Here we are, another fun-filled chapter. (shrugs) it's all right. Anyway, updates won't be as often because college classes finally started and that hogs up time. Another reminder: No fifth age! Why? Because I haven't read any yet, so this is directly from Dragons of Summer Flame. But still, why, you ask, is Raistlin runnin' around in black robes when we all know he truly is neutral? All shall be explained…sometime…
Hehe, yeah, Metallica, you know you're gonna grow up to be messed when your elder brother exposes you to Metallica when you're three and teaches you the art of headbanging. Ever heard of Apocalyptica? They do Metallica songs with string instruments, it sounds so cool. They did Sad But True in that fashion, and it sounds so evil and classy…I heard it and started bouncing shouting "It's the Raistlin Theme!" my mother looked at me as though I had grown tusks. Okay, I'll shut up now, read the fic.
The next morning, Rheas did not want to get up, and no one made him. Cameron left the house like usual, attempting to be quiet and failing miserably. Their mother, claiming Rheas was looking a little feverish, had wanted to remain home, but their father had assured her that Rheas was old enough to care for himself. If he needed anything, he would call. They left soon after, and the empty silence settled with a sigh.
When the stillness told Rheas that all was clear, he got up, already dressed, and strode downstairs. He opened the door and Toby tumbled in, yawning.
"Gee," he said sleepily, "what was so important about this thing you did that it couldn't wait until noon or something?"
"Remember that staff?" Rheas began as the two walked up the stairs slowly.
"The one that came with my hoopak? Sure."
The taller boy stopped and turned, staring at Toby intently. "Hoopak?"
"Yeah. I dunno, it sounded cool…"
Rheas shook his head and continued. "I was thinking last night, and this…image came to my mind. It was dark, like I was blacking out, but I could see my arm and I was holding the staff. It…did something…lit up…But it wasn't an image, it was too unclear, more like the knowledge that it could do this, and my mind was recreating it. It was like…a memory."
"Creepy."
"There's more to it than that. C'mon, I'll show you what I mean."
It wasn't but a few minutes later that the two were standing on the roof, overlooking the neighborhood. Rheas kept his head level, refusing to look down beyond the tree line.
"I can't believe I'm doing this…" he muttered.
"Yeah, but if what you think is true, you'll float down to the ground, gently as a leaf…" Toby began, a large grin on his face.
"I don't claim to think anything. It's just…whenever I think about this staff, it's like I get muddled or something. I can't think straight. I honestly don't know what I'm doing…"
"But think, if this works, it could be the solution to your problem!"
"I don't have a problem!"
"Then why don't you look down?"
"Shut up."
Toby cracked his knuckles in excitement. Rheas was going to defy gravity! What fun! He wanted to try it too, but Rheas was very protective of his possessions and shot him a glare when he was only looking at the staff. "Okay, whenever you're ready!"
Rheas stepped up the edge of the roof until his toes were almost in the gutter. He wouldn't look down. It really wasn't that high, he thought, straining to keep his hands from shaking with no success. It was simple, he'd step off and he'd be on the ground, no trouble at all. His eyes focussed on the staff, taking in every grain of the wood, every scale of the claw, every facet of the crystal. He held the staff out and…
He didn't know what to do with it.
He suddenly felt like an idiot. Here he was, holding the staff out as it sent waves of electrifying warmth through him, it knew what he was supposed to do, but he did not. Typical. Squeezing his eyes shut to block out the rising sun and the wavering image of the ground below, he did the only thing that made sense.
'I know you're the one who led me up here,' he hissed inwardly, 'so tell me what I should do! If I stand here, not in a dream but reality, show me how to bend it!'
And it was there. Had he not grabbed hold of it at that instant it surely would have faded again, gone forever. Even still, he knew it wasn't right. Something was wrong.
He opened his eyes, and held the staff forth.
"Pveatherfall."
And Toby, hope filled in his earth-colored eyes, watched Rheas jump off the roof.
…………Crunch!!
"Oh…! Oooh, uh…ah…um, not good." Toby stammered, wringing his hands nervously. He placed one over his heart and said mournfully, "Rheas Beauregard Madison, poor slob, met his untimely end after he jumped off his roof in an attempt to defy gravity. He was a bright young lad, with much aspiration……for homicide…" Shaking out of his act, the teen scrambled over to the edge of the roof and peered down, expecting to see Rheas bits splattered all over. Instead he looked over just in time to see Rheas sit up slowly on a pile of mattresses he had landed on.
"Wow Rheas!" he called down, relieved, "You planned ahead!"
"Of course!" Rheas snapped up at him, "You think I'd really trust this thing that much? Oooh, that hurt…" he muttered as he slid off the pile. He glared at the staff, like a parent to a disobedient child. "Why didn't it work? What did I do wrong?"
"Hey Rheas, was that any fun?"
"Then again, how am I supposed to figure out what I did wrong if I don't even know what I'm supposed to do right?!"
