(Outdated) The King of Elements

Return to Amity

"Samantha," he said, "did you see that?"

"I don't see anything," she said in indignation as a man at the picnic table waved at the car. It wasn't until then that Dre recognized who he was. It was Jamie Hero, Samantha's cousin. He knew what would happen next. Samantha would ask Dre if he'd be able to walk home so she could give him a ride to his house. Dre figured it was pointless to drive him home considering that he had a cherry red Harley Davison that was well above working condition. Anytime he thought about that, however, he'd give Jamie the benefit of a doubt considering that he'd never actually seen Jamie ride the bike to the store. Dre couldn't see exactly how they were related. While Samantha dressed sophisticatedly and "acted" the same way, Jamie was completely different. He wore a red bandana over his shaved head and always wore his sleeveless denim jacket with a picture of a skull with two serpents slithering out of the empty eye sockets stitched on the back. He had a chain wrapped around his left pant leg. Whereas Samantha could be considered a good person strictly by appearance, Jamie's look gave him a dark, almost evil aura.

"Dre, you don't mind walking home, do you? I should give Jamie a ride home from work," she asked him as Jamie made his way to the car.

"Not like I ever mind," he sighed as he got out of the car, look straight in the shadows where Jamie's eyes would be. He stepped aside as Jamie took his spot in the car and slammed the door shut. They sped off without saying good-bye to Dre. "I guess I'll see you later then," he called out before walking down incline of the parking lot and onto the street. Once Samantha's Jaguar was out of sight, Dre ripped off the shirt and stuffed it in between him and his backpack. The slight breeze cooled off his drenched undershirt, finally giving him a relief from the stuffiness of the humid air. "I'm alive again!" It felt good to finally breathe again. As much as he wanted to enjoy the slight breeze, he knew he had to return to the academy, and unfortunately he knew that he would never get to be alone to eat the candy while he was on the street. The people here were much too nosy to disappear without being detected. He'd run a tad late, but he'd have to get back home.

He tightened the straps of his backpack before dashing down the street. His house was three blocks away from the store, but under this heat it may as well been miles.

A few minutes later, he arrived in his yard. He leapt up the stairs and rushed inside. The house was dead silent, with the only sounds being the low hum of the air conditioner and the chirping of cicadas. Great. Everyone else must have already left. Dre strode through the living room and into his cluttered and unkempt room. He reminded himself to clean up as he shrugged off his backpack, pulled the small bag of candy from his pocket, and ripped it open with his teeth. He swallowed a piece before swan diving over his bed; when he came back, he'd like to land somewhere soft.

His body disappeared before he made contact with his bed.