Chapter 1: Cold Sweat
The midnight silence of the bedroom was broken by the sudden awakening of Carter in his bed. He sat up quickly, panting loudly, feeling his heart practically hammer through his ribs. "God damn nightmare," he muttered as he wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead. Carter was a orangish-brown lion who had a slight build, a deeper shade of brown in his hair, blue eyes, and was now wearing a white tank top and blue sweatpants. His muzzle was usually a peachish color, the effect on not having any fur there, but tonight the skin on his face was unusually pale. "Why does this dream keep happening?" he wondered as he tried to keep his heart rate from rising above 200. Just then, he heard someone beside him wake up to his whispers.
The figure in the bed next to him was a purple female cat with a ponytail of feather-shaped hair, a red gem on her forehead, yellow eyes, a white furred muzzle, and wore a pink tank top and violet shorts. "Blaze, hi. Sorry for waking you," Carter said, rubbing his eyes with the backs of his hands. The cat had a concerned look on her face. "Was it that dream again?" she asked in an understanding tone. He looked at her. "Yeah," he answered in a disgruntled tone. "The damn thing's been waking me up for the past three weeks now." He held the bridge of his nose between his fingers, shutting his eyes, clearly distraught by the nightmare.
Blaze smirked at him. "Hey, language," she joked. He looked back at her, smirking as well. "Hey, you're my sister. Not my teacher," he retorted. "What happened to the Blaze who used to drop the H-Bomb everytime she missed a hoop at basketball practice?" His sister's smirk grew a bit wider. "Oh, I don't know. How about that she grew up?" she replied smoothly. His smirk softened into a small smile. "You have to be my favorite sister in the whole world," he told her. She smiled back. "That's because I'm your only sister, you doy," she replied. Her smiled disappeared to a face of concern. "So tell me what you dreamed about," she said. He turned away. "You don't want to know," he said quietly. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "You can tell me. I know you can," she said in a reassuring voice. He pondered this for a moment or two, then looked back at her. "Okay," he said, sitting down on the edge of his matress. "You know how our parents died, right?" he asked her sadly. She frowned. "I don't know. They died when I was only three," she replied. "Well," he began. "We were driving down a cliffside road, and it was raining." As he talked, he began to recall what had happened that night.
That night, ten years ago, on September 3, 4208, a red Ford Expedition drove quietly, being pelted by small raindrops. The slick surface of the road was slippery, but the tires' grip held firm on the black concrete. Inside the car, a 35-year old male lion sporting black hair, green eyes, a black jacket, blue T-shirt, blue pants, and grey shoes, was gripping the steering wheel, eyes fixed forward, making sure not to jerk it suddenly for fear of a car wreck. In the passenger seat sat a 29-year-old purple female cat who had yellow eyes, hair that hung back in a long curly wave, wore a red long-sleeved shirt, brown leggings, and purple high-heels.
In the middle seat sat a 7-year old Carter, who wore a green-T-shirt with a T-rex on it, blue shorts, and red shoes. Next to him, in a booster seat, sat a 3-year old Blaze, wearing a pink onesie, red shoes, and hair that fell over her face. She had been sleeping, while Carter was watching a portable DvD player, momentarily looking away out the window to avoid getting carsick. "You two doing okay back there?" the man asked, obviously the father. "Yeah, I'm fine," Carter replied, looking up from his movie. "Blaze fell asleep."
The dad looked at them via the rearview mirror, smiling. "Who would we be if we didn't have this family, Martha?" he asked his wife. "I would be working a crappy job that I don't like," she replied sarcastically. The man chuckled, then looked forward to the sound of a loud horn honking and a car coming straight at him.
He jerked the steering wheel left to avoid getting hit. The car missed the SUV, but the turn was to quick, and the man swerved back forward at the same velocity. The tires lost their grip on the concrete, and the car swerved back right. The Expedition came crashing through the iron fence, flying off the cliff. Everyone screamed, including Blaze, who had been awoken by the loud horn and the jerky movement of the van. The front of the vehicle smashed into the side of the mountain with great force, shattering every window.
Everyone lurched forward suddenly, and Blaze's seat belt snapped in half. She almost fell through the window broken window next to her, but luckily Carter grabbed her by the arm in time, managing to pull her i, despite the large amount of brutal rolling the car was experiencing. The van suddenly stopped rolling in the rocky terrain, having been dented and broken severely. The airbag popped in the man's face, which was cut and bruised in all sorts of places. Blood dripped from his head down to the upside down roof. His wife sat stiff in her seat, too afraid of what had happened to even move.
