Short description and outline of characters

Central characters:

Erik Wilson

He is the protagonist. He attends Blackwood International College. Located at the foot of the Maloti Mountains, Blackwood International College is an elite private boys' school, situated between Lesotho and South Africa's Free State Province. He is the school's student president and captain of the first rugby team. He is a top-tier student. Academically, he progresses fairly well. His father expects him to obtain twelve distinctions. In person, he appears to be stable, strong, and capable. When he reminisces about his late brother Daniel, it exposes his soft and emotional side.

Gregory Stevens (Greg)

Is the antagonist. He is the new kid on the block at Blackwood. From the beginning, there was friction between him and Erik. He often says things that appear to be perplexing for Erik’s comprehension and understanding. He is a bit of an outsider and a loner, not necessarily the ‘party type’, a heavy reader and is fanatical about computers and running. He has a heavy interest in computers and the dark realm of hacking. Erik gradually gravitates towards Gregory since there is a part of him that very strongly resembles that of his late brother Daniel. He has an overwhelming interest in computers and hacking. Gregory appears to be an isolated individual in so far as not sharing much about his personal life with anyone. It is later discovered that Gregory has a dark side to him. His bookshelf even contained a book about depression and psychological health. He mysteriously disappeared after being at Blackwood for a couple of months.

Additional characters:

Rowena Wilson

She is the mother of Erik. Her living standards and experiences are those of a rich man's wife, living on an enormous estate in Sandton, Johannesburg. For the better part of her days, she appears to be lonely. She endures the absence of a distant and absent husband that is very concerned about economic and business prowess. She is occupied for most of her day by TV and the estate staff.

Erik's Dad (Mr Wilson)

He is a jewellery magnate, and he owns the jewellery company Gemstone-Glide. He is quite a difficult man. He is a distant husband and absent father. He often neglects his family to achieve higher economic and business goals. He is driven and will do whatever it takes to remain at the top of his industry. He barely takes time off from work, he spends many hours away from his home, and he even takes some when he is on vacation. His eldest son, Daniel, is presumed to have committed suicide due to the heavy pressure and layers of expectations laid on him by his father. Often Erik feels so despondent and annoyed at his father, as he feels like his father’s manipulative attitude has shifted on him after Daniel’s death.

Daniel Wilson, Erik's dead brother

Daniel could be considered a ‘ghost character.’ He is not a character per se in the story but who, through the words and thoughts of others could have an impact on the events occurring in the story. Daniel was in his own right a top-tier student. The girls were crazy about him, the guy with blonde locks and hazel-green eyes. He was extremely infatuated with extreme sports, such as mountain climbing and mountain biking. With all the responsibility placed on his shoulders to be and become the best at practically everything, he succumbs under the pressure, took a hand full of pharmaceutical drugs, overdosed as a result of it and dies on the way to the hospital. For much of the time he is at Blackwood, Gregory reminds Erik very much of his brother Daniel. In fact, Gregory does become Daniel for Erik, so much so that he gave Daniel’s bedroom to Erik while on vacation.

Jimmy Thomson (JT)

Interestingly, Jimmy is the grandson of Claude Blackwood, the founder of Blackwood International. He is a reliable friend of Erik’s. He is skilled at badminton, disciplined and conducts himself orderly as the school’s standard requires it. Erik takes him into his confidence about everything that transpired between him and Gregory. He confesses to him that Greg is also heavily involved in hacking and is a hacker himself. Jim betrays him in the end by disclosing this information to the police.

Justin Goldberg (aka Bill)

He is also a friend of Erik. He is also a senior in the twelfth grade. He plays alongside Erik in the school’s first rugby team. His wit and intellect are often undermined as a result of him being always on a high and smoking joints.

Cedrick Lumbela

He is the vice president of the Student Council, after Erik, the president. Erik finds it difficult to get along with him because he tends to act above his status at school. The tension between the two continues to amplify when Cedrick calls for the first student council meeting of the year, without Erik receiving any notice of it.

Isabella Fourie, Erik's girlfriend

She has long golden locks, blue eyes that resemble the ocean, a small nose with a sharp edge and thin lips that are coated always coated with red lipstick. Erik is sensitively concerned about his relationship with her. As he is miles away from her, he and she shared an intimate moment together when they visited Cape Point while on holiday. He fears he might not trust Isabella when she is alone in Durban.

Dr Hendrick D. Paterson (Doc Pat) Headmaster and Principal of Blackwood International College

He rules his school with an iron fist. He does not tolerate backchat or intolerable behaviour. He gets annoyed with the way Erik behaves towards him regarding Gregory’s disappearance. He tries to obscure everything in the media concerning Gregory’s disappearance. It is later discovered that he is a felon who committed heinous crimes

Dale Mansion, personal secretary of Doc Pat

While for the most part, he is proficient in his duties, he often gets overwhelmed with the workload, leading him to act at times gullible and naïve about most things. It becomes easy for Erik to engage him with social engineering, manipulating him to give the password to Doc Pat’s computer.

Nico Steward, vice principal & deputy headmaster of Blackwood International College

He is the only member of the staff, and of management that takes it upon himself to inform the police about Gregory’s disappearance. He cooperates and handles the police during their investigation.

Inspector Priyanka Kumar

Inspector Kumar knows how to hold her ground and does not allow people to push her around or intimidate her. She is driven and has a lot of perseverance to succeed in her job.

Sargent Leonardo McCallister

He serves as Inspector Kumar’s assistant.

William Stanford, the maths teacher for seniors at Blackwood

He is the one who reported Gregory’s disappearance to the school principal.

Thomas Felkin (aka Tommy), the school foreman

He manages the school grounds and ensures that the gates are locked after every school day. Erik and Greg are given access to the network lab by him.

Mr Dali Freedman, the hostel administrator

An ageing, half-bold old man who has become more creative about hiding the keys to the students' hostel. But it is later discovered that he was hiding the keys along with the door's runner underneath the stairs.