Daniel Xander, Chapter 1: Anomalies

"With my extra-curriculars and my sports, I would say I have done well." Said Daniel Xander with some satisfaction as he walked back home with his father waiting for his remarks. "Yes, indeed." Agreed Samuel Xander looking at his son with a fondness and pride. It was hard to keep walking straight when Daniel was so full of alacrity today. Finally, the long wait was over. 

The final exams had passed. And Daniel had passed with a good enough result! No more late night cramming sessions. No more memorising pointless dates. No more walking around the halls like a bored zombie. Just three months of amazing freedom, starting today, the 5th of June. 

Daniel Xander was an average high schooler. Showing an aptitude for athletics since an early age, he was quite popular with his track records. He had no outstanding features in general. With his thin frame, short black hair and his almond shaped golden brown eyes, you couldn't ever see how he was different from any of his peers. He lived with his parents Samuel and Julia and went to the local school. Yes, Daniel Xander was no different than anyone else even after making the discovery that he wasn't quite human. 

The hot summer afternoon was making the walk home incredibly agonising. "I don't see how this can get any worse," Samuel said huffing, "your mother will kill us if we don't make it in time to help her clean." Daniel was too exhausted to reply. Moments ago, he'd felt like nothing could stop him from running all the way home. That feeling had evaporated and was replaced with a growing tiredness, amplified now that he knew he'd have to help his mother clean instead of going out with his track team to celebrate his 15th birthday. His 15th birthday. 
Daniel's birthdays weren't very exciting. Where all his other school mates threw massive parties, Daniel mostly contended himself with a new comic book or a trip to the mall or the cinema. Also, there was his track team, who threw him a sort of private party as they did for all other members. Daniel wasn't allowed to have friends over, and he wasn't allowed to visit any of his friends for their birthday parties. Not that Daniel hated it all that much. Sure, it was boring, but Daniel still tried to make most of his day. He just couldn't understand why his parents hated the idea of him socialising or making friends so much. 

Samuel and Julia certainly were loving parents. But their over protectiveness was plain weird. Sure, it is normal for parents to be protective; but Samuel and Julia were outright sheltering him. His social interactions were painfully limited. Apart from a couple of his school mates and the 4 members of his track team, Daniel didn't have any real people he could call friends. No one paid attention to him, and it wasn't like Daniel could spend time with people outside of school hours because Samuel was always there to pick him up. He was only allowed to go for his practices one evening a week because his parents reckoned that regular exercise was a necessity. But apart from that, nothing.

Samuel was a tall man with good looking features. He had short and scruffy black hair and a slight moustache and beard. Rectangular glasses covered his obsidian black eyes. He had a sharp jawline and was also very well built. He was more of a big brother to Daniel than a father, never actually showcasing any sort of stern behaviour. But he was very annoyed when Daniel repeatedly asked why he couldn't go outside or make friends. He was a doctor and he had a clinic in the city. He preferred living in the suburbs because of the peace and quiet. 

Julia was Samuel's polar opposite in many ways, personality wise. With her neck length black hair, beautiful Amber eyes, heart shaped face, and tall and slim figure, she was often mistaken for a movie actress. She was incredibly stern with Daniel and always expressed authority, which made her very formidable in Daniel's eyes. She wasn't unfairly strict. But was often very commanding. But even with her drill sergeant vibes, she had her own ways of showing her love. It's just that they were more "practical" ones. 

Despite his parents' contrasting personalities, they never seemed to actually fight, which surprised Daniel. Given that he spent most of his time either in his room or with his parents, Daniel always thought that he understood his parents quite well. But even he sensed that they kept things secrets. Under the lame excuses they used as cover, Daniel knew that there was a reason as to why he had to stay indoors all the time, why he wasn't allowed to socialise with others. He couldn't ever actually figure it out. Not until he showed up.

