The Reburth of a Dragon: Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

    Seth remembered reading that Gothic architecture was designed to make the visitor of the building feel small and insignificant. He had never before believed that a building could inspire such emotions, but following his younger self, he began to understand and remember that feeling. Now that he thought about it, the feeling of remembering his memories as he watched his younger self experience what happened to him for the first time was sort of surreal and Seth thought that he probably did not want to make a repeat of this experience, not that he had much of a choice the first time around.

       The corridor they were walking in fit the Gothic/horror theme that the outside gave. It was dark because there was nothing to light the way, but from what Seth could barely make out, it wouldn't seem to be appealing even if there was a light. The walls were made of stone and Seth remembered that they felt like ice to the touch. As for Kid-Seth, he had taken his gloves off when he entered the building and was now feeling his way across the walls to move around. As for Josephine, she seemed to have turned three shades paler when entering and as a result, seemed to forget about her anger. Seth knew this to be true because when they entered, she always made sure that they were walking shoulder length apart. 

     Seth didn't want to upset her again so he focused all his attention on following his younger self and pretended not to notice her fear of this place. He had reasoned that if  she wanted to keep her secrets, it was fine by him for heaven knew that he couldn't deal with anymore baggage for a long, long while. As soon as he thought this, a wave of guilt hit him. This was followed by anger and annoyance that he should feel guilty for not being able to help a person who so obviously didn't care for him, but a tiny voice from deep in his psyche whispered, "If that were true, then why did she try to warn you about her dream? Why did she continue to push the subject, even after you had so blatantly disregarded her words as nonsense? And why are you currently in this situation? Would someone who gave no thought to your well being have went so far for you?" Seth would rather deal with his irritation than with the feelings that some  of these questions brought up so he mentally told that voice to take a hike. In response, Seth could have sworn that this voice had called him an idiot.

    This made him pause and break the silence by asking Josephine if it was possible to enter another person's mind and fool the said person into thinking thoughts that are not that person's thoughts. She replied by telling him that although there were a lot of creatures that could read minds and think things into another's mind, but the person that it was being done to would be able to differentiate his thoughts from the thoughts of the alien presence in his mind. When she finished explaining, she asked him why he would ask something like that. Seth thought that hell would freeze over before he ever told her about his inner monologue. Out loud, he said, "No reason. Just call it morbid curiosity that happened in the spur of the moment." She gave him an odd look, but let the subject drop. 

       Afterwards both focused on Kid-Seth because the wall had ended and turned into a corner that looked like a stairwell, but unlike the corridor, the wall adjacent the stairwell was filled with lit candelabras. When faced with this, the child looked at the stairwell with big, fearful eyes that were shaken off after he took a picture of the stairwell and tested the first couple of stairs to deem them safe for travel. Seth remembered that at the time, he thought that he had gone too far to back out now so he might as well finish exploring this place and that he might never have a chance like this again. 

      With a light to guide him, navigation became much easier for the child and with that power came the sort of confidence that only a child could muster in such a situation. Because of this fact, it was only natural that Kid-Seth passed through the stairwell much faster than he had the corridor. And at the top of this stairwell was not another corridor as the ten year-old expected, but a door. And when he opened that door, he saw a room. What surprised him the most was that it was not a room that matched the rest of the castle with it's dark and gloomy colors that seemed to give an aura of despair, but that it was but a child's room that awaited him.

      It was a room filled with the things that any ordinary girl-child would enjoy. The walls were pink with the exception of one side which was a mural of the forest that stood outside, but in the middle of spring instead of winter. The right corner was filled with toys and there was a bed designed for one of Kid-Seth's height in the left corner. It was directly below this ledge that was just under a giant window that overlooked the forest below. The bed was also the pink of most of the room. On the right of it was a bookshelf, no taller than Kid-Seth's eyes, filled with fairy tales and classics in a variety of languages. 

      Kid-Seth had bended down to take a look at the contents of the shelf and before he got up, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to the bed there was something jammed in under the mattress. Kid-Seth pulled it out and saw that it was some sort of diary. The cover read, "J's Journal" in pretty cursive writing. He wondered who J was for a moment and in his imagination thought that it must be the name of the girl who lived here.

