Unfortunately, there was a giant flaming thing standing in the doorway and blocking the path.
It was an average morning. Dalton had woke up realizing that his alarm clock's battery had died out during the night and that he was late. He was alone at home, of course. His elder brother who was taking care of them was probably at work already, and his sister at school.
Then, just as he was about to leave, that thing showed up. His mind took several seconds to comprehend what he saw. It wasn't human, that's for sure. If it was, that poor guy would be rolling on the floor and screaming in agony now.
No, this thing doesn't even have legs. Where they should be ended in a spiralling mass of fire and smoke. It had green eyes that glowed with malefic intent. Dalton was still paralysed, his feet glued to the ground. Of course, any sane man would be in the same predicament. Then, as if the day couldn't get any weirder, the thing spoke.
"Humani... hand over... the... Soul Gem!" it rasped, its voice deep and distorted. It placed its hand on the door frame and it was instantly engulfed. The thing took a step forward (or was it better described as sliding across the floor?) and Dalton snapped out of his trance.
Instantly he bolted for the kitchen, where the back door was located. It was bolted, so he didn't have to worry about finding the keys first. He could have went to his room to take some important things, but he wasn't sure if he could make it pass the flaming being if he was cornered.
As he escaped into his back garden, he was thankful that his bike was still in the garden shed. Rushing forward, he took it out into the streets and began pedalling furiously. He still couldn't believe what he saw. Looking back, his house was already ablaze, and the fire thing was moving towards him slowly. He half-expected the creature to fly towards him and shout, "Flame on!"
Then as if a thing made of fire wasn't weird enough, a creature of rock exploded out of the concrete path. Dalton managed to swerve aside just in time. The thing roared, its mouth spitting out sand and gravel. Dalton decided he would call this guy Rocky and the fire thing Hot Stuff.
Rocky looked humanoid in shape, except that he was made of concrete and dirt. It had a single eye made of ruby at the centre of its forehead, and its mouth was hanging open limply. Its legs were glued to the ground, or more specifically, were merged with the ground. It moved towards Dalton in a roller skating motion, the ground bending like putty when Rocky moved.
"Humani... Soul Gem mine! Give me!" Rocky roared. It probably wasn't very smart, but Dalton dared not take his chances. He looked around for help. Anybody, even Mr. Gleeson, his grumpy neighbour, would be a welcoming sight. Unfortunately, not a single soul was present.
Rocky was gaining on him, and no matter how much he pedalled, Dalton couldn't seem to get away from it. Then he looked down and realized that the concrete beneath him was melting and becoming something like water. If he sank, he would be a goner.
He made the right choice and jumped off his bike, just as it was sucked underground. Rocky roared with anger. Dalton briefly wondered if the only thing Rocky ever did was roar.
However, in that short time he took to jump off bike and get on his feet, Rocky had closed the distance between them. The thing towered over him, at least eight feet high. It raised its arm, and Dalton closed his eyes, expecting the worse.
Before Rocky touched him, there was a loud explosion, and Rocky roared with pain. Pieces of concrete, dirt and sand showered the ground around it. Dalton opened his eyes, and unbelievably, Hot Stuff was attacking Rocky. The small shrubs lining his neighbours' house were charred and smoking. And from one of these plants, Hot Stuff loomed over Rocky.
Dalton guessed that someway or somehow, Hot Stuff had jumped from bush to bush and caught up with them. He wasn't sure that them fighting was a good thing, but at least it gave him a chance to get away. Then he could find the police and someway or somehow convince them that what he saw in the last ten minutes was real.
But Rocky had other ideas. Just as he got up, the ground beneath Dalton's feet turned into liquid. Like quicksand, he sank quickly, until his entire leg was stuck in the cement-like puddle that the concrete has become.
The two creatures began speaking to each other rapidly in their own language. Then when they seem to come to an agreement, Rocky turned to him. "We fight. Winner gets... humani with... Soul Gem!" it said, and turned to face the fiery being.
Dalton groaned. Whoever won, it didn't matter; he would either end up as a human torch or stone. Neither choice seemed good for him. His did the only thing any normal person would do in this situation, after facing all the abnormalities of the morning: he started freaking out.
He screamed and shouted, waving his hands like a maniac. If his legs weren't stuck, he would be running around in circles too. Rocky and Hot Stuff ignored him and began circling each other, their eyes shooting daggers.
Dalton in his panic, realized that if they clashed less than five meters away from him, it didn't matter what happened at the end, he would be blown to smithereens.
