I’ll get off.”

I tried to get a leg below me, but he slammed a palm into my calf. Damn this pain in the ass!

“I was thinking a shooter, but I haven’t decided if I want to kill people or zombies. You’ve always liked the zombies more. But I shouldn’t know that ‘cause you don’t have a brother.”

I couldn’t deny his comments. Zombie shooters have always been my favorites, but even my parents knew what games I liked. He could have asked them.

“Or maybe we could play that one game you play in secret after a bad day. That farming one,” Claudius teased.

My arms gave out, and I fell. “How do you know about that?”

He lost himself with laughter, and I took the moment to give him one more shove. My brother fell to the ground with a controller, still unable to control his laughter. 

My room was invaded and everywhere else was hostile territory. Maybe I should go back to the Dude Den. No, this bloodhound would follow me out there too.

Claudius regained his breath. “They say twins may look alike, but they don’t always think alike. I play the same game when I’m stressed. I was only joking, but to think, you play as well. Get your PC turned on- I’ll set up a shared world.”

“I’m not playing games with you,” I said. What would it take for him to understand? I wanted nothing to do with him.

He looked down. “I thought we were getting along.”

“You were the only one laughing.”

“What if I do dishes for a week? I’ll also vacuum for a month. Come on, Aki, I want to hang out with you.”

“I don’t need you to do my chores for me. They aren’t that much of a hassle.”

“What about homework? I’ll help you study.”

I rose from my bed. “Get out!” 

I may have told dad that I would work on my grades, but I didn’t need his help.

Claudius realized the line he crossed and left my room, shutting the door behind him. Finally, my room was back to being mine. Mine and mine alone, not my brother’s.

I walked over to my desk, picking up a photo of my friends with our bronze stars. Six months ago, buildings started getting cut in half, and three weeks ago, everyone split into two different people. Were the two events related? And why was I the only one to have my previous memories? Could I find a way to regain my attribute? 

How long would it take for me to find the answers I was searching for?

About the Author

My writing journey began in high school after I finished work for a computer applications class I took freshman year. I mostly wrote for fun and because I had nothing else to do after the in-class assignment. Once more ideas for creating longer works came to me (usually in the form of dreams, just like this piece), I started viewing writing as a serious topic I wished to pursue. This project, The Curse of Marthos, follows a similar writing process as my other work: I do not know everything that will occur. Key ideas may be mapped out, but the events between those ideas have yet to be unraveled, which I believe is part of the joy in writing. I created this piece because I wanted to explore what it would be like to live in a world that changed one day, but no one else knows that it changed except for the main character. This puts the main character in a situation where he must adapt to and overcome the challenges before him while fighting to return to the reality he knows. This is the first chapter to The Curse of Marthos, which I plan to continue working on as a student at the University of Iowa.

Cover design made using Canva design tools.