As Daniel and his father finally approached their house, Daniel caught a glimpse of the neighbour's kid. He was lounging in his front yard like he always was. Daniel had spent his whole life in this suburb. He had watched multiple neighbours come and go. Many of them with very weird habits. Many of who had served as a source of entertainment for the rest of them. But never had he met someone so.....queer. He was just a kid of his age. Daniel had never seen him at school and had only talked to him a couple of times. They often exchanged greetings when Daniel left house for his track team meet. But never had either of them struck up an actual conversation. One particular incident which bugged Daniel a lot was when he had actually tried to go and talk to the kid, but as he'd been leaving the house, Samuel had stopped him right there. But that wasn't what bugged Daniel. What bugged him was Samuel's expression. A sort of fearful expression, mixed with nausea. It was as if Daniel wasn't going to talk to a neighbour, but a sickening bug or some sort of weird alien. Daniel had been able to pinpoint right then that Samuel and Julia both knew the kid. It was clear from how they reacted when Daniel brought their neighbours up suddenly. A start followed by some crude excuse and a convenient change of topics. No matter how much Daniel tried, they always dismissed him.

He was thinking about all this when he looked over and saw that the kid was waving at him. Daniel waved back. Maybe the kid was something like Daniel. Sheltered by overprotective parents. "Hey dad?" Daniel began, hoping to get an actual response from his father, "Do you know what our-"
"No Dan," said Samuel in a tired voice, as if he was fed up from the same question over and over, "I have no idea what our neighbours are like. And I think I prefer not knowing anything. In fact," he added as an afterthought, "I do prefer not knowing anything about our neighbours."
"But there must be something!" Daniel said not ready to give up, but was instantly silenced by an angry gesture by Samuel. Samuel who never seemed to lose his temper looked like he was barely able to contain his anger right now. Was it just because of the heat or was this because of Daniel's questions? 
"Dan, I don't know what's gotten into you," Samuel said clearly struggling to keep his voice level, "but I have had a rather long day, and I don't want to be bothered right now by your repeated enquiries." He stretched a bit before opening the door, "I would really appreciate if you stopped bothering me with this pointless game." Daniel didn't argue. There was no point. And anyway he realised that it must be annoying to get the same question again and again especially after a day at the clinic. Maybe he really should stop and focus on his birthday tomorrow, the 6th of June. 
"Sam dear, Is that you? You home?" A voice called from the kitchen. "I have been trying your phone for so long!" Julia Xander walked out of the kitchen wearing a long apron, her short hair brushed neatly. "Ah! There you are Dan dear." She said, walking towards the pair as they took off their shoes and shoved them into the rack. "So how was the last day?" Daniel went over his day as briefly as possible before going into the kitchen for a glass of water, leaving Samuel and Julia in the living room. He could hear their whispers from the kitchen. Dad is right, he thought to himself, bothering him over and over won't do any good. He tried to forget Samuel's exasperated voice by focusing on what he wanted for his birthday. Sure his birthdays weren't a blast, but his parents bought him some good stuff. Last year his dad had gotten him brand new sprinting shoes. What could he ask for this year? His thoughts were disrupted by the sudden arrival of Julia. Her teeth were clenched. Not a good sign. 

"Dan dear," she said, her voice level, but Daniel sensed that she too was exasperated, "your father just told me what happened. And I can't understand what is going through your head. Repeating your question over and over again won't get you a different answer. Please, it's really getting under our skin. Why are you so obsessed with this neighbour anyway? What ever the reason may be, don't bring him up again. I am not too fond of our neighbours to begin with." Daniel simply stared. Was it his imagination that his super confident and tough mother was bothered by something as mundane as a question. Sure Daniel had asked the same question a lot. But it wasn't like Julia to confront him over something like this. Normally, Samuel didn't even bother bringing up most of Daniel's mess ups to Julia. He let her discover for herself which often led to them getting a ton of extra chores. So why did his father bring something as innocent as a question up, and why did Julia confront him? Nope. He was doing nothing but reading too much into this. Maybe they were exasperated and tired. His mother did work so hard preparing for his birthday every year after all. Not like they got any guests but his mother's flawless planning did deserve merits. "Yes mom," he said apologetic, "I won't bring him up again. It's just that he caught my eye, that's all."
"Well," said his mother returning to her crisp manner rather alarmingly, "now that we have discussed this, could you please clean the upstairs bathroom honey? It's a stink and I would be really grateful if you took care of it. Thanks." And without waiting for a response, she left Daniel standing alone in the kitchen and wondering how he was gonna take care of that place without a gas mask.

