"Good morning, Clare Point View! It is a beautiful morning on this hot summer day! This just in! All tickets for the annual Clare Point View summer music festival sold out! Anyway here is ....." A radio announcer droned.

A young man with a browned textured skin was sitting near his laptop, browsing through his emails. He grumbled while weaving through the number of spam emails he had to weed through. The man glances at the bookshelf between looking through his emails. The bookshelf had a dozen books all lined together.

The man extended his arm and pushed himself away from his desk to get up. He gravitated to the area of the room where the bookshelf is. The man put his hand on one book then took it off the shelf. He read the book title, " Spell keeper 101: magic spells for beginners and advanced magic users". The man frowned when he threw the book into a cardboard box. He continued to raid his bookshelf for more books to get rid of.

"Darren?" A petite woman knocked on the side of the door as the man spun around to see her.

"Oh, Hi, Aunt Michelle. I'm just... cleaning...." The young man named, Darren said.

"Throwing away all your spell books? Does that mean you are completely giving up on magic?" his aunt asked as she went into the room to look at a box full of his old spell books.

"There is no point keeping them. I gave up trying to get better at magic at seventeen. Like people said, I'm bound to the path of a defective mage anyway." Darren stated as his aunt touched his shoulder for comfort.

"I won't judge you on your choice discontinuing practicing your magic. But you should really think about what you are throwing away." Michelle went to stand in front of him then put her other arm on his shoulder. "Being a Mage is a part of who you are. Throwing away your heritage and your magic books won't change that. I don't want you to ever forget that. Your mother and your father won't want you to forget that.... Defective or not."

Damn his parents. His aunt Michelle was always wise but is this really a time to talk about this? His mother left his siblings and him without a warning. No goodbyes or even a note. His father... He didn't even want to think about it right now!

"I know. I want to leave the magic practice behind right now. It could be a sign telling me to give up." Darren then sat down back at his chair to turn his attention back at his laptop.

His aunt sighed then picked up the box that was full of his magical items. She softly gave him a smile before she opened her mouth to say anything else. "I'm keeping these things. I know you may have given up on learning magic right now, but you'll never know if you need them again."

With that last remark, his aunt Michelle headed out of his bedroom. The door slammed which didn't bother Darren since he was too focused on a new email message he has received.

His eyes went rolled and he sighed then muttered, "Mark..."

He opened the email to see what it said:

Hey, little bro! How it's going? I have been living the life of fame as usual and it's been pretty awesome! I hope you didn't forget that Olive and I are in town for the music festival. BTW, I didn't forget that your little band is performing the festival too. How cute. You're finally good at something for once.

Anyway listen, bro, I'm giving you an offer that you can't refuse. Think of it a bit of truce to our lovely brotherhood relationship. There is a group called the Rise of Light which is good for you to join. They are good at protecting Supernaturals like us in this goddamn society. Plus, they can help you with your magic control problem, bro.

If you interested, Darren... Olive and I like you to meet us at Mount Ridge Bridge University tomorrow night. That is if you care about getting your little magic control to straighten out.

Mark

Darren growled a bit at the language of the email from his older brother. He brushed his brunette hair in frustration. Darren hated how his older brother would give him backhanded compliments. Darren always lived in Mark's shadow throughout his entire life. He is a famous rock star and talented mage in their local coven. Everyone loved him.... Well everyone except Darren and his friends that is. Underneath that handsome smile lay a cold and manipulative asshole. Darren knew Mark's other side since he was a child. Yet, Mark is the adorned one in and outside their town secret coven. Darren couldn't stand it.

Soon Darren's cell phone rang to see someone was calling him. He glanced at the phone number which came from his contacts listed as one of his friends," Ji-a Chantel". Darren hastily answers the phone, putting it on speaker as he wanted to take his mind off of his brother.

"Hey, Ji-a." He answered the call, jokingly putting it on speaker.

"Asshole, you should know not to call me that name. I'm not in the mood to deal with your bullshit right now." A girl's voice rang in Darren's ears, sounding a bit cranky.

