Fire Child Part 5

Zed stood rooted in disbelief as he watched Alyza fall to the ground. The crimson liquid seeping from Alyza’s temple mesmerized him, drawing him in until everything else was just a numb sensation.

  Dustin stumbled forward. “I didn’t mean to hit her! She jumped in front of it, you all saw.”

  Zed turned and the next thing he knew, Dustin was dangling in the air. The teenager struggled to release Zed’s grip around his throat as did his friends, but the silver-eyed boy simply regarded him as if he were something he had scraped from his boot.

  “What the hell?!” screamed one of Dustin’s friends as they failed to move Zed even an inch despite their savage assault upon his person.

  Zed calmly regarded those around him as he felt his body ablaze with what he now realised was rage. However unlike all the other occurrences of the emotion, he wasn’t subservient to It, instead It was subservient to him. It was as if for the first time in his life he had cause to be overcome with anger and as a result, It fuelled his strength so he could exact his fury.

  Dustin mutedly wept as his face turned a reddish-purple.

  Zed opened his mouth and the words almost unwillingly poured from it. “Cry little child for I’ll see you all burn.”

  The words were barely cold when sanguine flames erupted from Zed’s body, turning his clothes to ash. Dustin and a few of the surrounding boys were engulfed by the flames while others fled in terror. The crowd of spectators morphed into a stampede of panic as the wails of Dustin and his companions filled the air.

  Zed tossed aside the charred carcass that was once the instigator of his torment and saw that six of the ten boys had survived the eruption. As if sentient the sanguine flames suddenly pursued the fleeing remnants, first blocking their escape then isolating them from the stampeding herd.

  Zed felt his skin tighten and muscles bulge as he regarded his prey.

The boy gave a terrified shriek before the ring of sanguine fire closed in on itself. Zed didn’t let the boy suffer, willing the fire to be as searing as possible. He had been the only one in the group that never really took part in the bullying, but he also never did anything to stop it. The quick death was a benevolent act of mercy compared to what the others had endured.

  Zed regarded the scene of carnage around him when the very air in front of him exploded. The blast knocked him off his feet but the momentary pain was replaced by awe as he regarded what appeared to be a tear in space. Red, blue and yellow energies angrily ran along the edges of the 20 ft pitch-black void that hovered a few inches above the ground.

Sparsely a second passed before a woman emerged from the void. She wore black armour forged from some unfamiliar material with a sword at her side that looked like it might have been part of a living thing once. Purple leathery wings dominated her back and a pointed tail of the same texture dangled behind her legs. She regarded the surrounding charred corpses for a moment before shifting her silver gaze to Zed. “At last, we have found you.”

  There were numerous questions that raced through Zed’s mind as he regarded the oddly familiar features of the woman, one of the most prominent being why he understood the foreign language she spoke, but somehow the only thing that managed to escape his lips was, “Damn, you’re huge!”

  The 14 ft woman smiled slightly. “I’m tiny compared to some in our realm. My lord I’m afraid we don’t have much time, the rift is weak and I’m sure the exorcists are already on their way, I promise I’ll answer all of your questions when we are home but for now we need to hurry.”

  Zed took a step back as the woman started forward. “You know me?”

  “Of course my lord, you are Zendrius the Fire Child, there are none in our realm who do not know of you.”

  “Great, just when I thought I couldn’t get any more confused. I’m getting sick of always being left in the dark, who the hell are you?” asked Zed, frustration causing him to sound harsher than he intended.

  The woman instantly fell to one knee and bowed at Zed’s tone. “Forgive my impudence my lord, Zendrius. I’m Nessha of the Living Blade.”

  The display of obedience should have been strange but Zed found it appropriate for some reason. “Now tell me, is this about the thing inside me?”

  “My lord you have been deceived, there is nothing inside of you. That which you refer to is merely your very being yearning to become whole again. If it would please you, cast your eyes down to your chest.”