"'Cause if it's fun, I'm gonna try!"
"What the hell was I doing up there anyway? What did I expect to find in this?" he demanded of himself, peering at the staff intently.
"Rheas? …Oh well, here goes!"
Something began pounding in his ears, pain slicing through his head until he thought he would scream, and then abated. "What the hell is this?!"
"Wheeeeeee!!!" …unch!
Rheas whirled to see Toby beaming up at him proudly from the old mattresses. The shorter boy bounced a few times and then scrambled off the pile, grinning from ear to ear. "That was fun! Can I do it again Rheas, huh?"
"Knock yourself out." Rheas replied flatly.
"Yay!" and Toby bounded back to the front door.
"No, really! Do us all a favor!" Rheas called after him. He returned his attention to the staff, planting it in the ground and leaning against it wearily. "What am I supposed to do?" he whispered to it, as though it would answer. "If we are one in the same, Shade, then show me. Give me a direction…Who am I?"
With a shout of triumph, Toby landed beside him on the old pile of mattresses. Bounding to his feet, he began to run back and repeat another circuit when Rheas grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him along.
"Aw, Rheas…"
"Come on, we need to get to school."
"Do we have to? The meet isn't until after school gets out. We could just show up then, you know? No one will notice we weren't there, and even if they do, it's nothing new so I think we could…"
"We have to stop and buy food! Remember?" Rheas snarled, "You know, most people have lots of friends, and then there's me. I have one so-called friend, and he happens to be complete moron!"
"Gee Rheas, that isn't fair. Imare' isn't even here to defend himself and you're insulting him. Besides, you forgot about me!"
"I was referring to you, you annoying midget!" the thin teen cried in exasperation as he yanked the old bike out from the side door to the garage.
"Really? Golly," his eyes became wet with over-dramatic tears, "you're a friend of mine too!"
Rheas decided that recommending those drama classes to Toby was probably not the brightest thing he had done in his life.
"Okay, anything else?" Rheas pondered as he pushed the metallic shopping cart down the aisle.
"Oatmeal?" Toby, happily riding in the lower half of the cart, piped helpfully.
"Got it," the taller boy replied, snagging a box as they passed. "I think that's it," he pulled out a thin piece of paper, "let's see, oatmeal, check. Top ramen, check. Jerky, in various flavors…"
"Check, check!" Toby smiled, hugging the bags, almost as large as he was, to himself. Rheas shrugged and scanned the rest of the list.
"Yeah, we got everything. Let's go, at this rate, we'll finish packing just before school gets out."
"Good." Toby settled back as Rheas turned the cart and pushed it towards the cash registers. "How're we gonna pay for all this?"
"I told my mother we were going to town to buy new parts for the bike yesterday."
"And she believed you?"
"Toby, if I were to tell my mother that the Voice of God appeared before me and proclaimed that I was the next Messiah, she would probably believe me."
"Your mom's funny that way." Toby settled back to enjoy the rest of his ride, examining the objects of interest that passed. A magazine on a stand caught his eye, and he reached out and pulled it free. Once he had finished flipping through it, he realized the stand was long gone. Well, he'd just hold onto it until they made another pass, so he absently slid it into his plaid jacket. "You know," he began thoughtfully, "maybe we should leave a note or something when we leave. People will worry."
"That they will, I'm sure…" Rheas replied curtly.
"Your mom was pretty upset when you left two years ago. Me too, actually, I thought I had lost my lunch mate…"
"Of course she was worried. She smothers me almost as badly as my grandmother. It doesn't matter though, I was only gone for three days."
"Yeah well, everybody thought you were gone for good, like your sister."
"They guessed right. I hadn't planned on coming back."
"Then…why did you?"
Rheas shrugged as they pulled up to the register. "It wasn't any better out there than it is here. Besides, I really had nowhere to go."
"What about Kate? Wouldn't she help you out?"
"I doubt it, even if I knew where she was, she never had much interest in me before. What would be different? We can probably walk the bags back, it's not even a mile."
"All right," Toby hopped off the cart, pushed it lazily to the others, and grabbed a bag. The two strode out of the grocery store and walked through the back parking lot to a small trail that would lead them back to the housing developments. "…What we need to do," Toby continued his one-sided conversation, "is get some new songs, reach out a bit."
"And what do you suggest?" Rheas sighed, hefting himself over a fallen tree.
"Well, you could do that one song Pretty Eyes by Hitomi! It fits, according to the general census…"
"You do realize, my vertically challenged comrade, that Hitomi is a woman?" the taller boy hissed.
"Well then you'll have no problems!" Toby quipped.
He was knocked head-over-heels into the ferns as Rheas turned and whapped him with a bag.
"I am a sex-crazed nymph. What are you?"
"I am a neutral-evil sorcerer who is bent on enslaving the planet, and this is my familiar, Mr. Ibbles." the sorcerer produced a small turtle from his robes.