He said his prayers. This was the end of Dalton Foxx, eleventh grader, teenage boy and still single, was about to die without even knowing why he was supposed to. Worse, when his brother comes back and finds out that their house was burnt down, he would say something like, "Dalton screwed up again and burned the house. Oh well, let's just forget about him and find a new one in a clean and quiet neighborhood."
Then there was a voice above them. "Hold it, elementals! You shalt not harm another soul!" a female voice shouted. It was a stern voice, one that was steely and strict, like that of a coach or instructor who doesn't care if you would die during their class.
Then, before Dalton had a chance to turn around, a beam of ice shot past him and struck Rocky and Hot Stuff in the face. Hot Stuff screamed like it had placed its hand in a pot of boiling water. Or freezing water, to be exact. Rocky on the other hand, completely froze.
A long chain shot out and stabbed Rocky--in the face, again--and he shattered like ice. Pieces of him fell to the ground before slowly thawing. Immediately, the ground beneath him gave out a rumble and before he knew it, Dalton was spat out. He flew in the air for a few seconds before landing hardly on the now solid concrete.
Hot Stuff gave a long hiss and tried to escape, its form breaking down until it became a fireball. But then, the same chains that had destroyed Rocky now slithered towards Hot Stuff and constricted around it. How a chain can wrap around a fireball, Dalton had no idea. Hot Stuff spluttered and cough, and the chain seemed to tighten.
"Foul elemental! Why does thou insist on running amok?" the voice asked. Dalton wanted to turn around and look, but his eyes was transfixed on Hot Stuff, who was slowly flickering like a candle in the wind.
"Foolish humani! You... have no... chance!" it gasped. Then it laughed, weak and soft, but confident, like it knew some other secret that they don't. "You... can't... save yourselves! The Soul Gem... it is ours! In the end... the humani boy... will die!"
Its eyes turned towards its assailants, then back to Dalton. "Do not fret... humani! Your... race... shall fall! Salfuros shall... rise!" With that last speech, it gave a little shriek and disappeared, exploding into tiny sparks that dissipated in the cool morning air.
Dalton looked behind him and saw two figures on the roof. They leaped and landed gracefully on the ground. His visions blurred. The cement must have drained his strength or something. He staggered to his feet, then collapsed to the ground.
His world went dark just as his saviors approached him.
No, this thing doesn't even have legs. Where they should be ended in a spiralling mass of fire and smoke. It had green eyes that glowed with malefic intent. Dalton was still paralysed, his feet glued to the ground. Of course, any sane man would be in the same predicament. Then, as if the day couldn't get any weirder, the thing spoke.
"Humani... hand over... the... Soul Gem!" it rasped, its voice deep and distorted. It placed its hand on the door frame and it was instantly engulfed. The thing took a step forward (or was it better described as sliding across the floor?) and Dalton snapped out of his trance.
Instantly he bolted for the kitchen, where the back door was located. It was bolted, so he didn't have to worry about finding the keys first. He could have went to his room to take some important things, but he wasn't sure if he could make it pass the flaming being if he was cornered.
As he escaped into his back garden, he was thankful that his bike was still in the garden shed. Rushing forward, he took it out into the streets and began pedalling furiously. He still couldn't believe what he saw. Looking back, his house was already ablaze, and the fire thing was moving towards him slowly. He half-expected the creature to fly towards him and shout, "Flame on!"
Then as if a thing made of fire wasn't weird enough, a creature of rock exploded out of the concrete path. Dalton managed to swerve aside just in time. The thing roared, its mouth spitting out sand and gravel. Dalton decided he would call this guy Rocky and the fire thing Hot Stuff.
Rocky looked humanoid in shape, except that he was made of concrete and dirt. It had a single eye made of ruby at the centre of its forehead, and its mouth was hanging open limply. Its legs were glued to the ground, or more specifically, were merged with the ground. It moved towards Dalton in a roller skating motion, the ground bending like putty when Rocky moved.
"Humani... Soul Gem mine! Give me!" Rocky roared. It probably wasn't very smart, but Dalton dared not take his chances. He looked around for help. Anybody, even Mr. Gleeson, his grumpy neighbour, would be a welcoming sight. Unfortunately, not a single soul was present.
Rocky was gaining on him, and no matter how much he pedalled, Dalton couldn't seem to get away from it. Then he looked down and realized that the concrete beneath him was melting and becoming something like water. If he sank, he would be a goner.
