-Chapter
3-
The Friend of Fire
James hung up the phone,
noticing it was getting slightly dark, and walked to his usual
attraction spot a few blocks down the road. He took his black
miniture backpack off, and tossed it onto the cold ground. All of a
sudden, out ran a marten, holding a pack of matches in it's mouth.
James looked over to the animal then smiled and shook his head.
"C'mon Link," he said to the marten, "give me the
matches."
Link ran over to his 'owner' and put the
matches on the ground. The marten had been following James everywhere
since he was 15. James then got a backpack to keep the marten, and
his supplies in, when he had learned to become a fire-eater. James
loved the marten as much as he had loved his little pug dog when he
was younger. He remembered the last day he saw his loved ones, he
remembered it like it was just yesterday.
James was eight and
had just gotten home from school. He had gone into his house, and ran
to go find his mother. He opened his parents' bedroom door, since
that was where she usually was when he got home, only to see her
murdered, blood everywhere and the knife still in her back. James
screamed, tears running down his cheeks, and ran around the house
searching for his father. He searched down into the basement, fore
that was his father's workshop. He looked around, and finally saw his
father laying on the table, a screwdriver sticking out of his head.
This had been too much for an 8-year-old boy to handle, but he ran up
the stairs to the upstairs to the bathroom, and hanging there by the
neck, was his best friend, and his pet pug dog, Basta. He ran into
the living room, where his older brother, by a year, was standing.
"What are you screaming about now? It's because I ate the last
of the ice cream, isn't it? You're such a baby." His brother had
said. James told him what happened, and his brother called the
police. Since that day they, along with their lil sis, had lived with
their grandfather, until he died. James was 12, his brother was 13.
The two went their seperate ways. The murder of their parents hadn't
been found.
The marten jumped into James's arms, and snapped
him out of the past. James pet Link's head and placed him on the
ground, getting ready to start the show. Setting five torches in the
ground, and lighting one, he took his water bottle and drank some,
swished it in his mouth, then spit something whitish out onto the
ground. Some people had started gathering, as Link walked around in
front of the crowd, holding a hat with his teeth, and James filled a
bowl with water. He took off his shirt, exposing more of his pale
skin, and lit a match while putting the shirt over with his bag. He
lit a torch, then picked up a ball, the size of a golf ball, lit it
on fire, then threw it in the air. He did the same thing with ten
other balls, as he juggled them with one hand [he held the match in
between his teeth]. He dropped the match on the ground and stepped on
it, now juggling with two hands.
The balls were glowing
beautifully, in an oval shape in the air, as he tossed and catched
them in swift motions. Soon, one by one, James tossed all but one
ball into the bowl, causing the water in it to steam. The other ball,
however, James caught in between his teeth, then it dropped into his
mouth. He then took it out a split second later and the ball was
flaming no more.
He threw the ball into his backpack, picked
up a torch, and dipped the top into the water. He then lit the torch
with the already lit one, the fire flared up suddenly, making the
people step back, eyes wide in surprise and awe. James then put the
bottle of water to his lips, filled his mouth with water, and spat
the water into the air above the burning torch. A bright, blazing
fireball hung over them, surely it would consume everything in it's
flame. It didn't. The crowed steped back further as James blew more
fire out from his mouth, making the flame rise higher. He then lit
another torch and ran the flames over his arms, letting the fire lick
at his skin, looking as happy as a small child with candy. He lit
another torch, then another, and yet another, then started juggling
with them, adding a couple more in the process. The fire was whirling
around him as the people watched in amazement.
The fire
danced around him, and with him, as he juggled the flaming torches
with a grin on his face. He threw the torches higher into the air,
the darkness seeming to have consumed them, and caught them one by
one, blowing out the flames. The fire around and on him died down and
he grinned wider, then said, "Now kids. Never do that at home."
The small crowd cheered and Link brought the now-filled-with-money
hat, and a towel, over to him, as the people left. James squirt some
water on himself, because he was now sweating, then dried himself
with a towel Link had brought over to him. He had just put his shirt
on, and was cleaning up when a little girl, about age 6, came over to
him. "Hey mister. That was really cool!"
James
turned around and looked at the little girl, who was average of
height for her age. She had big, bright blue eyes, soft pinkish lips,
and waist-length, straight, light brown hair with a little bit of
blonde in it. She had pale skin, but was sunburned over her nose, on
her cheeks, and slightly her shoulders. She had on a light pink tank
top and a little jean skirt, with black, worn out, mary-janes. The
girl was hugging a brown stuffed dog with a red collar, to her chest.