"This is a huge pain," he muttered to himself as he went to his room and collapsed face-first into his bed. His wrists were aching really bad from cleaning the upstairs bathroom. His dinner had been a bummer as well. As usual Julia had taken it upon herself to ensure their good health by making okra or something. Daniel had been too tired to complain and Samuel ate whatever you put in front of him. After swallowing every last bit of his food without actually chewing any of it, Daniel excused himself from doing the dishes and went back to his room. It really had been a long day. What with the last day of term and all. Plus, his birthday tomorrow. He couldn't help but wonder for the nth time why his parents didn't allow him to invite any of his teammates or his schoolmates. Were his parents protecting him from strangers because they thought Daniel couldn't take care of himself? Were they really that distrustful of everyone? Maybe, if he had siblings or cousins, they would understand. Alas, Daniel didn't have any of those either. Come to think of it, he didn't even have any aunts or uncles. His parents hadn't ever talked about their families. They'd only said that Daniel's grandparents had passed when he was very young. He didn't have anyone to talk to except his parents. Even his track team had a hard time believing how sheltered Daniel was. His teachers never bothered to look at him twice. He didn't have anyone to really confide in except for his parents. But it wasn't like Daniel was gonna be a kid forever. He was gonna grow up one day. How long were his parents planning to "protect" him for? He uttered a long sigh. His life had left him remarkably puzzled. Was he overthinking? Can't really call it overthinking if your life is as confusing as mine, he thought, chuckling to himself. If only his parents would give him a straight answer. He turned over and stared at the ceiling. If only.

Well, this didn't change anything. As long as Daniel kept a positive outlook, he could still enjoy his birthday as well as anyone. Getting up, he resolved to get a puzzle. A good long one to really keep him busy. Since his childhood, Daniel had been an avid fan of creative puzzles, detective novels and comics, suspense thrillers, anything that needed his full attention in general and forced him to rack his brains. This made a useful distraction, and took his mind off of the fact that he had to stay in all the time while his neighbours and school mates went around, sometimes going for a swim, sometimes to the mall and sometimes for a sport. Daniel kept himself immersed in his little world of puzzles and detectives. His parents seemed to really approve of this habit. They never really refused to buy him anything as long as it had nothing to do with socialising. Yeah, maybe he should ask for a puzzle.

The day had taken its toll on him and he was ready to sleep. Maybe, this positive outlook would make this birthday all the more enjoyable. Or not. As soon as he got into bed, he fell asleep before he even knew it.

Having unsettling dreams and encountering weird noises was common for Daniel especially at night. Often times he could hear creaks and squeaks from the basement, as a lot of rodents had already claimed that territory. His parents never really complained about it, so Daniel never brought it up. But it was a huge disturbance and very annoying, especially on days like this when Daniel was this tired. That being said he tried his best to ignore all the noises, all of them until he heard a particularly profound creak from the downstairs. Daniel froze. He wasn't a fan of noises in the night in general, especially when they came from his own house. They only made him think of burglars and kidnappers; an adverse effect of his interest in detective stories and suspense thrillers. Even now as he lay silently in bed, his overactive imagination couldn't help but come up with thieves with bulging muscles. He heard another creak and then some whispers.

He sighed. Once a month, his father had to drive back to his clinic because he'd probably forgotten something necessary there, and it hadn't occurred to him until after he had gone to bed. It was really starting to get under Daniel's nerves when he heard their whispers a bit more carefully. There was something frantic about the way they were talking. As if Samuel had forgotten something really essential there. Daniel couldn't guess what it was. He heard the front door open and close. A weird chill passed over him. What was it that his father had gone to get? What could be so important? His phone, perhaps? But it wasn't like Samuel had a lot of very important contacts. What could it be? He considered getting out of bed and asking his mother, but ruled it out. Julia wouldn't appreciate him bothering her in the dead of night. He heard his mother close her bedroom door. He checked the time on his wristwatch. 11:30. Half an hour more and he would turn 15. Feeling a bit of excitement, he went back to sleep.

