CHAPTER
FOUR
"There he is," Logan heard someone behind him say as he walked to the
spot in the schoolyard where he had first met Eddie. It sounded like they were
scared of him, and with good reason. Logan was going to kick some major butt
today. Eddie spotted Logan as he walked toward him like he had done in the
parking lot the day before. The crowd of friends Eddie had around him quickly
spread out. They were clearly afraid of Logan.
Eddie got up from the picnic table
he was sitting on. He let out a long, deep breath and held his ribs as he
stood. Logan had done a number on him, making the job at hand that much easier.
"You ready to go again?" Logan asked with words so cold they could have turned
a man to ice.
"I'd rather not," Eddie said with
absolutely no hostility in his voice at all. "You'll kick my ass today. You
would have yesterday if Jim here wouldn't have hit you in the head with a
pipe," Eddie said patting one of his friends on the back. Logan looked at the
small boy who immediately backed down from Logan's menacing glare.
"So that's who helped you," Logan
said calming his tone to help the boy relax. Logan didn't want him, he wanted
Eddie. "Why'd you set me on that bench?" Logan asked.
"It's not good to go laying around
in parking lots." Eddie said still keeping his friendly tone.
"That doesn't answer my question,"
Logan growled.
"You're the best fighter I've ever
met," Eddie admitted, his tone finally breaking a little. "I've won state Tae
Kwon Do tournaments for the last three years. I've never lost a fight in my
life, but if I wouldn't have had help you would have beat me easily," Eddie
said with wonder and even a little contempt in his voice. "How much training
have you had?" Eddie asked.
"None," Logan answered plainly.
"No way," Eddie said obviously
shocked. "No martial arts, no boxing, no wrestling?"
"Nope,"
"Wow. Anyway I don't want to fight
you again." Eddie turned to his crowd of friends. "Hey guys, why don't you let
us talk alone," he said. Logan and Eddie talked for the rest of the lunch
period. They had gained a lot of respect for each other.
* * * * * * *
That night, before he went to bed
Logan sat on the large, padded sill of his window. He just sat there and looked
at the stars as he often did. He had "the feeling" again. That utter loneliness
that told him he was far from home. Logan reviewed the day's events. He had
made a friend of the kid he had gone to school to hurt. Needless to say his
father was speechless when he found out hat his son wouldn't be suspended. For
some reason Logan felt that he wasn't his father's child. But that was stupid,
of course he was.
Over the next five years Logan
and Eddie became great friends. They did almost everything together. Logan even
started Tae Kwon Do training and soon exceeded his statewide legend of a friend
in both skill and rank. Within a year and a half Logan earned his black belt.
That's about half the time it usually takes. In another year Logan was rewarded
with his second-degree black belt, again about twice as fast as usual. In another
two years Logan was promoted to third-degree black belt. During his training
Logan won the state championship three times and even won nationals once.
Logan became quite a
celebrity within the small town and was friends with everyone. After a while
the other kids even started dressing like him and eventually took up his style
of music too. Eddie stayed the same though, keeping the same personality. The
two became as close as brothers. Alone everyone knew they were dangerous, but
together they were thought to be unstoppable.
Logan eventually
mastered the art of guitar playing and even started a band with Eddie as the
singer. At times, and only for a moment, Logan could forget the loneliness that
he was seemingly born with. Although Logan could never bring himself to call
the little town home, he did feel that he was truly happy there right up until
his graduation, which brings me back to where we started.
* * * * * * *
"Only a few more
minutes," Logan thought to himself as he watched his fellow classmates file
down to the front of the stage to receive their diplomas. Logan had been
waiting for this day for the last five years. He had seen a lot of glory in the
little farm town, but know it was time to go. It was almost four o' clock now
and the graduation ceremony would soon be over.
"Logan Hall," came a voice from over the
microphone. It was Logan's turn to get his diploma. Logan walked down from the
stand he was on and went to the front of the stage. Standing in wait of him was
a man Logan had spent a lot of time with over the last five years, the
principal. Instead of just handing Logan his diploma and allowing Logan to walk
on, the man decided to make a speech about his favorite pupil. The entire town
knew Logan. The entire town loved Logan. He was something different. He had his
own style and his own way of doing things. In the eyes of the townspeople Logan
was a born leader, he just didn't know it yet.
