Chapter One

It’s been ten years since that horrible day. Ten years, and what used to be the cute five year old boy became a sullen fifteen year old young man. He went to high school, he had many more material possessions in his life, his cute baby sister became a bratty eleven year old girl.
School was tough, and a lot tougher than last year. Freshman year seemed like a piece of cake compared to Sophomore year. The classes seemed so much harder, and it felt like Tatsuya was up until 2 AM every weekday.
Tatsuya didn’t have too many close friends. Well, he didn’t have any close friends. There were those people where you smile at them, or nod your head in their general direction when you walk past them between classes, but Tatsuya didn’t have any friends to whom he really spoke to. There was no one he hung out with at lunch, no one he told his secrets to, no one to rant to when he was depressed.
Actually, there was one person. Technically, she wasn’t a person, she was… a technicality. She was a machine. Tatsuya, despite being slightly anti-social, was incredibly intelligent for his age. He had created a program for his computer that practically brought her to life. He called her Gina, which stood for “Great intelligence, not artificial.”
“Good afternoon, Gina,” Tatsuya said to his computer as he threw his backpack onto the floor and collapsed onto his bed after a tiring day at school.
“Good afternoon, Tatsuya,” an odd female voice said from Tatsuya’s computer.
“Will you help me with my math homework today?” he asked. “I know I’ve been asking you a lot, but I really suck at algebra.”
“Of course, Tatsuya, you know I would do anything.”
One odd thing about Gina, though, is that she thought she could feel real human emotions, when she can’t because she’s just a machine.
“Gina, please don’t start flirting with me now,” Tatsuya said into his pillow. “It’s creepy. You’re a computer.”
At first Gina didn’t respond, but after a minute she said, “Yes, you’re right, Tatsuya. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I just think it’s a bit weird for a computer to be in love with a human, especially when I created you.”
“I understand,” Gina said. “I’ll get started on that math homework.”
“Thanks, Gina,” Tatsuya said, forcing himself out of his bed, and down to the kitchen to get a quick bite to eat.
“Tatsuya, don’t eat my chocolate cake, okay?” Kimiko told her older brother.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Kimi,” Tatsuya said blandly. “What else is there for me to eat?”
“Whatever you want, as long as you don’t eat my cake!”
“Sure thing, Kimi.”
“Hey, what should I wear for my date tonight?”
“You’re too young to be dating.”
“Oh, please,” she said. “And it’s not a real date, I’m just going out with a group of friends, okay? Just a couple of friends and guy-friends. No need to get paranoid about it, big bro.”
“Just be careful,” he reminded her. “I don’t like how you’re out with friends every second.”
“Chill, bro! No need to get jealous just because I’m more popular than you.”
“Don’t speak like that to your older brother.”
“Don’t start acting like mom now,” she whined, rolling her eyes.
“Please, Kimi, just listen to us every once in a while.”
“Sure thing, bro,” she said, reaching into the fridge and getting out her chocolate cake. “I’ll see you later, okay? You need to get some sleep, you have these awful looking bags under your eyes.”
“I know, it’s not my fault I have hours of homework each night,” he said, yet his younger sister walked off without really listening to him.
Tatsuya decided that he wasn’t really hungry, and left the refrigerator untouched as he climbed back up to his room. He really wasn’t in the mood to do any of his homework, so he just collapsed on his bed again.
“Deciding not to do your homework again?” Gina’s robotic voice said.
“Stop pestering me.”
“I would never dream of pestering you.”
“You don’t dream,” Tatsuya said firmly. “How’s the math homework?”
“It is complete.”
“Thanks, Gina. I guess I’ll just start on the rest of it now.” He picked up his backpack, and he was almost startled about how much it weighed.
“Are you all right, Tatsuya?” the computer asked.
“Yeah,” Tatsuya grunted. “This thing is like fifty pounds.” He threw his bag on the ground by his desk, and the whole room shook. It shook so much, that it felt like the ceiling was falling on him. In reality, a piece of the ceiling did fall on him.
“Ow, what?” Tatsuya looked around to see what hit him, and it was indeed a piece of the ceiling. He picked up the piece of wood, and then looked up. “I never knew we had an attic. And I never knew that the attic entrance was in my room.”
Tatsuya stood up and left his room. “Mom?” he called. “Mom, do we have a ladder?”
“Mom’s not home!” Kimi called back from her room. “What do you need a ladder for?”
“None of your business,” he yelled back. “Just tell me where it is.”
“It should be somewhere in the garage, but I’m not sure. Just try looking for it.”
“‘Kay,” he said before leaving to his garage.
Tatsuya didn’t like the garage. The lighting was dim, and it was so full of useless things instead of a car. He pushed his way through the trash until he finally noticed a ladder in the corner of the garage. It was difficult enough getting through the garage to get the ladder, but now that he had it, he could barely see where he was going. He was relieved when he was finally out of the cramped up, dull room.
He managed to lug the ladder all the way back up to his room without his sister noticing he was up to anything. He set it up under the hole he had created in the ceiling, and began to climb up.
“Ugh, this place is worse than the garage,” he complained as he walked into his so-called attic. “There’s no light in here at all, and it’s so musty. But at least there’s more room to move than in the garage.”
This attic was pretty empty. There were just a bunch of crates covered with several large sheets. But something seemed to glisten on top of one of them, despite the lack of light in the room.
Tatsuya walked towards the strange item, wondering what it was. “It’s a book,” he said, picking it up. He opened it, but couldn’t read it at all without the light. He decided to bring it back down and use it for a little late night reading. As he climbed back down the ladder, the light began to engulf the cover of the book, making it possible to read.
“Oh, it’s just an old journal,” Tatsuya said, slightly disappointed. He opened the front cover, and blew off all the dust to see whom it belonged to. The text read, “Property of Drake Gray.” “Who is Drake Gray?” Tatsuya mumbled under his breath.
The sound of a door opening and closing appeared in the distance, so either Kimi was leaving her room or Tatsuya’s mother had come home.
Tatsuya walked out and looked downstairs, and his mother had arrived. He rushed down to greet her.
“Hey, mom, are you okay?” Tatsuya asked his mother, wiping away the years on her face.
“It’s been ten years, dear,” she said between sobs. “Ten years today, Tatsuya.”
“I know you’re upset, mom,” he said, putting his arm around her. “I’ll make dinner tonight, okay? All of the stuff that you said dad loved. Sound good?”
“Yes, thank you, Tatsuya.”
“Of course, mom. Hey, I have a question for you.”
“What is it?”
“Who is Drake Gray?”
For a moment, she looked confused, and then her expression changed. “Drake Gray… was your great-grandfather. Your father was Joseph, and his father is Andy Gray, and then his father was Drake Gray.”
“Oh!” Tatsuya exclaimed, looking down at the journal in his hands. This used to belong to my great-grandfather!
“Yes, and speaking of your grandfather, you know he’s going to be moving in with us for a while, right?”
“How come?”
“Oh, because they’re doing some major renovations at the retirement home he stays at, so he’s going to stay with us for a while.”
“All right, awesome,” Tatsuya said, grinning from ear to ear, which he rarely ever did. “I love it when grandpa comes over.”
“Go upstairs now and finish your homework, and I’ll call you down and you can help me make dinner, okay?”
“Sure thing, mom,” Tatsuya said, rushing back upstairs to his room. “Oh my gosh, this is cool,” Tatsuya almost squealed, gripping the journal with a tight grip. “I’ve heard so many stories about him from grandpa. Haven’t I told you about that, Gina?”
“Yes, you have,” said Gina.
“Yeah. Do you think I should read it, or leave his personal thoughts to himself?”
“He’s dead. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
“I guess. But when grandpa comes over here, it would be bad if he found out I was reading his father’s journal. Oh, well, I’m going to read it anyway!” Tatsuya flipped open the first page:

My name is Drake Gray, and I’m an explorer. Currently, my crew and I are preparing for a journey down to the edge of Japan. We’re not sure what we’re looking for, but I have a feeling we’ll find something. The date is October 7 1931. We’re setting off tonight. I’m looking forward to this expedition because it’s the first one that I’m leading, and I’ve got fifty of my best men with me. Let’s hope the expedition goes successfully.

We’re on the boat, sailing down to Japan. Supplies are plentiful, and I have no fear at all. My men all seem excited about the expedition. I can’t explain why feelings are at such a height, considering the fact we all barely know what we’re doing, or what we’re going to Japan for. But we’ll find something amazing, trust me.

Tatsuya put the journal down. “Wow, great-grandpa,” he laughed at the journal. “Going on an expedition and you don’t even know what you’re looking for. I’ll finish reading about your failed expedition later.”
“Tatsuya, come down for dinner, please!” his mother called.
He ran down the stairs, where his little sister was already waiting at the table, and his mother was already setting the food.
“Mom, I told you I’d make dinner tonight,” he told her, sitting down. “Why’d you go through all this trouble?”
“Oh, it’s okay, dear,” she said. “You know I’m the one who is supposed to be taking care of you, right?”
Before he could answer, Kimi finished her last bite and got up.
“Hey, you know it’s rude to start eating before mom even sat down,” Tatsuya said angrily.
“Yeah, but I have to leave,” she whined. “I’m getting picked up.”
“Where are you going?” her concerned mother asked.
“Oh, just to the mall with some friends. I’ll be back before long, I promise. Bye!” And she had sprinted out the door before another word could be said.
Tatsuya sighed. “She has no sympathy at all.”
“That’s all right, as long as she’s careful. Here, we’ll finish dinner together.”