"Are you sure you're not chaotic-evil?"
"What makes you imply that?" Rheas questioned innocently.
"You've been quite…insane for some time now."
"I've always had Mr. Ibbles."
"I know, I'm just saying that…oh never mind. Okay, we got Azza talking to a nymph who came out of no where; Jibberwibberwoof getting attacked by a viscous table, and losing; Shibv's been polymorphed into a ferret by Azza, who seems to have forgotten about it entirely; Tillver's drunk off his arse and is now trying to impregnate a cat, a male one mind you; Tomb's passed out and Beew claims she doesn't know us."
"Quite a situation we've gotten into, wouldn't you say?" Erica sighed, amused.
"And have this strange suspicion that that nymph is going to turn into some monster and eat me." Rheas stated, glaring at Will.
"The last one only burned you to a crisp, okay? It's not my fault that you're a sucky sorcerer."
"Sucky?!"
"Well I am getting sick of having to haul his body around every other meet to get him resurrected…" Toby piped softly.
"One would think you all would have noticed that I'm evil by now…" Rheas snapped, rolling his eyes, "But I'm sure you wouldn't resurrect me again."
"Well, we all got pretty bad rolls, so nobody really put much in the intelligence, except Rheas who needs it."
"Is that why you all are idiots?"
"Okay, let's just get back to the game."
"Well Mr. Crazy-Evil-Sorcerer-Who-Keeps-A-Turtle-In-His-Robes, why don't we go in back for a little more privacy?"
"No thanks, I'm going to go back to my party and get drunk off my arse."
"Why not with me?"
"Because then if something went wrong (and it undoubtedly will, since there is this random nymph stalking around in a tavern that no one else is paying any attention to), my party will blindly come to my defense. The fools!" The sorcerer then proceeded to laugh maniacally.
"She then proceeds to get really pissed off and turn into a hideous…"
"I knew it!"
"Okay everybody, we're gonna watch Army of Darkness now!" a senior, having just finished hooking his PC to the television, called out loudly.
Cards, dice, and water bottles were immediately dropped as everyone dashed over to the screen. Rheas plopped himself down in a chair heavily while Toby sat on the floor with a few others. The large group slowly sank down, half of which had their mouths partly open as they blanked out and focussed only on the movie, snapping back into reality only to laugh.
Halfway through the movie, Rheas suddenly laughed lightly. Toby looked up at him, confused. What was so funny? No one else was laughing.
"What is it?" he inquired, tilting his head for emphasis.
Rheas shook his head and gestured slightly with his hand. "The phrase that old magician just told him, 'glatu berata nicto' or whatever, that's originally from the black and white movie The Day the Earth Stood Still. The completely moronic woman has to say that to the robot so it doesn't eradicate her and instead go rescue its master who was shot earlier."
"Gee, sounds interesting!"
"Not really, that was pretty much the most exciting event in the film. I'll show it to you someday."
"Not if it's boring."
Rheas shrugged. "It was a long time ago. I don't remember."
Toby nodded and focussed back on the movie. He truly loved Wednesday, for what could be better than hanging around, laughing and mock-fighting with a bunch of people who were in the least just as crazy as you?
"Let me get this straight," the elfwoman inquired the sorcerer slowly, "you're going to take over the world with…a turtle…?"
"An evil fire-breathing turtle thank you very much!"
"Hospitalized? You gotta be kidding me! …no Sam, I didn't mean you're lying, ya weirdo. …But that bad huh? Fuck…Yeah…Yeah, twenty minutes, I'll see ya then." Cameron sighed and hung up the phone; it was worse than he had thought, than they all had thought. He didn't know what to do, his thoughts were jumbled and he felt very helpless. And there was nothing he could do about it.
He sat there, his back against the wall, rubbing his temples. Now he was restless. Sitting up, he did the only thing he could think of. Reaching under his bed, he pulled out a long box and pulled it open.
The bastard sword lay there, perfect and unused, except for a few times swung around the room in private. He lifted it out, balanced comfortably in his hand. He loved the feel of it, the cool grip turning warm under his flesh. Cameron had bought the sword not too long ago, carrying it home carefully so not to be discovered by his parents who would have had him return it straight away. He had rarely had it out since.
He felt better. Except for the times when he and Kate would have their mini-wars in the back yard, battling each other with their plastic swords, he didn't know how to handle a sword. But today, swinging it about in controlled fashion, he felt good, right. Like he had known this for years…
"Cameron!" he heard his mother call.
He sighed and lowered the sword. He knelt and put it back in its box regretfully. It had felt so familiar, so good…
"Coming!"
"We'll be back in time for dinner, and then I'll make you two something special." his mother said as she and their father walked down the front steps. Cameron smiled weakly. Normally, he enjoyed his mother's cooking well enough, but when she made something 'special' he could barely swallow it down.