The speech went on for a
few minutes, a few minutes longer than Logan wanted it to. Due to a lack of
attention Logan didn't realize what the man was saying about him, nor did he
want to. Logan just wanted to leave. Suddenly the crowd erupted in laughter.
The principal must have said something funny. "What do you think about that
Logan?" he asked.
"Yeah whatever," Logan
responded staring into the blackness in front of the stage. He knew the crowd
was sitting there, but with the lighting the way it was he could see nothing.
Then suddenly it hit again. The feeling, the sickening feeling that he was once
again all alone. Logan couldn't listen to the old man blow any more wind. He
had to get off the stage. With the principal still talking Logan grabbed the
diploma and quickly walked off the stage. It was planned that the graduates
would walk around the stage and then go back to their original position on the
stand. With this new development Logan chose not to. Instead he just kept
walking until he came to the exit of the auditorium. Logan walked through it
and into the hallway it led to. Logan walked down the hall and simultaneously
shed his cap and gown, exposing his normal clothes, which were previously
underneath. At the end of the hall was a small flight of stairs with a door
leading to the back parking lot at the top. Logan walked up the stairs and out
the door. He then walked around the school to the picnic table where he had
first seen Eddie and where he knew Eddie would look for him after the
graduation ceremony ended.
The sun was still
shining bright and showing almost no sign of setting soon. "Why does this
always happen? Why can't I just be happy?" Logan asked himself. He could never
control when the feeling came on. It seemed to just come at random. Logan had
been happy for the last five years and the feeling hadn't come for a long, long
time. Logan was starting to think that he was rid of it, but now it had come
back stronger than ever. With the sickening feeling came two emotions now. The
first was despair, which always accompanied it. Logan felt that he was
helpless. That some great danger was coming and there was nothing he could do
about it. The next feeling had only come a few times. It was almost
indescribable. It was a fusion of anger, aggression, and longing. Like he had
some great mission, some valiant adventure. In a way it was a feeling of
bravery and responsibility, like he was being depended upon to protect
something, or someone. Like I said it was almost impossible to describe.
Logan had been sitting
for almost fifteen minutes now and he couldn't wait much longer. He was
becoming eager now, like some great opportunity would pass him by if he sat
there any longer. Tonight was going to be good. Logan had been planning for
years to take Eddie back to Miami and tonight, after a Tae Kwon Do class and a
little partying, it would finally happen. "Yo Logan. What's up?" yelled a
familiar voice from a distance. Logan looked up to see the source of the voice
although he already knew who it was. It was Eddie. Logan didn't respond.
Instead he just watched as Eddie walked up to him. "Hey man what's wrong?"
Eddie asked, obviously concerned. "Did it come again?" Eddie and Logan were as
close as brothers now, and Logan had told Eddie everything about himself. Well,
everything except for the fact that he had a tail. Not even his parents knew
about that.
"Yeah," was Logan's
simple response.
"Are you going to be
alright man?" Eddie asked knowing that Logan, with his strong will, would act
like it wasn't getting to him at all.
"Yeah I'm fine," Logan
said with the expected answer. "Are you ready for tonight?" Logan asked trying
to lighten the mood.
"Hell yeah I'm ready,
but uh what's the plan?" Eddie asked excitedly.
"Oh, I thought we'd go party
tonight after class, then we'll get a room by the airport and leave in the
morning." Logan explained. "Sound good?"
"Yeah, sounds great. I
have to go eat dinner with some family now. See you at class tonight?" Eddie
asked.
"Yeah dude I'll be
there," Logan said. He was starting to forget the dark feeling that had drug
him down for so much of his life. "Oh dude. My parents won't be home then. They
have to take my grandparents to the airport and my car's still broke down, so
can you give me a ride?" Logan asked.
"Of course I'll give you
a ride man. So I'll be by your house about six then?" Eddie asked to confirm
the time.
"Six? Class doesn't
start until seven dude," Logan said with a hint of suspicion.
"Didn't Mr. Siders
(their instructor) tell you? He wants all the black belts to show up early
tonight for a special black belts class," Eddie explained. It wasn't at all
like their instructor to forget something like this. Especially not when it
involved Logan or Eddie.
"No. He didn't," Logan
responded letting his suspicion be apparent now. "Oh well," he said clearing
his voice of any wonder. "I guess he just forgot. It happens. Yeah I'll be
ready at six,"
"See you later," Eddie
said as he started to turn and walk away.
"Yeah, later," Logan
said back.