      Kid-Seth knew that it would be rude to read someone's diary, but the temptation of finding out what it was like for whoever lived here proved to be too much for the boy. So with a silent apology he cracked it open and read with the present Seth and Josephine able to follow along with him through the same power that had brought them here.

       

    

    

The Rebirth of a Dragon: Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

      For the first few minutes, Kid-Seth walked carefully, but after he was sure that the road was safe he developed a steady, speedy pace and kept his eyes peeled for the scarred tree. His movements were watched by the present Seth and Josephine as they followed his path. After a few minutes, Josephine said, "Hey, I've been wondering something for a little while now." Seth said, "Yeah, what?" She said, "What the hell happened to you?" He asked her hat she meant and she replied, "When you were a kid, you had the guts to go on some treasure hunt to a place that might not even exist, but when I first met you, you seemed to be the type that would do anything to survive, even if it meant being a complete wuss." 

     "That's not true. I'm not coward. I never was and I never will be," stated Seth. In response, She asked, "Then why was your head down and why did you try to make yourself disappear from your own desk?" He said, "I don't know, but if I had to guess, it would be because I know the rumors about some of the kids in school and even though I'm not the type to listen to gossip, I know for a fact that some of those rumors are true and I guess I just wanted-actually I'm not even sure what I wanted. In the end, I suppose that I justified my actions to be one of those facts of life that you want to change, but you just can't."  She asked him why and he said, "I don't know. 'Cause that's life and you don't always get to be the person you want to be or get to do all the things you want to do."

          She looked like she was gonna say something, but stopped because Kid-Seth had found the tree with the cross-shaped scar. It was the strangest thing, in a forest filled only with evergreen trees, there stood the largest oak tree that both the ten year-old Seth and the sixteen year-old Seth had ever seen. It's roots were so big that they reached above the ground and were possible to climb on. It's branches seemed to stretch forever and the trunk seemed to be thicker and wider than a house. And in the center of that trunk was a pale cross that spanned the entire front side of the tree. 

        Seth turned to Josephine to see what she thought, but stopped when he saw her pale at the sight of the tree.  He put his hand on her shoulder to try to turn her to see what was wrong with her, but at his touch she screamed and went into a fetal position on the ground while saying, "Please don't make me go back their," over and over again like some mantra. Normally, he wouldn't have paid attention to things like this, but he had come close to a panic attack earlier today and more to the point, if he didn't do anything he knew that the guilt would make him feel like a complete asshole and he didn't want to deal with that sort of responsibility. 

     It was this reasoning that made Seth get down and say, "Hey, Josephine... Josephine- Earth to Josephine!" With her eyes filled with fear she looked up and said in a weak voice, "What?" "I'm not really sure what your afraid of, but this is just a memory and we can't even feel the cold here so that stands to reason that whatever caused your fear is also a part of the memory and by default not real in the time and place that both of us are from," calmly reasoned Seth. "Yeah, and what's your point," hesitantly asked Josephine. He said, "No one is coming to take you to anyplace you don't want to go...feeling better?" 

       At her nod, he helped her up and said, "But it is a surprise. Even someone like you has things that their afraid of." At this she seemed to get mad. Seth knew this to be true because she quickly walked ahead of him and at his cry that she wait, she turned back to him with a glare that could turn the strongest to dust and said, "You may not be a coward, but you are an ass." Seth blanked and wondered what he did wrong and then remembered that she was a girl and that because of this it would be hard to figure out what he did wrong. This caused him to reason that it would be best to keep his distance until she calmed done and then broach the subject. After looking at her angry form again, he thought,"Or I could ignore the subject and hope she forgets about it and then try to get along with her by not mentioning whatever it was that I did."

      As this had gone on, Kid-Seth had found the pathway and had already maneuvered through the branches before taking a picture of the tree. When Seth and Josephine came to the tree, they just walked through it as if they were ghosts. The road this time was a lot more ruff and Kid-Seth's pace was a lot slower than it was earlier. This time, there was nothing to pass the time with because Josephine still refused to speak to the Seth of the present. 