"Oh," she stopped, and gazed up at her muscular son, "where's your brother?"
Cameron's eyes widened. "Oops."
"'Oops' what?" she demanded, hands on hips.
"Uh, he's just messing around in the den and I told him that I'd uh…would tell him when you left…" the big man stumbled over his words, but his mother didn't seem to notice.
"Well, if he decides to go to Toby's, you tell him to be careful. There've been several kidnappings lately…" she began.
"And I'm sure if anyone kidnaps Rheas they'll give him back within ten minutes," their father sighed, "come on, we'll be late. Their mother nodded and hurried after him to the car. Cameron shut the door and sighed heavily.
In the kitchen, he grabbed a protein bar to tie him over and then strode down the hall to the den at the bottom of the stairs. Downstairs was dark and often noisy, the only rooms being the den and the laundry room. He pushed open the door and flicked on the light.
"Sorry Rheas, I forgot I left you down here." Cameron said casually to his younger brother, lying on the floor.
Arms across his chest in anger, Rheas only glared at Cameron, fire dancing in his eyes. "The love I receive in this family…" he muttered bitterly.
"Hey, when I say to turn your music down, you do it, okay? I wouldn't do this to you then." Cameron stated firmly, standing over his trapped sibling. Rheas lay under a barbell that Cameron had discovered earlier was the perfect way to keep his brother still. The weights on the sides of the bar lifted the bar just high enough so it fit snugly over Rheas' throat, so no matter how much he twisted and turned, he could not wriggle out, and the barbell was far too heavy for him to lift. He was trapped to the shaggy carpet like a pinned butterfly, helpless and at the mercy of his brother, and he hated that more than anything.
"Strange, you never do the same for me, and you're the one with the fancy sound system."
"It's not my fault you blow all your money on books."
"Just shows where all the intelligence went."
"Okay, I think you need a little more time under there. I'm gonna go eat something and then meet with Sam. I'll come get you out before I leave, if I remember."
Rheas snarled something incoherent as Cameron flipped off the light and left him in the dark. Time had no meaning in the den. Either it went too fast and suck out your life's precious moments, or it would abandon, leaving a soul to float on a timeless sea.
Today was the timeless sea, and Rheas didn't have a raft.
He clicked his heels together in boredom.
Click, click, click.
"There's no place like home."
Click click click.
"There's no place like home."
Click click clomp.
"And there is nothing like destroying my idiot of a brother!!" he shouted into the darkness, hoping Cameron could hear. "I will kill you! Even if just for a moment, even if it isn't real, I can see you exploding into a great pillar of light! And I would enjoy every second of it! Ha ha ha!" He flopped back and was silent, stewing in his own plots for revenge.
Cameron finally strolled in and lifted the bar. "Wriggle out, you're free."
"Troglodyte." Rheas hissed as he stomped upstairs. Cameron stared after him a moment, puzzled.
"What's that?" he called.
"Aargh!"
It was quiet; Rheas had the house to himself. But he did not notice nor did he really care as he delved himself into his books and papers. He stared at the old piece of wood -which Toby had loaned him- intently, trying to match the written characters to all the familiar languages he recognized in his mind. It resembled an Asian language he knew, but it was not Chinese, Korean, or even Japanese, which really wouldn't have been too different from Chinese, as far as the difficult symbols went. It was the same principle however, each character meaning a different item or idea, put together to create a rich language. But he did not recognize these symbols at all, and even if he did, there were too few symbols on the broken wood to get much out of it.
He leaned back and stretched, tilting his head and listening to his spine and neck pop. Really, his knowledge of world languages was better than most his age, but still very limited. He slumped back into his familiar position. He was stumped, and he didn't know how to undo that.
Arms folded in front of him, he was about to doze off at his desk when a sudden glow caught his attention. He sat up with a jerk, and the blue light faded. Golden eyes scanned the room, but saw nothing. Eyes peeled, he leaned forward. There it was again.
He sat up slowly, gazing in disbelief at the marble the pewter claw held. It was glowing, a soft blue color like that of spring flowers, and just as warm. It matched the soft light that the carved characters were giving off.
"You've got to be…don't tell me that Crysta was right about this thing!" Rheas cried, yanking it off his neck and holding it over the broken wood. The light from both items began to pulse, and Rheas pulled the necklace away. The light faded.
"Now," he smiled darkly, "things are getting interesting."
Hello?
"Reverend's Daughter."
Hi Rheas, a pause, wait a minute, why are you calling me? You've never called me before! Or anyone, I'll wager…
"That necklace you bought me a while ago, where did you get it?"
My, how romantic, she replied sourly.
"Crysta!"
Gasp, he uses my name! Oh, I don't know, it was a long time ago.
"It's important. Was it the mall, some jewelry place, Games Plus or something even!"
You sound excited, what happened?
"Where did you get it!?"
Jeez, I don't know! I was with my dad in the city and this guy was selling jewelry by the rode. He showed me the necklace and told me it was magical, so don't think I made it up!