"Sorry, Chantel. Are you feeling alright? You weren't feeling good at band practice yesterday. Jesse had to walk you home because you were limping a bit." he commented on his friend, ignoring Chantel's sassy attitude.

Darren fiddled with the watch on his wrist while he waited for her response back. He hated wearing this watch. Darren isn't going to wrist taking it off since he needed to keep his magic suppressed.

"I'll be fine. I'm feeling better since I had a rest last night. But that's not what I called you about! I forwarded you an email!" she exclaimed.

Darren looked back at his laptop as he moved his cursor to find the email that Chantel was talking about. He clicked on the title of email, "Join us: Learn about The Rise of the Light."

Darren opened the email as the message appeared:

Dear Ms. Ji-a Delisle,

You invited to meet and join our group,The Rise of Light. We are a new community group. We help people reach their potential and give back to the other communities. Do you ever feel that you are not meeting your potential? Do you wonder how you can help those in need at your peak? Do you have questions that haunt your subconscious?

We can help!Come meet with us at Mount Ridge Bridge University tomorrow night. We can't wait to see you there!

Darren thought the email that he saw suspicious when he finished reading it. It was an odd coincidence that Chantel got a similar invitation to this same group . Who were this group called the Rise of Light anyway? Darren thought this Rise of Light group might be some sort of hippy hipster group or something.

"Strangely, my brother Mark invited me to this same group. I don't know what he is trying to get at though. I mean this sounds like a scam." Darren continued to talk to his friend once again.

"I was thinking about going... I mean, lately, I have been feeling something has been off with me." Chantel spoke.

"Like what?"

"Darren, I have been getting nightmares for a long time. I still haven't found the answer to why these nightmares keep happening. It's getting worse between with the headaches and other shit that's going on with me. This damn nightmare replay that same damn dream about our night at summer camp years ago!" Chantel complained.

Darren stopped paused for a second. He realized where the conversation was getting. He closed his eyes and thought back to what happened on that horrid summer night when he was eleven years old.

There were five kids who went on exposition to bust a myth about a secret ghost town in the backwoods. His two friends, Jesse and Chantel, Leticia Hernandez , and her best friend, Dakota Ramsey were all in on it. An awful night where it almost killed all them where he can only remember it; no one else did.

"And you think some hipster group's enlightenment would help solve your nightmare problems? Why don't you go to a doctor?" Darren continued to fiddle his wristwatch again, still listening to Chantel.

"No doctor is going to help me! Look, I don't know what it is about this group but I can't help but feel drawn to them. I met a nice guy at the Marble Tower Cafe the other day and he was part of this group as well. I had a pretty long chat with him about a group called The Rise of Light. He invited me to a meeting too! I'm going to go to one meeting to see if it is worth it." Chantel explained.

Darren felt something was uncomfortable with what she said. He wanted to tell Chantel about that night what happened years ago. But Darren couldn't tell her. The government made him swore to not tell anyone. Not even to the other children, he was with that night.

Darren felt his whole body shake in nerves when he continued to listen to his friend talk about her nightmare.

"Darren?"

Darren blinked his eyes and turned his attention back to his friend on the phone, "I'll go with you."

"You would? You don't have to go with me." Darren heard Chantel's voice rose up in protest.

"If it means so much for you to go, I'll go with you after our band's performance at the festival tomorrow. I want you to be safe." Darren remarked.

"Okay, sounds like a plan. I got to go. I'll see ya when I meet up with you and Jesse." Darren smirked.

The call ended. Darren stared at the laptop screen and slugged down his chair. He thought talking to Chantel would help him feel better after reading Mark's email. It turned out to be the opposite. His stomach started to turn as he worried about his best friend, Chantel's desperation and where it can get her. Darren knew she determined to find answers.

Darren looked at the clock again to see it was time for him to meet up his friends. So they can go to their band rehearsal at the festival grounds.

Darren shook his head and got up from his computer chair. He picked up his bass guitar before he headed out of the bedroom door. Once he rushed out of the condo house, he went on his bike and put his helmet on. His thoughts about the phone conversation still continued to haunt him. Is it time to confess about that night?

"No. Not today." Darren muttered to himself then rode off to meet up with his friends.