  Zed complied and realised that he stood stark naked before noticing the strange black tattoo-like symbol that had appeared on his chest. It was fractal in nature and ended with six spheres on opposite ends of each other, each sphere containing a slight crimson glow. “What is this?”

  “I’m not entirely sure my lord. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that it is some kind of symbol that indicates that the seal containing the rest of your being is weakening. It seems that you’ve been underestimated my lord.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Nessha stood and turned back to the rift that was now slowly shrinking. “My lord please, we are running out of time.”

  “Tell me!” roared Zed, his voice sounding foreign to his own ears.

  “My lord, I never had the honour of laying eyes on you after your birth so I might just be presumptuous, but I doubt that your current form is your true appearance. I do not know how and if I had not met you myself I would have thought it impossible, but they somehow sealed away a part of your very being. I can tell that you are Lord Zendrius the Fire Child by the energy you emit but if absent of the ability I would have just thought you a peculiar human.”

  “Who are they?” asked Zed

Nessha was about to reply when the loud roar of jet propulsion interrupted her.

Fire Child Part 4

Zed clutched his head in agony as boots drummed on his body. It was now painfully apparent that Dustin and his friends were no strangers to ganging up on a single individual. Two of the teenagers had kicked his legs out from under him a second after Dustin’s fist first made contact, and they have been steadily tenderising him since. But the physical pain paled in comparison to what It caused him, with each blow It screamed and teased; edging him on. Only by having focused on Alyza has he been able to resist for so long, but his promise was getting harder and harder to keep.

  Suddenly the assault stopped and Zed heard Dustin say, “That’s enough for today, we need to get to class.”

Zed got back on his feet as the group started towards the school building and said defiantly, “So when is this supposed ass-kicking going to start?”

  The gang of bullies regarded him in open astonishment for a moment, before Dustin and four of his friends lunched forward. One of the delinquents pushed Zed off balance; allowing another to put both his arms into an armlock behind his head.

  “Don’t hit him in the face, otherwise the teachers will notice,” advised one those watching the one-sided beating.

  Dustin grabbed Zed’s jaw as his two friends placed a few farewell blows. “I’m going to enjoy breaking you.”

  The teen restraining Zed threw him to the ground and the group strode away.

  “See you tomorrow freak.”

Father Steven twisted the hollow statue; the wall slid away and he entered the elevator. He waited patiently as it descended the twenty stories, silently wishing he knew of a way to disable the irritating lullaby.

  Father Warren held the guardrail as he stared down at the powered down array of machines.

  “What are you doing down here?” asked Father Steven as he exited the elevator.

  “I come here to think, I have never been more at peace with myself than when in one of those,” smiled the old man ruefully as he motioned downwards.

  “Warren, what we do here is just as important as what we did back there,” said the middle-aged priest, placing his hand on his comrade’s shoulder.

  “I know, but it is far less exciting. Is it safe to assume you didn’t come down here to talk about old times?”

  “It’s Zed, I’m worried that we made a terrible mistake in allowing him to attend that school.”

  “We all agreed that denying his proposal could have aggravated his condition, besides Alyza is the best stabilising element we’ve discovered so far.”

  “The situation is now different than it was three months ago, he is sick, Warren. He has never been sick,” stated Father Steven apprehensively.

  “It has only been a few days, this might just be a by-product of him coming into adulthood, you worry too much Steven.”

  “You are being too lenient! Eighteen years ago I told you, you were being too lenient when you allowed Michael and Hillary to act as his parents but you didn’t listen to me then, please listen to me now!”

  “I know that Michael was your brother so I will let that little outburst slide, but do not forget that you are speaking to your superior,” said Father Warren with the authority of a veteran commander.

  Father Steven stiffened. “Yes, sir.”

“Dismissed,” said Father Warren as he turned back to the machines below.

Zed opened his eyes as he heard the knock on the door. “Come in.”

  “You look a lot better, how’s the fever?” asked Alyza as she quickly entered.