"Of course not. Tell me, did this man say where it came from?"
No, and even if he did do you think I would remember?
"No, probably not. Well, thanks anyway and--what the hell is that?"
What what!?
Rheas hesitated, "Nothing, thanks, I'll see you tomorrow."
Wait Rheas--! Click.
Opening the window, Rheas leaned out and gazed at the sinking sun slowly. Yes, he didn't imagine it; there was smoke coming out of the woods. "Who would be…?"
Realization hit him hard.
"Crap!" he snarled and ran down the hall.
When Cameron had been a pre-teen, in the blossom of his boredom, he had often found odd ways to keep himself amused when his friends were occupied. There had been many a day that Rheas would sitting alone reading when Cameron would quite literally pounce upon him and drag him off kicking and shouting to the upstairs. They would emerge a half-hour later, decked out in camouflage gear and carrying plastic guns, Cameron explaining to his little brother that they were going to go spy on their neighbor. He would then sit down and explain to Rheas the hand signals so they wouldn't speak and how to move around in the brush. Rheas, though annoyed with the rude interruptions of his studies, would listen and soon the two were crawling around in the wet leaves.
By the time they had looped around an obnoxiously large space of the woods, at least an hour would have gone by and their neighbor long gone. They would then trek home, wet, covered in bugs, and smelling of fresh rain-wet evergreens
Those small lessons suddenly had their real use as Rheas crept up behind a tree. They hadn't heard him coming and he watched them a moment as they continued lighting their small fire and setting out their materials. He shook his head. Such a boorish lot, those two.
"Might I inquire what you are doing here, Marty?" Rheas declared loudly, startling the two as he stepped into their view. His old tormentors soon regained their composure and the larger of the two, Marty, smiled all too sweetly.
"Madison, just the person we wanted to see. Come to join the party?"
"This is private property, asses, beat it." Rheas stated calmly, gazing at the bags the juniors had hauled in. "That's quite some hardware you two got…explosives? Maybe I underestimated you." He shrugged absently, "Some grudge you guys have against me."
"Yeah, well, you're an easy target." the other, Deryle, grinned suddenly.
Strong arms grabbed Rheas roughly from behind, around his mouth and nose, blocking his air, and forcing him to the ground. No matter how much he kicked and flopped, he couldn't break free of the third junior's grip. He was quieted with a firm jab in his lower back.
"Well," his new attacker mused, "I thought the runt had finally learned the meaning of sharing." With that, he yanked the necklace off and tossed it to Marty who spun it around his fingers lazily.
"Listen Madison, you probably would have been better off being out with that midget friend of yours, but since you decided to come and play, I guess we'll include you in the fun." He turned and cast the pewter claw up as high as he could get it, where it became caught on the branch of an old maple tree, high out of view. Rheas struggled angrily, finally resorting to basic instincts. He bit the hand that smothered him, hard.
The junior pulled his hand back with a yelp and raised the other to cuff the freshman when Rheas turned and swung his legs under the larger boy, knocking him over. He scurried clear and rolled to his feet, yanking free his weapon from its concealed place at his belt, holding it out threateningly, feet braced apart.
"Now you're on dangerous ground kid," Deryle snapped.
"That's some hardware brat." Marty smiled, though the sincerity of that smile seemed to wither.
"Forty-five caliber, and it's loaded," Rheas hissed as he pulled back the hammer with a click. He clutched the gun tightly with both hands, but even still it was too heavy, and he was trying not to let his hands shake. "Now get off my property."
Smirking, Marty shook his head. "Now, now Madison, we both know you would never have the guts to shoot anybody, just as much as we both know that that gun isn't load--"
BLAM!
The recoil caught Rheas off guard, snapping back his wrists and sending his arms up over his head, nearly throwing him backwards. Though he knew how the gun worked and his father had shown him how to shoot one, he had never done so himself. He had really never wanted to.
Marty stood still, his eyes wide and mouth open. He heard the explosion of the bullet leaving the barrel, and then a small branch off a fallen log beside him exploded.
Rheas quickly regained his composure and held the gun out again; he couldn't stop his hands from shaking anymore. "Get the fuck outta here. I won't miss again."
"You shoot us you become a murderer!"
He laughed then, his cold mocking laugh like nails on a chalkboard. "As far as I see it, you are out here sneaking about on my property hauling around explosives. Therefore I feel that you are a threat to myself and my family,"
Click went the hammer.
"Self defense." he carried that last syllable for a second, "Even so, after all the hell you've given me for the past three years, it's well worth it."
"C'mon man," Deryle said to his companions, "the little fuck's lost it, let's go."
Marty cursed and began to follow his companions out. "You're gonna fucking die for this Madison."
"Get out of here, and fast."
It was only until a few minutes after the breaking of leaves and twigs had faded that Rheas finally relaxed, dropping his arms. Falling onto the log heavily, he ejected the magazine and gazed at the bullets absently.