     During this time Seth let his thoughts wander, but decided to concentrate on his younger self when he realized that all he had was a lot of questions with no answers and this made him regret storming out the other night. This, in turn, only made him dread the coming confrontation that he would have to make with his own parents. A fact, which only served to strengthen his resolve to concentrate at the task at hand. After what seemed to be an eternity, All three stopped in front of a castle that looked like either Hogwarts or Dracula's castle. After a moment's hesitation, Kid-Seth entered with the present Seth and Josephine trailing behind.

       

The Rebirth of a Dragon:Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

     He was falling. It was a strange experience that reminded him of Alice when she followed the white rabbit down the hole into Wonderland. The only anchor he could find was Josephine so he held onto her with both his arms because in the deep recesses of his subconscious, he just knew that if he let go of her, he would never find his way out again. After what seemed like forever, but must have been closer to seconds or minutes, Josephine said, "You can let go of me now." He looked around and saw that they were standing near a house that was surrounded by trees with a single road that lead to, what seemed to be, the middle of nowhere. The snow that he saw told him that it was deep in the winter. 

     After seeing a place that he knew should and did in fact exist, all of his fear seemed to vanish and he became aware of the feel of her body against his. He hastily pushed her aside in embarrassment. Seth didn't think himself to be completely hideous and had been on his share of dates, but this was still the same girl who had insulted him when they had first met and he did have some pride still left in him. He noticed that she was blushing from this encounter and to his humiliation, he felt a burning creep up his neck. She then coughed and said,"So... This is your memory. Now where is the younger you."

     Right on cue, a beat-up Mercedes from the 1970s drove up. Out stepped, a man in his early thirties, Seth's parents, and a ten year-old version of Seth. Seth recalled a vague memory of spending his Christmases at his uncle's house, but his family had stopped doing that after he had turned eleven so this must have been the last time he had been here. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that this was an important memory and that he should pay close attention. 

      Aleksander said, "Thank you again for picking us up from the train station, Jo-I mean Mr. Snow." Seth's uncle turned to him and said, "It's Doc Snow to you." The present Seth said, "That's right." Josephine asked, "What's right?" He replied, "Uncle John never did like dad. He had this thing against foreigners and even if he didn't, he always said that he never trusted a man who could talk his way out of anything, dance, or cook and Dad could do all those things. Every time we came here, Dad spent the entire holiday trying to get him to like him, but he was always shot down coldly." "So why did he keep coming back," asked Josephine. "He didn't. My uncle is still alive, but this is the last time that we ever visited him, but for some reason I can't remember why." Josephine said, "Don't worry. That's why we're here so let's just watch. Your memory should come back as we watch." Seth nodded and they both turned their attention back to the scene before them.

       When they turned back, the ten year-old Seth was helping his dad take their things into the rooms they would be staying at. After they were done, Seth went to the living room and started reading a hard-cover Harry Potter novel on the couch. He may have been known in school for always studying, but Christmas vacation was the time where he had made a rule to never pick up a textbook and to only read stuff that was not required for school. Seth remembered that whenever he went to visit his uncle, there was no Internet or phone connection, except for one land-line, so he always brought books with him to help him deal with the remoteness of the place. 

      "Why do you always do that," asked Seth's uncle from the corner of the room. Kid-Seth looked up and said,"Do what?" He said, "Ever since you were three, all you do is sit there and read. Don't you ever want to do anything else?" Kid-Seth put his bookmark in the novel and closed the book before saying, "What is there to do? No-offense, but the kids who live here are all boring and there's no Internet and the T.V. here doesn't have anything fun to watch and even if it did, it doesn't work most of the time." He laughed and said, "Children are always brutally honest no matter when they were born, huh." he said it as a fact. Kid-Seth shrugged and said,"If that's all, then I'm going back to my book." His uncle put his hand on the book and said, "If I let you do that then what would be the point of this conversation. Now, look out the window and tell me what you see." 