    “Gone, though I’m sure I can manage to generate some heat for you if you come a little closer,” said Zed with a wink.

    “Yeah, you’re fine.  Do you have any idea what made you so sick?”

    Dustin and his goons came to mind, but Zed just smiled. “Maybe something I ate?”

    “Then you should really avoid that something.  I’m sorry I got to go, I sort of promised my mom that I’ll help her out today, I just popped in to see how you were doing. Will I see you tomorrow at school?”

    Zed kept a straight face. “I don’t see why not.”

    “Ok cool, see you then,” said Alyza as she hurried out the door.

    Zed looked at his hands tremble. “What’s the worse that can happen.”

“Where is she?” thought Zed as he navigated his way across the crowded school yard.

  “Well hello there,” came Dustin’s voice suddenly from behind.

    Zed turned and stumbled backwards as a sudden sharp pain shot through his entire body.

    Dustin laughed. “Oh boys, this is a special day, months of daily beatings and only now it seems Mr. Freak Show here finds it appropriate to fear us.”

    The mere sight of his tormentors caused It to rage, tear and scream, so much so that all Zed could push out was, “Please just leave me alone.”

    “You hear that? He just wants us to leave him alone! But we really want to be your friends,” said Dustin mockingly.

    Zed felt a scream escape his lips as Dustin and his friends swarmed over him.

“Christine hurry up, I told Zed I’d be waiting for him at the usual place,” said Alyza impatiently.

   “Ok, I’m done, let’s go,” said Christine as she paid the man and took her coke.

   “Yo, come check it out. Dustin and his crew are picking a fight with that silver-eyed kid,” said a student to no one in particular before rushing off, leaving a trail of followers.

   Alyza turned to Christine. “Did he mean Zed?”

   “He’s the only one with silver eyes.”

   “But why would this Dustin want to fight him?” asked Alyza confused.

   “Well there have been rumours that they’ve been picking on him since he transferred,” said Christine, avoiding eye contact.

   “What?! Why didn’t you tell me?”

Christine felt a pang of shame. “I don’t know, Zed seemed like the type that could defend himself.”

“He wouldn’t, because I told him not to fight!” said Alyza as tears welled in her eyes.

Dustin smiled as he watched his friends push Zed around. “I’ve heard something rather interesting about you.”

  Zed flinched with each push, each touch, each insult until the pain became so excruciating that he could barely breathe, every vein cried out in agony as if he had been injected with boiling oil.

   “I heard you burned your parents alive, and that they screamed like animals before dying. What happened? Could they no longer stand the thought of raising a freak like you, or did you simply do it for fun?”

 Zed fell to the ground and suddenly everything became so distant. The blows to his body, the priests at the church, even Alyza, everything felt foreign, wrong, and for the first time in his life, It was silent, more than that, It seemed to be gone. Then just as abruptly he was thrown back into the crucible with It and the pain returned.

   “Hold on, I think he is trying to beg,” said Dustin with perverted delight.

   “No more,” repeated Zed as the group stopped kicking him.

   “Ha! He is b-” started Dustin.

   “No more!” screamed Zed before leaping to his feet and striking the nearest bully in the face as hard as he could.

 There was a sickening wet thump as Zed’s fist collided with flesh and bone, the force overturned the boy causing his neck to smash into the ground not far from where his feet had been but a few seconds ago.

   The crowd backed away and Zed felt relief, It growled and thirsted for more.

   “You damn freak!” screamed Dustin before hurling a large rock at the back of Zed’s head.

   “Look out!” shouted a familiar voice.

   Zed turned and saw the stone strike Alyza’s temple.

Fire Child Part 3

It took a few seconds for Alyza to realise the cause of the class’s sudden strange atmosphere.  She had grown completely accustomed to Zed’s peculiar appearance and thus never considered how her school peers would react.  It also didn’t help that he regarded the whispering mass as if they were an accumulation of insects.  There were even a few students who visibly shivered under his gaze.

