Spontaneous

            Gordon Schroeder seemed to be an ordinary kid in Fernsdale. For years he thought the only thing that distinguished him from the other kids in the area was the fact that he was adopted. It turned out that the matter of his adoption was only the beginning of what made him unique –though his origins were a mystery. Gordon was the standard emotional young man going through the usual high issues a teen does. Though his feelings and emotions were more intense than most of his peers, Gordon usually kept his cool relatively well. When he did lose his temper Gordon was prone to getting into fights. People even said that when he got upset, Gordon would really get “hot under the collar” and his temperature would rise. In an effort to curb these outbursts Gordon’s family had enrolled him in martial arts classes and sports to teach him discipline and self control.

Gordon was a medical anomaly as well. Gordon was about six feet tall and had enough muscle on him for people to know that he was somewhat athletic. He was at a healthy weight for his height and age; and he was very active as well. His scars told the stories of fights and epic plays on the pitch, playgrounds, and concrete. Gordon would consistently come down with fevers and intense stomach pains. Some of these pains were strong enough to cripple and even kill a normal person, but he would eventually brave the pain, pull through, wipe the sweat off his forehead, and move on with his day. As he progressed through high school the fevers and stomach pains became more frequent and increased in strength, but as always he was able to endure the pain.

For so long Gordon had thought the only thing that made him unique was the fact that he had been adopted. Other than that fact, Gordon’s entire past was a bit of a mystery. His adopted mother told him bits and pieces; like the fact that the hospital he was born in burned down and that his birth father worked in New York City. This had always intrigued Gordon. His mystery surrounding his birth family and his medical condition had always been in the back of Gordon’s mind but during the summer before he would leave for college one of these mysteries would become deadly clear.