Carter, in the back seat, held onto Blaze tightly, his face cut in small slits, blood oozing from the wounds. His little sister was sobbing slightly from the shock she had just experienced. "Dad?" he said in a quiet, quavering voice. His father didn't answer. Carter moved his arm, but stopped at once when the car tilted slightly. They weren't on a smooth rocky surface. They were actually about halfway off a cliff that stood hundreds of feet off the ground.
Carter's face went pale. "Dad, are we gonna die?" he asked. His father turned to him, slowly to make sure not to rock the balancing SUV. "You two sure as hell aren't," he said. "What-?" his son began, but he didn't have time to finish, for his dad had grabbed into his wrist, pulled with all his might, and threw Carter out the front window. Carter rolled, still gripping onto his sister, not daring to let go, until he struck the cliff wall. Unfortunately, the SUV shifted too much, and Carter turned just in time to see the car tilt completely, falling off the cliff. "MOM!" he yelled as he let go of his sister and ran towards the cliff's edge. "DAD!" He watched with tears trickling down his cheeks as the SUV plummeted toward the ground. As the car made impact, the engine exploded, enveloping the car, and Carter's parents, in a small flaming cloud.
Horror, stricken, he returned to where his sister sat, who's cheeks were stained with watery tears. "Where's mommy and daddy?" she asked through small sobs. Carter looked her dead center in the eyes. "I'm sorry Blaze," he told her. "But Mom and Dad are gone." Her face went white with fear, her eyes widening in horror. He felt more tears stream down his face, and he rubbed them away. Then, turning to his sister, he opened up his arms, gesturing for her to hug him. She answered almost immediately, falling into his arms, sobbing loudly. He ran his fingers through her hair, fighting the urge to burst out crying. "I'm sorry, Blaze," he whispered. "I'm sorry."
Back into reality, Carter turned to his now 13-year old sister, who's entire expression could only read shock and sadness. She flung her arms around him, tears now streaming down her cheeks. "Oh, Carter. I had no idea," she said in between gasps of breath. She then looked up at him, her face wet from crying. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" He gave her an apologetic, yet stern look. "Because I didn't want to have to put you through that kind of hell again," he answered. She buried her face back into his chest. "I miss them so much," she whispered sadly. "So do I, sis," he replied, patting her head gently to comfort her. "So do I." They held onto each other for a long while until they were both tired, and pulled themselves away to get back to sleep.
The morning arrived with a nice warm sun shining through their bedroom window. Carter felt the heat glaring from the light on his eyelids, and opened them slowly. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, yawning loudly. He rubbed his back, leaning back, until he felt it snap back into place with a loud popping noise. In the bed next to him, Blaze woke up to the sound of his roar-like yawning, stretching carefully to remove any stress in her joints. "Morning sis," Carter said first as he got up off his bed.
She didn't answer back. Instead, she was laying sideways toward the window. "Hey, you alright?" he asked. She didn't move, but her quiet voice said, "Do you ever think there could be a way to save them?" His face grew with sadness and concern. "You still upset about last night, aren't you?" he asked mournfully.
He saw the back of her head nod in agreement, and he heard small sniffles coming from her. "Hey, it's alright," he tried, sitting on her bed, placing a hand on her shoulder. She finally turned to him, and he could see that her face was now soaked with tears. "I just want to see them again," she told him. "I never really knew them as much as I wanted to. And I just want them back." More tears came rolling down her cheeks. "Remember this, Blaze," Carter started. "No matter where we are, they will always be in our hearts no matter what." He moved his hand away to let her sit up, and she looked at him. "Only my brother could make light of a dark situation," she replied. He smiled, then remembered that he still hadn't changed his clothes yet. "We should probably get dressed."
"Definitely."
In the kitchen of their house, Blaze was cooking some eggs on a frying pan. She had gotten good at culinary work, thanks to the help of her brother. Behind her, Carter was mixing some pancake batter in a large green bowl. They were no longer in their nighttime attire. Instead, Blaze wore a violet jacket, white leggings, and pink high heels. Carter wore a red T-Shirt, the usual blue jeans, and indigo tinted shoes with red soles. He poured the pancake batter onto a square pan that was up to optimal temperature. He grabbed a spatula, and waited for the time to flip the pancakes.
A few minutes later, their breakfast was ready. Carter set the two plates next to each other on the round table. On the plates, there was finely cooked golden brown pancakes with maple syrup, fried eggs with hard yolks, which is what both of them preferred over runny ones, and a small side of bacon. They sat down next to each other and began to eat. "So, you know what dream I had last night?" Blaze said to her brother. He shrugged. "I don't know. How about accidentally burning the house down?" he joked.