  “This is Zed Warren, now as you have all clearly noticed, he has an unique eye colour.  I don’t want anyone giving him trouble about it, understood?  Now I will give you some time to ask a few questions before we start, but keep it civil,” said Mr. Martinez, silencing the class.

  “Why are your eyes silver?” came the obvious first question.

  “I just said not to trouble him about it!” said the teacher angrily.

  “It’s alright, I don’t mind.  It’s a genetic anomaly, I was born this way.  But some say that I’m possessed,” said Zed calmly, allowing the awkward silence to linger for a moment before adding, “That last part was a joke.”

  Christine silently regarded Zed as a few students gave an uncomfortable imitation of laughter.  There was something about him that frightened her, and she knew it wasn’t due to anything as superficial as his eye-colour.  It was in everything he did, the way he moved, the way he spoke, the way he bore himself.  It was as if she felt instinctively wary of him. 

  “Why did you transfer here?” asked a girl that looked like Christine felt.

  Mr. Martinez was about to say something when Zed indicated that it was all right.  “I transferred here to make someone close to me happy.”

  “And who might that be?” caught Christine herself saying out loud.  

  Zed fell silent as he ran his gaze throughout the class, finding Alyza sitting at the back near the windows.

  Christine noticed that he now suddenly seemed less terrifying then he did a moment ago as she pressed, “Well?”

  “Alyza.”

  The answer brought an instant uproar as the demand for answers took precedence over class etiquette.  Male students were loudly voicing their disbelief and it took Mr. Martinez a few minutes to stop Alyza’s interrogation and restore order.  Not risking another breakdown in civility, Mr. Martinez quickly assigned Zed to a seat and started class.

Alyza sighed.  “You know, my personal life isn’t a freaking public affair.”

  Christine masked a chuckle.  “You should have informed Zed of that fact, besides it couldn’t really be helped, since it would have come out sooner or later that the Forbidden Fruit has been eaten.”

  “Christine, I have asked you not to call me that, it’s demeaning,” replied Alyza with disgust.

  “And why is it that you didn’t tell me he is transferring to our school?  I never get you to shut up about him but when something this significant happens, you suddenly turn into a mute and leave me in the dark.  What, did you lose my number or something?”

  “I don’t know, it all just happened so fast,” said Alyza, avoiding eye contact.

  “Still, I have to say, I never expected him to be so . . . strange.  It’s like the person you’ve told me about and the person in our class are two different people.”

  “He’s different around other people than he is with me.  He’s actually really sweet and –”

  Zed exited the building and scanned the crowded school-yard for a moment before spotting Alyza and Christine.

  Alyza quickly leapt to her feet and hugged Zed when he reached them.  “Where have you been?”

  “At admin, I had to take care of a few things.”

  Alyza motioned to her friend.  “This is Christine.”

  “Oh?  I finally get to meet you in the flesh,” said Zed as he extended his hand.

  Christine hesitated a moment before taking the offered hand.  “That’s my line, I was beginning to wonder if you weren’t just a figment of Alyza’s imagination.  How are you adapting to the new environment?”

  “It is somewhat different from what I’m used to, but there are a few things worth sticking around for,” said Zed as he glanced at Alyza, who seemed to have attached herself to his arm.

  “That’s good, just be careful.  There are a lot of jealous guys out there and even men act like children when their jealous.”

  Zed smirked and Christine felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.  “I can take care of myself.”

  “No, don’t you even dare think about fighting anyone,” said Alyza.

  “But she just said that –”

  Alyza gave Zed a stern look.  “I don’t care.  You don’t fight anyone.  If someone gives you trouble, you come to me and I’ll sort it out.”

  “But Alyza I –”

  “End of discussion.  If you want me to be happy then you won’t fight anyone, ok?” interrupted Alyza.

  Zed sighed.  “Very well.”

  “Quite the commanding girlfriend you’ve got there,” teased Christine.