      Seth craned his neck to the window behind him and said, "I see the road that leads to town, I see the forest filled with evergreen trees, I see the snow that has stopped falling and covers everything, and I see your 1976 Mercedes. As for the forest, it should be a miracle that places like this still exist considering that most of the natural wildlife in the U.S. was torn down when the Industrial Revolution started, but then again maybe it isn't so surprising since people have begun to take an interest in the environment within the last fifty years or so." Seth's Uncle muttered, "Right, I forgot that you were ten going on seventy." 

     Seth's Uncle John sat down and said, "You like reading those fantasy stories about wizards and magic and all that, right?" After Kid-Seth's hesitant nod, John said, "Did you know that if you were to go into the forest and you go on that path for an hour," He pointed to a hidden road that was on the right side and then continued, "but go on the left road for another hour after you see the tree with a cross slashed into it, you'll reach a place that looks a lot like that castle on the cover of your book." Kid-Seth said, "That's not true. Although there are records of some castles being built in the Americas, the really big, Gothic ones are only supposed to exist in Europe and were in Nowheresville, Maine so even if a castle like that was to exist in the U.S., why would they build it here?" Seth's Uncle John had a far away look, as if he was remembering something sad from a long time ago when he answered, "Maybe they have something to hide, but you're only interested in fictional adventures so this has nothing to do with you." Kid-Seth said, "Uncle John, I read about reverse psychology and it won't work on me."

       Josephine murmured, "And I thought you were a pain in the ass now." Seth didn't quite catch that and said,"I remember now. I knew logically what he was doing, but what he told me was still in my mind. It snowed for the next few days, but after, it stopped and the weather said that it wouldn't snow for the whole day so I told my parents that I was going for a walk and I left. And then-ow! I can't remember." When Seth tried to remember further, his head felt like someone had taken a hammer and smashed it. Hard. Josephine said, "Don't stress yourself. It's weird that this isn't a memory that you remember, but it should come back as you watch so calm down and let's see what's going to happen." He asked why she was so calm and she replied, "Well, one of us has to be sane if we're both supposed to get back in one piece."

        As Seth predicted, they watched Kid-Seth unable to concentrate on any of his books and spend most of his time staring out the window waiting for the snow to stop. They watched his impatience and on the third day, the signal for the T.V. started working again. Seth's mom wanted to check the weather to see if it was safe to drive into town and the aforementioned forecast came to pass. When Kid-Seth saw it, he asked his mom of he could go for a walk. His mom said, "Seth, I don't think it's safe to go alone." Kid-Seth said, "The nearest house is four miles away and town isn't for another seven. Plus the only people who come here are the sick and injured. This isn't New York and who would want to mug a kid that's out in the middle of nowhere." His mom said, "But-" Seth said, "Don't you also have to go into town with Uncle and Dad so they don't kill each other and if you do that I would still be alone." His mom smiled and said, "You really are a perceptive kid. Well, all right, but promise me that you won't get lost and if you think you've gone too far you'll come back." Kid-Seth said, "O.K. I promise." 

     He then turned and changed into beige thermal pants, snow boots, a white long-sleeved thermal shirt, a coat, and faux fur lined gloves that his parents had bought him back in New York, just in case he wanted to go out walking in the cold. He also brought a small backpack that he filled with a digital camera, water, and some sandwiches that his mom had made for him in case he got hungry. He then waited for ten minutes. When he saw his parents drive off with his uncle, he set off for the path that his uncle had told him about.

      

The Rebirth of the Dragon: Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

    When Seth opened his eyes, Central Park had morphed into a hallway made entirely of light. At least that was the only way that he thought to describe it as. This was because the first thing that he saw was a single road that was a blinding white-blue light. The color seemed to him to be the same color you see when you try to look directly at the sun before it blinds you, but with a bluish tinge. It suited it because he remembered from chemistry that blue fire was the purest form of fire and this light, seemed to him, to be more like fire than light. This could also be why he was reminded of the myth of Apollo's son who got too close to the sun and burned up into ashes, but he wasn't in some Greek myth and he wasn't burning, but standing on that light, fire, or whatever. 