She smiled. "Okay, smart guy," she said. Then her smile faded. "I was dreaming about flying on Air Force One, and everything was good at first. But then, this lava person comes in and demands the President. I'm just sitting there, frozen stiff, not sure what to do." She pauses for a dramatic affect. "Suddenly, someone in red and gold armor comes in and starts fighting the lava person. The armored guy pins the lava guy against the wall. And without warning, the lava guy just throws a grenade at the airplane door. Everyone starts flying out, including me. And then, I woke up to the sound of you panting." When she had finished and looked up, Carter's face was slightly perplexed. "That seems oddly specific for a dream," he commented. "I know," she replied. "It was as if it was actually happening. I could feel the wind sucking me out of my seat, as well!" She mimicked being sucked out of her seat with her hands. "Just like that!"
Carter remained silent for what felt like a few moments. Then, he went back to eating his bacon in silence. Blaze followed awkwardly after.
When they had peeled off their breakfast and cleaned the dishes, Carter was getting ready to go to work. He worked at a company that majored in computer animation. He and his team were working on animating a new movie Street Fighters: The Movie, which was based on the arcade game of the same name. "So, today's the day you start animating the actual thing," Blaze remarked as she helped him put on his blue jacket.
"Yep," he replied back as he fixed on his belt. When his sister had finished putting on his jacket, he put on his backpack, put on his briefcase, and went to the door with her. "Well, see you at six," he said. "Unless I find myself in another fight in the alley." With this, he smirked.
She smirked back at him. "Yeah, hope I don't have to help you heal another black eye again, jackass," she retorted. He gave her a quick pat on the shoulder, and she returned it with a hug. Finally, he set out the door, and set off on the long walk to the animation studio.
The animation studio that he worked for was bustling away with people that he knew well from his college. Due to his high level of intelligence, with an I.Q. of 192, he had graduated college at an early age of 14 years old. He was the second youngest member of the entire team, aside from being the smartest one there, but that didn't adhere their judgement. They all knew he was really smart and kind. He worked well with the team, taking in their ideas and thoughts. He often went with other people, unless he absolutely knew that it wouldn't work in the movie. Otherwise, he was pretty reliable.
Today was the usual morning, with people walking about the place, others at small laptops and large computers, working on the movement and realism of the animation. "Carter, good morning!" one person yelled as he saw Carter entering the room. "So, looks like everyone hit Starbucks a little early today," he joked, noticing how bright and bushy tailed everyone seemed to be this morning. "Nah, they just got a good night's sleep," he answered. Carter looked at him with an annoyed expression. "Wish I could say the same thing for myself," he muttered.
He sat down at his workspace, pulling his laptop out of the backpack, and taking out papers from his briefcase. He got to work right away, turning everything on, and drawing out the characters of the movie carefully, being sure not to miss any single detail. Once he got that done, he got to work making the drawing a 3D computer generated image. He worked for at least a half hour, sculpting the details to the smallest hair on the character's head. When he was finished, he looked proudly at his work, a semi-realistic animated, anthropomorphic wolf wearing a ripped white tank top, tattered blue jeans, and a red bandana, sporting black hair.
"Hey, Heather!" he called. A coworker, a female lynx with red fur, green eyes, a furless muzzle, a white button-up shirt, green leggings, and blue sandals, walked over to his workspace. "So, what do you think?" he asked in anticipation. She examined the design for a few moments, then nodded in approval. "Looks great, Carter. You're the fastest, yet most efficient worker in this entire room," she said. He smirked. "Although not as great as you are," he said, obviously trying to flirt with her. She blushed. "Oh, come on. I'm not that great," she tried.
"You're the youngest person here at age fifteen, as well as the second smartest, with an I.Q. of 186! Of course you are," he retorted.
"Not as good as you, as I said before."
"Trust me, you're a better artist than I am."
When lunch came by, Carter went with Heather to a Subway restaurant across the street. There, he ordered a meatball sub sandwich, while she ordered a spicy chicken sandwich. When they had their orders, they sat down at a table near the entrance of the building. Carter bit into his sandwich, his taste buds approving of the wonderful taste of meatballs, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Across from him, Heather took a sip of her Diet Root Beer, her throat tingling from the fizzing bubbles of the soft drink.