  Zed looked at Alyza’s flushed cheeks.  “I don’t mind.  I’d do anything for her.”

  “W-w-what a-are y-you saying?” said Alyza before taking a deep breath, “Please learn some discretion.”

  The bell rang.  Zed, Alyza and Christine headed to class as the rest of the students thronged back into the building.

  Alyza started to pat down her pockets.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Christine.

  “I think I lost my cell phone, it must have fallen out of my pocket when we were sitting on the grass.”

  “Class is about to begin, you go on ahead, I’ll go back and get it,” said Zed.

  “Sorry,” said Alyza giving Zed a quick kiss.

  Christine watched Zed turn back and grinned.  “Must be nice to have such an understanding boyfriend.”

  “Oh shut up,” said Alyza as she continued to their class.

  Zed rushed to the spot where he had met Christine and saw the cell phone lying on the grass.  He heard muffled footsteps on the grass behind him as he knelt to pick it up.

  “Well if it isn’t our newest celebrity.”

  Zed slipped the phone into his pocket as the ten boys surrounded him.

  “Listen here freak, I’m Dustin and my friends and I run this school,” said the leader of the boys.

  Zed calmly looked into Dustin’s eyes.  “Quite the feat, what do you want?”

  Dustin grabbed Zed’s shirt with his left hand.  “An attitude like that is going to get you your ass handed to you.  Don’t go thinking you’re the hottest shit because you’re dating that uptight bitch, Alyza.”

  Zed smirked.  “You’ve already been rejected I see.”

  Dustin drove his fist into Zed’s stomach and It howled.

Fire Child Part 2

Zed regarded the gawking girl for a moment, whether Alyza was rooted in place due to shock or curiosity was a matter for debate, but Zed covered himself with his hands nonetheless.  “Give me a moment, would you?”

  The question seemed to snap Alyza from her reverie and the force of the slamming door vibrated down the walls.

  Zed quickly pulled on some pants and opened the door.  “Come on in.”

  Alyza looked tentatively at her half-dressed friend. 

  “What’s the point of being cautious now?  Isn’t that like grabbing my ass and then be shy to hold my hand?” teased Zed.

  Alyza quickly pushed past her friend in an attempt to hide her burning cheeks.  “You could have locked the door.”

  Zed followed and closed the door behind him.  “Yes of course, because not a single priest would ever dream of knocking before entering, I mean, they are such a notoriously rude bunch.”

  “Yeah, yeah, sit down, smartass,” said Alyza as she patted the spot on the bed next to her.”

  Zed covered his chest with his arms in mock concern.  “Is it no longer enough to look, now you want to touch?”

  Alyza felt her face burn as her blood rushed to betray her.  “W-w-what?  S-s-stop it.”

  “Sorry,” said Zed as he lost his smile.  He wouldn’t dare laugh at Alyza in her current state; she had struggled with serious speech impediments as a child, which had only worsted under the merciless teasing of her school peers.  As a result her parents eventually withdrew her from school and took her to a speech therapist.  In a single year she overcame her disorders, something he still admired about her, but she would occasionally stutter when under intense pressure.

  Alyza nodded, took a few deep breaths and then said, “It’s fine.”

  “I guess you don’t need me anymore,” said Zed, nostalgically recalling the times when she would cry in his arms after being teased at school.

  “We will always need each other,” responded the girl warmly.

  Zed sat down next to the only friend he had ever made.  “I suppose we do, I mean we have been together for so long; it’s almost like I don’t know what life would be like without you.”

  Alyza smiled, discreetly edging herself a little closer to him.

  “How long have we known each other?”

  “Thirteen years,” replied Alyza instantly.

  “You’re practically my sister,” chuckled Zed.

  Alyza felt a cold stab through her chest.  “Sister?  Is that the only way you’ll ever see me?”

  “Is something wrong?” asked Zed, alarmed by her tone.

  “You can be such an idiot sometimes,” whispered Alyza to herself.