James stared at the girl for a few seconds in shock, then shook his
head and smiled at her, "Thanks. What's your name?"
"Angelina,"
the girl replied, smiling, and went on, "could you teach me how
to do that? Please?"
"Home," Angelina replied simply.
"They let you out on your own?" James questioned, 'what kind of parent would let a young girl like this wonder around the city?' he thought.
"No, I ran away. Daddy yelled at me," her big eyes grew sad as she looked down at the ground. She shifted from one foot to the other.
"It's dangerous for you to be out here by yourself," James stated, as knelt down and put the money that was in the hat into the backpack, figuring that he'd count it later, "and your parents are probably worried about you," he noticed that Link had put the balls and the torches in his backpack, so he picked it up and slung it over his shoulder. "Want me to take you home? Where do you live?"
The girl looked up, then pointed to the left, "that way," she replied, and hugged the stuffed animal closer to her. Link walked up to the girl and sniffed her. Angelina looked down to the marten and reached down to pet him, however, James told her that he bites, so she quickly took her hand away.
"Alright then, let's go," James walked Angelina to her house, Link following the two. She lived in an apartment on the third floor, so they took the elevator. James knocked on the door and a very worried looking woman opened the door. She saw James, then looked down to Angelina and her expression turned from worried, to angry, to relieved. She picked up the girl and hugged her.
"Jack!" She yelled, "She's home!" A man ran to the door, and the woman turned to James, "Where did you find her?"
"She was at my fire show," James replied simply.
"And who are you?" the man eyed James like he was a rapest.
James looked to the man, "James. My name is James."
"And... you have a fire show?" the man questioned.
"Yes. I do..." James trailed off.
"Daddy it was pretty!" Angelina exclaimed, "The fire danced and he juggled it and he blew fire out of his mouth and the fire was on his skin and he didn't burn! It was really really pretty!"
The woman rubbed the little one's head and said, "I'm sure it was. But don't you ever, ever run away like that again. You had us worried sick!"
Angelina looked down and quietly apologized. Her mother looked back to James and asked, "Oh, how can we repay you?"
"No, you don't need to," he looked at his watch, "but I really should be going. I have to get to the hospital."
"Is everything alright?" the woman asked, concerned.
"I sure hope so," James answered.
"Me too. Well, thank you for bringing our daughter home."
"No problem. Well, bye," James turned and walked towards the elevator, as he heard the man mutter something about him probably being a rapest.
James started thinking about the little girl, and how familar she looked. Then it hit him, like a baseball hits your head...
"Jaaaaaames,"
a little girl called to a 12-year-old boy, "come and push me on
the swing... Shawn said he wouldn't do it!"
"Sure
Angel, why not?" James rhetorically asked, as he sat her on the
tree swing and gave her a light push to start her off. The girl's
name was actually Serenity, but he called her Angel. Their parents
had been dead for 3 months now, but she was 6 so it wasn't too hard
for her to lose track.
He pushed her a little higher, and the
girl laughed a laugh of joy. A little while later, they got thirsty.
James went into the house, their grandfather had been watching after
them, and got two glasses of juice for them, after searching the
refrigerator, then going into the basement for a container. He walked
outside and heard an ambulence. He shrugged and walked over to the
swing, only to see that the girl was no longer there. He started to
worry. He looked over to where the ambulence was, and ran over to it,
spilling juice everywhere. He halted to a stop. The glasses
shattered, as they slipped from his hands and hit the ground. The
little girl was on the blood covered ground, a few feet away from a
car. A man had put the small body on a stretcher, then in the
ambulence.
"I'm her brother, let me in! Please!" he
screamed, tears running down his cheeks, at the man closing the door.
The man let James climb in, and right before he closed the door, he
saw his brother, Shawn, trying desperately to hold in his laughter.
They got to the hospital, and James had to wait in the
waiting room, where he paced back and forth, still crying. The doctor
came into the waiting room with a melancholy expression on his face,
"I'm sorry, but... the girl has died. They say that the car had
been tampered with. It stopped after it hit the girl. I'm sorry."
He
couldn't take anymore, soon his grandfather and brother had picked
him up, and they were later arranging Serenity's funeral. Not too
long after his sister's funeral, a few months at the least, his
grandfather died of a heart-attack.
James pushed the memory
away, and noticed he was standing not far from the hospital. Making
sure Link was next to him, he walked the rest of the way, trying not
to think of his family.
He soon reached the hospital and,
putting Link in his backpack,walked up to NightCrystal's room.