"Hollow-points…Father, you sloppy prick." he smiled bitterly. He set the empty gun down, nearly tossing it, as though it was diseased. "I can't believe I did that…" He looked up at the abandoned explosives, a weird twist in his lips, "Well now, can't let that go to waste, but first things first."
Standing, he strolled over to the old maple and peered up through the green buds. Yup, there it was, dangling far out of reach. He sighed, only one way to get it. He removed his sweatshirt, bundling up the gun with it, and hid it in a thick bush. Just in case those idiots decided to come back while he was occupied.
Gazing up the trunk, he shook a little. The branch was quite high, but then again, the way the trunk twisted and bumped, it didn't seem too difficult. Pushing off, he began to climb up the tree slowly, keeping his head straight up, always looking at the branch, coming closer with every pull.
The sun was setting by the time he reached the branch. Exhausted, he dug his fingers into a patch of moss and just remained still, willing himself to move. Had not the necklace proved itself useful just a short time ago, he would have forgotten about it, but he couldn't now. Keeping his head level, he shifted and began to crawl across the thick branch. It wasn't too difficult at first, the branch was wide and sturdy, but by the time he neared the necklace, he had to look down just to see where to put his hand next as he crawled along. He kept his eyes focussed on the branch only, quickly glancing to his hands then back to the necklace, inching closer to his reach.
At last, he could almost reach it, his fingers grazing the cold chain. He pushed forward only one more inch, the branch swaying gently under him, threatening to dump him into empty air. The sun was gone, only a little more light left.
A little more…just a little more…the chain was on his finger and…he had it. Slowly he retracted his hand and began to back up. Which brought him a problem he hadn't considered.
He couldn't back up.
"Calm…" he reminded himself. He shifted his foot -he really should have removed his boots for this- moving it back until he thought he felt the branch firmly underneath. He then scooted backwards…and slipped.
The world tilted crazily as he began to swing onto his side, and he wrapped his arms around the branch, halting his fall, breathing heavily. He would have to turn. He slid back on his belly, scraping his arms as he retained his death-grip on the branch, until he was sure he had enough space. He slowly lifted himself onto his knees, the branch shaking, and slowly, ever so slowly, swiveled on his knees.
There was a harsh crack and the branched dipped dangerously. With a cry of surprise, Rheas' knees slid right off the branch, scraping his hip.
Adrenaline rush. He saw the ground below him, very far below him. Adrenaline and a sudden cloud settled over his mind.
Pain in his shoulder snapped his back and he clung to the branch, his legs dangling below him in the empty space. Sweat rolled down his face and collected under his gloves. It had finally settled in.
"Too high…too fucking high!"
Control! Get a grip! He shut his eyes tightly, shutting out the ground far below him, and began to swing his legs. If he could get back onto the branch, he'd be okay, he'd be fine, or else his arms would give out and…
He shut his eyes tighter. Control! He hung there; his slipping arms the only thing holding him up now. But he no longer noticed the empty air, or his sweaty hands or his sliding arms. He only knew the fear that was starting to invade his thoughts, and he pushed against it with all his will, slipping, slipping…
Control!
And the light was gone.
"Cameron! Have you seen your brother?"
"No Mom," Cameron called over his shoulder, "he probably went to Toby's." He turned and continued doing his homework, which mainly meant he was doodling all over the book. He would then spend the last days of school madly erasing everything so they wouldn't have to pay for damages.
"I already called, they said he's not there."
Cameron shrugged. "The den then, have you even checked his room?"
"Help me look for him, will you? It's almost dinnertime."
The big man rolled his eyes. Parents. But anything to get a break from work. "Sure." He rose and tossed the old book aside, heading to Rheas' room and knocking on the door. It drew open slowly, unlocked. He poked his head in and looked around, no Rheas. About to leave, he noticed that the lamp on the desk had been left on, the books open, and papers strewn about. Rheas had apparently planned to return soon. Cameron walked across the room and reached to click off the lamp when he noticed one of Rheas' journals lying open. Looking around to make sure his brother wasn't just hiding in the shadows, as he was known to do, he picked it up and flipped through a few pages.
Nothing really of interest to him. Notes on some complex subject or another that looked like a wasted effort. He flipped through a few more pages, and stopped when he reached a page with a large ink scribble. Peering at it closely, he saw it wasn't just a scribble at all, it was Rheas' drawing style. Though Rheas had never been much of an artist, he could always get the point across. A thin figure, shrouded in black, extending a golden, wasted hand…
Cameron dropped the book. That was exactly how Rheas had looked in that weird dream. But how would Rheas know…?
The room was suddenly pressing on him, the shadows from the lamplight rising and leering. He turned and walked out, slamming the door shut on the hideous apparitions. He had always hated that room. He went downstairs to the kitchen, his search unsuccessful.