    On the side, there were what appeared to be doorways. All the doors were the same blinding blue-white, but the doorknobs appeared to be in the shape of dragon heads. He looked at one of them and could have sworn that it winked at him, but that should have been impossible. Then again, doorknobs made of light should have also existed far beyond the realm of possibility. At that moment, Seth decided that if magic was real or not, he was definitely insane because magic was one thing and seeing a place made entirely of light was a completely different phenomena that bordered on the schizophrenic side.

       He then turned to Josephine, who looked completely calm and unperturbed to be standing here, and when he did, he had the feeling that all of this was happening to the person right next to him. It was as if he could see, feel, and hear everything, but the phenomena could not quite reach his brain. He could witness everything, but it didn't feel entirely real to him. He tried to figure out what this feeling was and thought that it must have been some type of defense mechanism or culture shock. This feeling even made it so that when he spoke, his voice sounded like someoneelse's voice to him when he said, "Where the hell are we," with a trace of fear. When he noted the fear, he knew that was what he felt and it wasn't the type of childish fear that he felt whenever he thought he got a bad grade on an assignment or test. Nor was it the desperate fear of knowing he would have his life cut short before it had even began. This was the fear of knowing he would live on and on, but in a place where no one could reach him. It was of reaching a place where although he would live, he would not experience the things that a real life would grant him nor would he see the people he had cared about ever again.

     Josephine must have noticed the fear in his voice,  how his face paled, and the widening of his eyes because she said, "Relax Einstein. I may be a lot of things, but I'm no sadist. We're only here to give you your proof and then we'll be gone. So now, pick a door." Seth blanked and stuttered,"Wh-What?" She said,"Any door will do, just pick one... Look, the sooner you do, the sooner we're out of here. Now hurry up. Time moves differently here so I don't want to sit here waiting for you to pick one and find out that by the time we're done here, both of us have been missing for a week." "A week," questioned Seth. "Yeah, and that only happened to me once, but I don't want a repeat because the last time I was gone for that long, my dad grounded me for a month so hurry up," complained Josephine.

       Seth was angry at his parents, but he had no intention of pulling a disappearing act for that long so he randomly chose a door that was four places up on the right side from where he was standing. When he made a grab for the handle, Josephine cried, "Wait, don't-" "Ow, something burned me," said Seth. He looked at his hand and a tiny burn mark was there, but he soon watched as that burn mark healed itself up in the span of twenty seconds. Seth thought that although the healing thing was useful, it was going to take some getting used to.

     She sighed and muttered, "This is why mom and dad always complain about getting involved with dragons." He said, "Did you just call me a dragon, as in the big fire-breathing monsters like in the story of St. Gregory who slain the dragon?" She gave him a look that said, "Really, you're asking me this now," before sighing and with a voice dripping with sarcasm, she said, "No, that's only why the only pathway to get into your memories is the same color as the fire that you used to nearly incarcerate that Kane dude and each entrance to said memory is guarded by some god-forsaken dragon. Now move before you screw this up." 

    She pushed him aside and said, "Wow, you must have been one of those returnees that mom talks about. This is a really strong mind-block and the funny part is, it was set up by yourself, instead of some other supernatural being. No worries, though because yours truly happens to be a bone-fide returnee so even though I don't remember that lifetime, I still got the powers accumulated from it." She then got close to the door and on one knee, whispered something to it for a good minute that Seth couldn't quite catch. After, she turned the knob and said, "Now let's see what we have here."  When the door opened, the only thing there was a swirling vortex of the same blue-white light.

      Seth was still thinking about all the things she had said to him when she had finished muttering. Things like the fact that he had nearly burned a man alive, he might share something in common with Josephine by being a "returnee," whatever the hell that was, and that this was supposedly some weird passageway that lead to his memories. These facts caused Seth to not notice the open doorway of light until Josephine said, "Hey, you just going to stand there or are you coming?" When he looked up. The myth he had remembered came back to haunt him. He was going to back away slowly and try to escape, but Josephine grabbed his arm while saying, "No way in hell are you chickening out on me now after you made me ride your deathtrap twice," and they were both soon falling in that swirling vortex of light. 