Carter looked up at her, swallowed his food, and said, "You have to be the greatest friend anyone could ever have." She looked back at him, her face turning a slight bright red. "I'm sure you've had friends greater than me, Sir Flirtsalot," she retorted, taking a bite of her spicy chicken and bread meal.
"Not as great as you are," he answered back.
"Sure there were."
"Nope. Not in a million years."
This went on for a few more seconds, then they went back to eating. But something was clear on Carter's face. He wanted to get something off his chest, only it took a long time to find the strength to do so. Right when he bit into a meatball that fell out of his sandwich, he finally worked up the courage to say what he wanted to. "So, Heather, uh," he said, clearly nervous. She looked at him strangely. "What is it?" He looked her straight in the eye with some obvious difficulty. He sighed, and said, "Heather Lynx, I have something to get off my chest." He took her hand, let out a deeper sigh, and said, "Would you like to go out with me?"
He turned slightly red as he said this, but it was nothing like the shade of red Heather's face went. "Carter, wow," she started. She knew he liked her, and she liked him back. But she never imagined that he could want to go out with her. "I had no idea!" And with this, she leaned forward, her face so close that she could feel his hot breath, and kissed him on the lips.
Carter's eyes went wide, but slowly closed in pleasure. He had never known what it was like to kiss a girl before, but now it was happening. Right here in a sandwich restaurant. He gently placed the palm of his hand on her cheek, taking in the sensation of the kiss. The stayed together for a couple of more minutes, then pulled away. He opened his eyes, and looked at her to see a soft smile spread across her face.
"What?" he asked.
"You know what," she answered.
He felt his face go hot again. "Wait, does that mean-"
"Yes. I would love to go out with you."
His heart began to pump wildly. All this time, and he didn't even know it. She liked him, too! He felt a grin spread across his mouth. "Okay, so where to?" he asked, still grinning. "Well, there's this really nice diner I've never eaten at before, but I want to," she explained. "That could be a good first time date."
His grin widened. "It's a date," he said, then looked at his watch. "Oh boy!" he said in surprise. "We should get back to work. And I mean now." Quickly, they threw away their trash and went out the door to the studio.
The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. Carter got some more work done on the character design, and before he knew it, it was quitting time. "Okay, Carter, see you tomorrow!" his boss yelled as he exited the door. Heather passed by him, placing her hand on his shoulder and kissing him on the cheek. "See you tonight at seven, you fast show-off," she joked as she went out the door. He tenderly touched the part of his cheek where she had kissed him. "Feels good to be in love," he muttered happily as he packed his things and set out the door.
About half an hour later, Carter entered his house through the front door in a flutter of joy. He spun around on the hardwood floor with ease. He flung his backpack and briefcase onto the couch, and he fell into a chair. Blaze looked at him in curiosity and confusion. "Well, someone looks like they found out how to achieve world peace today," she joked as she sat down in a chair next to him. "You won't believe what happened today," he said, still smiling wide. "I asked Heather Lynx out on a date today, and you now what she said?"
She looked at him strangely, but understood. "I think I already know the answer to that one, professor," she retorted.
"That's right," he replied. "She said yes!" He let out a small yelp of delight, pumping his arms up in the air. "I finally did it!"
Blaze simply smirked at him. "About time you did it," she said, leaning back in her chair.
He looked back at her, bearing the same smirk as her. "At least it didn't take as long as your boyfriend Silver did," he retorted. He then mockingly counted on his fingers. "How long did it take again?" he asked while fake counting. "Oh, right! Six months."
"Hey, leave my Silver lining out of this!" she said back. She went bright pink in the muzzle. "It's not my fault that he had trouble asking, thank you very much." He turned to her, still smirking. "Aside from how dazzlingly beautiful you are," he complemented with a sly grin.
"Stop it, you broad shouldered nerd," she replied, going redder, and she playfully punched her brother in the arm. He rubbed it gently. "You know nerds are cool these days," he said. He had known his sister to think nerds weren't cool, despite the contrary popular belief that went around these days. "You ever seen Ready Player One before?" he asked. She nodded. "Did you notice that the nerds were the heroes?" That's when she had the defeated look on her face. "All right, so maybe nerds are cool," she admitted reluctantly. Carter nodded, his smirk still on his face, then looked at his watch. It read 6: 27. "Oh, man, I gotta get ready," he said, getting up quickly. "I gotta meet Heather at that diner." He started down the hallway. "It's a diner!" she yelled back. "You don't have to look your best at a freaking diner!"
He turned around, managing to walk backwards. "You ever heard of good first impressions?" he retorted as he turned back around and went into his room. She grinned and rolled her eyes.
"Perfectionist."