"Find him?" he asked lazily as he strode in.
"No, but the back door was unlocked so he's probably outside." his father answered, cleaning off his hands.
Cameron leaned on the sliding door and looked out into the darkness. "He's not in the garden. Probably out in the woods then."
"What would he be doing out there in the dark?" his mother pondered as she set the table. Cameron took a whiff of the air, and decided dinner was not going to be pleasant.
"I dunno. Howling at the moon?"
"Cameron, don't insult your brother." his father sighed and handed him a flashlight, "Do you think you could go find him? Dinner's just about ready."
"Sure." Anything to get away from the smell. He slid open the door and stepped out into the cold night.
"Rheas!" he called, stalking across the un-mowed lawn and into the forest. He traveled quite a way in, calling his brother's name with no reply.
"Rheas, if you don't come out now I'm going to pound you!" He swung the flashlight through the darkness. Ten minutes he guessed had passed, and no sign of his sibling. He was about to give up when a soft voice hissed through the trees.
"Cameron!"
"Rheas?" he turned the flashlight in a circle, not seeing where the younger boy was. "Where are you?"
"Up here!" His voice seemed small and tired, like it was an effort for him to speak.
"Where?" Cameron lifted the beam up a little, but still saw nothing but ferns and trees. Something wet hit him in the shoulder: spit. He lifted the flashlight up into the high branches. Rheas was up there, hanging off a branch, his arms wrapped around the branch to keep his torso on while his legs dangled in the air.
"What are you doing up there?" he demanded, stunned.
"What does it look like!?" Rheas snarled.
"Wrong question. How did you get up there?"
"I climbed…" Rheas whimpered, giving up.
"Climbed? You? Good job!"
"I can't hold on anymore…!"
"Just a little longer Rheas, I'm coming up to get you!" Cameron yelled up to him. He hung the flashlight on his arm and snapped the front forward, turning it into a lantern. Stepping up, he began to climb the old tree. "How long have you been hanging there?" he grunted, trying to get his brother's mind off the great gap of air between him and the ground.
"Since sunset." Rheas replied softly, his muscles tight and unmoving.
Cameron paused and eyed his sibling. "You've been hanging there for two hours?"
Rheas nodded, his eyes wide and never leaving the ground far below him. Cameron shook his head and continued upward. This was a bigger problem than he thought. Rheas was too far out for him to reach, and though the branch seemed all right under Rheas' weight, it would undoubtedly break under his. Rheas would have to come to him, but he had obviously frozen, it would take a crowbar to pry his arms off now, or simply wait until his muscles gave out entirely…
Which wasn't an option. Rheas yelped as he slipped farther down, trying to swing his legs back on the branch. At last Cameron reached the branch, but it did no good, as Rheas was too far away.
"Rheas," he called, "I can't reach you, you're going to have to come to me, all right? Rheas?"
"I can't…"
"Yes you can, come on."
"I'll fall, this is too fucking high, I'll fall!"
Cameron stared at his brother and his face softened. "You're really scared, aren't you?"
Rheas shot him a glare. "Don't you dare start! You know how I get with…with…"
"I know, and yet you still got out there, didn't you? You can get back. Come on." Cameron prompted patiently. Rheas swallowed the lump in his throat, and slowly slid one arm over, followed by the other. Barely moving at all, he slowly began to work his way back.
"You're doing good, not too much farther."
Rheas suddenly stopped, his eyes wide, "I can't anymore…I'm slipping…!"
"Just a little farther Rheas! Come on!"
Rheas slid his arm, raw from the rough bark, over a little more, and gave out a cry as he slipped off the branch.
"Rheas!"
He hung there, gasping, dangling now only by his hands, the fingers biting into the bark so hard they bled. He unintentionally looked down, and now saw nothing between him and the ground so very far below. His eyes widened and his muscled contracted and froze.
"Rheas! Rheas! Don't freeze up now! Rheas?"
"…help me…"
"All right, hang on, I'm coming!" But the branch couldn't support both their weights…Well, it would have to! One hand took hold of the branch, holding him up, while his feet pressed against the trunk, and he reached out with his other hand. Rheas was just in reach. He took hold of the boy's thin arm firmly.
"Okay Rheas, let go of the branch and grab hold of me, all right?"
Rheas only stared at the ground, panting and teeth chattering. But from the cold or his phobia Cameron couldn't decide.
"Rheas? Don't look at the ground. Don't look at the ground, look at me! Look at me!"
Rheas turned and focussed his eyes on his brother's. "I…"
"I won't let you fall, understand? I promise you, I won't let you fall, ever." he tightened his grip, "Let go."
Drawing in one ragged breath, Rheas shut his eyes and let go, his arms shooting for his brother's. Cameron tightened his grip and pulled him close, then pulled himself back until he had both feet planted firmly on two branches, his arm still grasping another for balance.
"Good job. You're done. It's over," he said soothingly as Rheas shook in his hold.