  “What?  I don’t understand?”

  “That’s the problem, you don’t.  Thirteen years and you still don’t understand how I feel.  Seems like if I don’t make it painfully obvious, you’ll never understand!” said Alyza before pulling herself towards him.

  Their kiss lasted a few seconds, but it took Alyza only an instant to realise the passion was one-sided, more than that, it was as if she were kissing something cold and dead, it was as if she was kissing a doll.

  Tears rolled down her cheeks as she pushed Zed away, she couldn’t speak, she couldn’t think, all she knew was that she had to get away, somewhere far away.

  Zed sat stunned as his childhood friend fled the room still unsure of what had just happened, when he suddenly felt It.  It had been years since he last felt It this clearly and before he could fully comprehend the significance, he was already chasing after Alyza.  His mind raced, reliving every sensation, the grace of her ocean-blue eyes, the fragrance of her silky raven hair, the touch of her milk-white skin.  He yearned for her to the point that the thought of life without her seemed unbearable.

  Alyza was almost outside when she heard Zed call for her, there was something in his voice that made her stop, a sense of terror one would expect from someone pleading for his life.  Although she had pause for only a few seconds, Zed appeared around the nearest corner as if by magic, folding her in a tight embrace.

  “Do not leave, there is nothing, nothing without you,” pleaded Zed.

  Confusion had to be redefined to properly express what Alyza felt; she had experienced her fair share of the peculiar from Zed since meeting him, but this was definitely a hallmark moment.  “I won’t leave, but I don’t think we’ll be able to just go back to the way things were.”

  Zed reluctantly released her; as if afraid that she’ll vanish if he broke physical contact.  “What would make you happy?”

  Alyza felt her heart tear at the question, ever since meeting Zed, he had done nothing but dedicate himself to her happiness.  Her love for him was in no small part due to this seemingly selfless devotion.  “I’m sorry, Zed.  There is no one but myself I can blame for my unhappiness.  I love you, but I can’t expect you to love me just because I love you.”

  “Why not?”

  “What do you mean, 'why not'?”

  “Why can’t you expect me to love you because you love me?  Is that what you want?  Is that what you require to be happy?” asked Zed impassively.

  Alyza smiled sadly.  “You can do many things, Zed.  But you can’t control your own heart.”

  “The hell I can’t,” said Zed before kissing her.

  This time it was passionate on both sides, but it was more than that, it was as if they were fuelling a singular fire, allowing it to burn more intensely with each passing second.

  Alyza breathed heavily as she finally pushed Zed away.  “Wow, wait, just give me a moment to think.”

  “You sure?  We were kinda on a role there,” said Zed with a sly smile.

  “Oh screw it,” said Alyza, falling into his embrace.

Alyza watched the clouds absently through the classroom widow nearest her desk.

  “So who’s the lucky guy?”

  Turning to her right, Alyza saw her best friend eagerly awaiting an answer.  “Good morning to you too, Christine.  What do you mean?”

  “Are you kidding me?  You’re virtually glowing, there is only one thing that can make a girl that happy, a strapping young lad.  So who’s the lucky guy?” repeated Christine, the commotion drawing the attention of the rest of the class.

  Alyza suddenly found herself confronted by a class of eager listeners and looked away, but her glowing cheeks betrayed her and the reaction was almost biblical.  She had earned the nickname ‘The Forbidden Fruit’ soon after her enrolment, since her incredible beauty was only paired by her almost wall-of-fame-like rejection rate. It did not matter if they were innovative, romantic or just unbelievably good-looking.  Everyone got the axe, no exceptions.

  Luckily before her inquisition could start, Mr. Martinez entered the class and everyone quickly dispersed to their seats.

  The veteran teacher cleared his throat.  “Good morning, before I take attendance, I would like to introduce the newest addition to our class.”

  Zed entered and the class broke into a sea of whispers.

  Christine felt a stab of fear.  “Is his eyes . . . silver?”