       

The Rebirth of the Dragon: Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

     When they had arrived Josephine went to a cluster of trees and Seth soon followed. She sat down and said, "I haven't been here too long, but from what I've seen, I'm pretty sure that Central Park is going to be my favorite part of this whole city." He asked her why and she said, "Hey, did you know?" Seth asked, "Know what?" She replied, "This place is a favorite for both the Sun-children and the Moon-children living in this area." He said, "Oh really? How come?" She said, "This is one of the oldest parts of New York. Those that remember the Earth as it was enjoy the feeling that comes from places like this." He said, "Listen. I know that I supposedly be some weird, strong supernatural being, but I'm not really into the whole supernatural and mystic thing." She looked at him for a moment and then changed the subject. 

   "Is it really so strange," Josephine asked as she stood up from under the tree that was in the center of the cluster in central park. Seth, who was standing a few feet from her said, "Isn't it normal to think things like magic and werewolves and fairies exist only in fairy tales and in the imagination of writers?" She said, "Isn't that just your version of normalcy? If your parents had told you about your parentage when you were young, would you be reacting the same way?" 

     He asked what she meant and she replied by saying, "Take the things that you see every day. The skyscrapers that New York is famous for, the T.V. That sits in your living room, and the motorcycle that you seem to love so much. A century ago, these things would have been far beyond human comprehension, but here you are using and seeing these marvels each and everyday of your life." He asked if there was some point to this lecture and she replied, "If you are able to understand these things, why don't you give your own abilities a chance?" He said, "Why are you trying to make use abilities that I don't even want or am not even sure if I really have?" She replied, "Because, I dreamed of you."

        For a moment he was shocked and then he remembered that she said she was a shaman. After this, his brain went through all the myths that he had read about shamans. He knew that they were the native American version of witch-doctors. They were said to be able to see into the spiritual world, healed through strange rituals, and have prophetic dreams. 

     Normally, he would have blown off such things as silly superstitions, but he had seen fire come out of his own father's mouth inside a room that didn't contain anything that flammable. He also knew that a lighter couldn't have made a flame that was that big. Another factor to consider would be his wounds that had mysteriously disappeared. With all these points he could either accept that the supernatural existed or assume that he was crazy. Both were not good options and he was almost positive that he wasn't clinically insane so for the time being he chose to act as if everything that was happening was real.

     This way of thinking caused him to ask, "Was this a good dream or more like those nightmares that people call dreams to make the person it was about feel good until they hear what the actual dream was about?" Josephine contemplated his question for a moment and said, "A little of both...So do you want to hear the good part or the bad part first?" The crazy option was looking more appealing by the minute to Seth, but he still answered by saying, "Bad first." 

      "The bad part is that there's a chance you might get killed by this extremely powerful, 8,000 year-old, kind-of immortal that really hates you and would do anything to see you six-feet under," explained Josephine while speaking extremely fast. For a moment Seth just stared at her dumbly and then he said,"You're joking, right?" She just stared at him and he realized that she was dead serious. He said, "Yup, that's it. I'm outta here." 

     She stopped him and said, "Wait, don't you want to know why or how to stop him? This is- and you don't believe a word I'm saying." He said, "Yeah, you kind of lost me at the 8,000 year-old part." She said, "Look, I know that this sounds completely psycho, but I swear I'm not making this up." "Prove it," said he. "What," replied Josephine. Seth said, "I said to prove it." She made an exasperated sigh and said, "You want proof, then fine I'll give you proof. Give me your hand and look straight in my eyes." Seth thought that he had caught her in her act, but when he grabbed her hand, her eyes glowed and the darkness enveloped him once more.

       

The Rebirth of the Dragon: Chapter 8

  Chapter Eight

   The man looked at the full moon through the crack in his cell and thought of happier times. He thought of the child he had once been and the care-free spirit he had once held. He thought of his Máder with her pale, angelic features and his strong Páder with his cold blue eyes. His Máder said that looks could be deceiving and those seemingly cold eyes held a hidden fire that the man, himself had inherited. They were both dead now. He wondered why he was still alive if the people he cared for had all either died or betrayed him. His parents were dead. His láska was dead. His bratr was a traitor, unworthy of the love that the man had given him. The friends that were loyal to him had either fled the country or would soon betray him at his trial. 