"I'm never climbing a friggin' tree again, ever!" he gasped, letting the adrenaline fall away and the biting cold sink in, re-sharpening his senses.
With Rheas on his back, arms around his neck, Cameron began the slow climb down. Though not yet fully grown, Rheas was heavier than Cameron last remembered, but not by much. Rheas shivered in the cold, his sweatshirt still in the bushes. He would have to get it later, when he could bring the gun in without the risk of getting caught. When they reached the ground Rheas dropped off his brother's back and retched in the bushes.
"You all right?" Cameron called back to him.
"Yeah," he sighed, his throat tightening, and breathed through his inhaler.
"You sure? You need me to carry you? You seem awfully pale…"
"I'm fine!" Rheas snarled, pulling himself back up. His hand darted to his throat where the necklace hung, assuring.
Cameron nodded solemnly. "Dinner's ready." he sighed, "one of Mom's specials."
Rheas puked again at the thought.
"What took you two so long? Rheas, why are you all scratched up!?" Their mother practically fell on him when they came through the door, and Rheas tried to keep her away in vain.
"Nothing Mother, I just found myself stuck in a tree…"
"What were you doing in a tree?" their father inquired curiously.
"Getting rescued by Cameron, I'd say."
"Well go get cleaned up and come to dinner, both of you. Oh and Rheas, there's a package for you on the counter."
Rheas paused and stared at the suspicious box. "Why for me? Who would send it?"
"Don't know, there's no return address."
After cleaning off most of the dirt, Rheas worked on opening the package while the rest of the family began to eat. He finally cut the tape, which had become a more difficult task to his exhausted arms, and lifted the lid, peering inside. He then slammed it shut and walked over to the table stiffly, as though in a trance.
Sitting down, he began to eat rapidly. His parents and brother stared at him, wide-eyed. Never before had he eaten so much and so quickly! Especially not one of his mother's specials, which even Cameron could barely stomach.
"This is really good," he said to his mother as he spooned up another helping, almost sending his mother out of her chair. His plate was completely cleaned off in a few moments, an event never seen before in the Madison household. He stood and gathered his plates and put them in the sink.
"ThankyouIloveyougoodbye!" he declared quickly before grabbing the package and dashing up the stairs with an alien energy. There was a silence as the rest of the family stared after the unknown boy.
"Well…" began their mother slowly, shattering the static silence, "it's good he has a…new positive outlook…"
Their father was about to agree when a horrible high-pitched, maniacal laughter wafted down the stairs. The two parents gazed at their eldest son in silent questioning.
"He hangs out with those people after school and they sit around and make plans for world domination, I swear!" Cameron burst, before burying his attention back in attempting to eat.
Rheas dropped the heavy package on his desk with the sound of thunder in his ears. Laughing, he pulled out the precious contents. He knew what it was, and he knew that he knew what it was, and that was just exciting. He ran his hand over the old binding lovingly.
The spellbook was an early book, for young students with simple spells, but a spellbook nonetheless, and he knew it! He knew what it was and how he could use it! He knew! Oh!
He clutched the book to his chest and spun about his room gaily, laughing aloud. He knew! He didn't know how he knew, but at the moment, he was too thrilled with his prize to care. Finally suspicion overpowered his joy and he dug through the box, needing to know who sent him this gift. He found only a small piece of paper, which read:
You choose your own paths, I can only open doors for you.
Choose well.
It was signed in that strange writing Rheas couldn't match with another. Two characters, neither of which, he discovered, matched the ones on the wood. But they were the same language, undoubtedly. He set the piece of paper down amongst his notes and smiled darkly.
All right, whoever you are, he thought, I'll play your game, for now.
He picked up the spellbook again and ran his hands over it, savoring the very feel of it under his fingertips, and he didn't know why. Sitting at his desk, he slowly opened it, pondering the possibility of some nasty explosion following soon after, but he didn't do anything about it. Turning to the first page, he stared at it, his eyes wide. He had expected this, yet still…
He slammed his fists down on the desk and shouted out curses at the moon he couldn't see through the dark clouds.
He couldn't read the writing. Not a word.
Well now, that was interesting. A lot of this stuff is based after reality. The roleplaying is examples I collected from tales my friends would tell me, and Azza is my own character. The other stuff too. My brother (who is also three years my elder and is also big and strong while I am thin and weak) would trap me under his barbell like that, but never forgot I was there, and the whole camo-in-the-woods thing is also off memories of my brother and I (except it's backwards for me, my brother is smarter than I am.)
Anyway, most of this story, and many details (what's gonna happen between Thomas and Laura, what happened to Rheas when he ran away those years ago, who the enemy is, blah blah blah) were planned the first week I was designing this. I've still got many gaps though, so if there are any ideas you want to pitch in, I'll see what I can do!
Thanks to RaistlinofMetallica for the "volume trouble" thing! Next chapter…somewhere…