He made the right choice and jumped off his bike, just as it was sucked underground. Rocky roared with anger. Dalton briefly wondered if the only thing Rocky ever did was roar.
However, in that short time he took to jump off bike and get on his feet, Rocky had closed the distance between them. The thing towered over him, at least eight feet high. It raised its arm, and Dalton closed his eyes, expecting the worse.
Before Rocky touched him, there was a loud explosion, and Rocky roared with pain. Pieces of concrete, dirt and sand showered the ground around it. Dalton opened his eyes, and unbelievably, Hot Stuff was attacking Rocky. The small shrubs lining his neighbours' house were charred and smoking. And from one of these plants, Hot Stuff loomed over Rocky.
Dalton guessed that someway or somehow, Hot Stuff had jumped from bush to bush and caught up with them. He wasn't sure that them fighting was a good thing, but at least it gave him a chance to get away. Then he could find the police and someway or somehow convince them that what he saw in the last ten minutes was real.
But Rocky had other ideas. Just as he got up, the ground beneath Dalton's feet turned into liquid. Like quicksand, he sank quickly, until his entire leg was stuck in the cement-like puddle that the concrete has become.
The two creatures began speaking to each other rapidly in their own language. Then when they seem to come to an agreement, Rocky turned to him. "We fight. Winner gets... humani with... Soul Gem!" it said, and turned to face the fiery being.
Dalton groaned. Whoever won, it didn't matter; he would either end up as a human torch or stone. Neither choice seemed good for him. His did the only thing any normal person would do in this situation, after facing all the abnormalities of the morning: he started freaking out.
He screamed and shouted, waving his hands like a maniac. If his legs weren't stuck, he would be running around in circles too. Rocky and Hot Stuff ignored him and began circling each other, their eyes shooting daggers.
Dalton in his panic, realized that if they clashed less than five meters away from him, it didn't matter what happened at the end, he would be blown to smithereens.
He said his prayers. This was the end of Dalton Foxx, eleventh grader, teenage boy and still single, was about to die without even knowing why he was supposed to. Worse, when his brother comes back and finds out that their house was burnt down, he would say something like, "Dalton screwed up again and burned the house. Oh well, let's just forget about him and find a new one in a clean and quiet neighborhood."
Then there was a voice above them. "Hold it, elementals! You shalt not harm another soul!" a female voice shouted. It was a stern voice, one that was steely and strict, like that of a coach or instructor who doesn't care if you would die during their class.
Then, before Dalton had a chance to turn around, a beam of ice shot past him and struck Rocky and Hot Stuff in the face. Hot Stuff screamed like it had placed its hand in a pot of boiling water. Or freezing water, to be exact. Rocky on the other hand, completely froze.
A long chain shot out and stabbed Rocky--in the face, again--and he shattered like ice. Pieces of him fell to the ground before slowly thawing. Immediately, the ground beneath him gave out a rumble and before he knew it, Dalton was spat out. He flew in the air for a few seconds before landing hardly on the now solid concrete.
Hot Stuff gave a long hiss and tried to escape, its form breaking down until it became a fireball. But then, the same chains that had destroyed Rocky now slithered towards Hot Stuff and constricted around it. How a chain can wrap around a fireball, Dalton had no idea. Hot Stuff spluttered and cough, and the chain seemed to tighten.
"Foul elemental! Why does thou insist on running amok?" the voice asked. Dalton wanted to turn around and look, but his eyes was transfixed on Hot Stuff, who was slowly flickering like a candle in the wind.
"Foolish humani! You... have no... chance!" it gasped. Then it laughed, weak and soft, but confident, like it knew some other secret that they don't. "You... can't... save yourselves! The Soul Gem... it is ours! In the end... the humani boy... will die!"
Its eyes turned towards its assailants, then back to Dalton. "Do not fret... humani! Your... race... shall fall! Salfuros shall... rise!" With that last speech, it gave a little shriek and disappeared, exploding into tiny sparks that dissipated in the cool morning air.
Dalton looked behind him and saw two figures on the roof. They leaped and landed gracefully on the ground. His visions blurred. The cement must have drained his strength or something. He staggered to his feet, then collapsed to the ground.
His world went dark just as his saviors approached him.
* * *
So... That was my first story. Was not really in a mood. I'm sure you guys have a lot of questions, but they will be (hopefully) explained in the next chapter. Leave a comment, or criticism. Would be glad to take advice and suggestions :)
YC, signing out
