Tireless yet weary. Two immensely different concepts. Despite that however, the young man was exactly that. His countenance was strong, like a well-built ox. He stood proud, head held high, his blonde hair swept over his eyes. The eyes.
The young man's eyes were weary, like staring into an endless void. There was an altogether too real a possibility of getting lost in those gaping abysses. Yet they were calm like the endless ocean in the dead of night.
In spite of his demeanour of strength and his hidden agony, he stood beside the police car with the flashing lights and the loud whirling alarms as if nothing could possibly perturb him. The teen ignored the fire truck as men in yellow uniforms spilled out carrying thick heavy hoses. He regarded the burning structure before him with a mask that betrayed nothing he felt. He admired the beauty of the orange flames as they clung to the frames of the house with a vice grip and lit up the moonless night sky like a beacon. The calm, blank look of cold and empty slate didn't flicker as one of the young policemen approached him.
The young police man was unsettled by the teen's countenance.
"There is nobody left alive inside," the officer stated candidly, wondering if the young man knew somebody that lived there. By the impassive facial expression the officer though not.
The young man nodded quietly, noting the framework of the house was beginning to collapse. He didn't move.
"Do you live here?" the young officer asked apprehensively, and Alex noticed detachedly as a trickle of sweat trailed down from the policeman's brow. Whether from the heat of the flame behind him or Alex's disquieting presence, the young man couldn't tell.
"I did," was all Alex said.
The officer shifted uncomfortably. He was used to hysterics at the loss of loved ones, yet this boy didn't seem to care at all. He wondered if he was watching the first steps of a future serial killer, "I am sorry for your loss."
Alex nodded emotionlessly.
"Do you have somewhere to go?" the officer asked, doing his best to ignore the way his instincts screamed at him that this boy, this young man, wasn't normal.
Alex tilted his head to the side carefully considering the officers question.
"Yes," Alex said quietly.
"Can I take you there?" the officer inquired.
Alex paused for a second, "yes."
The young officer guided the teen to the passenger door of the car that he stood beside.
As he settled into the driver's seat he turned to the boy, "So where to?"
"Creative Idea Animation."