He was distinctly aware of Samuel coming back after a long time, the snap of the front door waking him up yet again. Slightly annoyed, he rolled over and tried falling asleep again; until he heard his mothers muffled shriek from downstairs. Without thinking, he darted out of bed as fast he could and went downstairs. Running into the living room he saw Samuel and Julia sitting on the couch, their backs to him, whispering to each other. They didn't seem to have noticed him. They often said Daniel moved quietly, not unlike a cat. Daniel inched a bit closer; and gasped, startling them. He couldn't help but stare at the sight before him. Samuel was sporting multiple bruises on his face, a blackened eye, and his right forearm had a deep cut on it. His left hand looked swollen. His eyes were watering as Julia dressed up his wound, and tended to his bruises. The pair was momentarily stunned, but Samuel seemed to regain his composure quickly enough.
"All right Daniel?" He said in an extremely unconvincing voice, waving an airy hand, "I think it's past twelve? Well, a very happy birthday!" His voice was cheerful. Julia and Daniel were both silent for a moment.
Then, Julia cleared her throat and said in an equally unconvincing cheery voice, "Happy birthday Dan honey! Why don't you go upstairs for a second? I- I will come up and explain." Her voice faltered. Daniel couldn't think very clearly. What the heck had happened? He had never seen his father so injured.
"Da-dad?" He stammered, "Are you ok? What happened to you?"
"Oh it's really nothing to worry about," his father said in the same airy fashion, "Just, I had gone back to clinic to get a patient's file. And as I was getting out, two punks jumped me. But no worries! You should have seen their faces when I knocked some sense into th-," his words were cut short by a wince. And the look on his face was clearly saying that he was hiding something. Daniel always suspected that his father was hiding something, but this time, it was totally different. He clenched his teeth.
"Jumped? Dad, it looks like someone outright tried to murder you! Why are you lying? Did you even tell the police or something?" Daniel said rather angrily, as his father and mother stared. "Dan dear," his mother said in a gentle voice, "you know your father doesn't like to involve the police in these matters."
"And it's not as bad as it looks! See! Seriously Dan, your old man can handle himself well!" Said Samuel waving his hand, now dressed up in bandages and ointment. Daniel shook his head. They were hiding something. His parents were terrible liars. Especially when he caught them off guard like this. 
"Fine," he said trying to cool down a bit, "if you really are telling the truth, show me this file you were talking about."
"Huh? What was that?" Samuel said looking confused.
"The file father, the one you went to get." Daniel demanded loudly.

His father answered with a long silence. Finally he sighed and said, "Look Dan, it will be better if you go back to bed. I am really tired tonight, and this game is wearing me out." His voice had gone from airy and cheerful, to calm and levelled. He stood up and stretched a bit, as he always did when particularly stressed.
"It will be better if- no, don't look at me like that and don't argue." He said as Daniel opened his mouth in protest. He wanted answers. His parents were the ones lying and he was the one getting chewed out because of his "game".
"I am not really in a mood for any of this Dan. Please, just go back to bed. I will explain in good time. Good night." The finality in his voice was real. When he wanted to, Samuel could be like an immovable object. When he was serious, he meant what he said. 

Julia got up and put a hand on Daniel's shoulder. She gently guided him out of the living room and bade him good night.
"Oh, and happy birthday again honey!" She said kissing his forehead, "Now get some sleep. Your dad and I have surprises planned for tomorrow. It's gonna be a lot of fun!"
"Yeah mom. Thanks." Daniel mumbled, his head down.
He turned and walked back up to his room, only stopping to look back briefly, before going back to his bed, not knowing what to think. His insides were cold and numb. And the sight of Samuel bloodied up had been too much. Daniel wasn't a stranger to injuries. He had tripped from the stairs plenty of times, but somehow, seeing Samuel injured was horrifying. His father had never sustained any serious injuries. And what was with all the secrecy? He wondered if Samuel was indulging in something inappropriate. All these thoughts running through his head, he finally allowed himself to fall asleep.