    Not for the first time, he wondered what would have happened if he had never met her. If that day he had decided to through town instead of going through the forest. Ne, he could not imagine his life without her and was happier than he could ever remember being during those few short years. It didn't matter now. He would probably soon join them so for now he would close his eyes and enjoy what peace he could get in that dark, cold, and damp cell.

        Seth woke up to the dawn with a stiff neck, back, and really stiff everything. This was the second time that he had dreamed of that man and since he had time to think about it, he thought that it felt more like a memory than an actual dream. It was as if he was the man and was experiencing those things. He shook his head and thought this was no time to be worrying about a dream. He had bigger problems, like the fact that his entire life was a lie. How could his parents have not told him that their was a chance that he might not be human? Then an instance of clarity hit him. He was not upset that he might not be human, but that his parents had no wish to divulge this information unless a situation like last night occurred.

      As he went over this information, he got of his bike and stretched. He then made a mental note never to spend the night sleeping on his motorcycle again. He also spent some time marveling at the fact that he had managed to avoid getting mugged even though he had spent the night sleeping on his bike behind some abandoned building in Lower Manhattan. Some higher being must have decided that he had had enough for one night so had given him a little luck out of pity. Seth then muttered to himself, "Now, what am I supposed to do?" "Well isn't that the million dollar question," said a voice that he really wasn't in the mood for. Actually, now that he thought about it, last night wouldn't have even happened if it wasn't for this pest. Yes, pest was a good description for her. 

      He turned to her and in a dead voice said, "What?" She said, "Why aren't you just  a big bag of sunshine?" He said, "I'm not on the mood for your sarcasm so unless you have something important to say, buzz off." In that moment, her face lost all sarcasm and she said, "Hey, did you know that some humans can have abilities?" Seth  thought, "Oh, so she's one of them." Out loud, he said, "What does that have to do with anything?" She then said, "Humans with special abilities always get confused with True Seers, but to call them that would be a lie." Seth didn't know where, but he had heard these words before. This was why he was able to cut her off by saying, "The reason to that is because seers see the future while they wake and only when the moon is in the sky, but those humans with special abilities see the future in their dreams and some can even hear the voices of things like animals because they" "are one with the earth itself," finished the both of them at the same time. 

       An awkward silence ensued for a split second. Josephine broke it by saying, "My parents have taught me this all my life, but how is it that you who had no knowledge of the supernatural, know of a saying that few supernaturals have even ever heard of?" In that moment, Seth thought that she sounded much older than any teenager should ever be. He then remembered that she wanted an answer so he lamely said, "I just do."

      She nodded and held her hand out before saying, "Let's go." Seth laughed nervously and said, "The last time you told me that, I ended up spending the night here so why should I follow you?" She smiled and said, "Because I'm  what you would call a shaman and if you would like to learn the truth then you had best follow me." She began to walk away and said, "If you want to be confused and alone, that's fine too. I won't force you to listen to anything I have to say." He screamed, "Wait!" She casually turned her head and said, "Yes?" Seth felt a nerve twitch and thought, "Arrogant, little tree-huger... Tree-huger? Where did that come from? Never mind. No time to dwell on that." He said, "Fine, but first tell me where. I won't be dragged to some random place and make a complete fool of myself like last night." She said, "Central Park." As he was driving it dawned on Seth that today would be the first time in his life that he had actually ditched school and he honestly couldn't care less.

The Rebirth of the Dragon: Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

      The room that they were in appeared to be some sort of guest room. There was an average sized bed in the corner, a wooden wardrobe by the door, and a table with a couple of chairs in the center of the room. Seth's dad took out one of the seats and sat down. He then gestured for his son to do the same. The both of them just sat their, staring at one another. Well, it was really more like Aleksander trying to reassess his on while Seth stared at a blurred version of his dad while trying to appear calm. When Seth was contemplating this situation along with his lack of eyesight, his father decided to use that moment to speak. 

       He said, "Now, where do I begin?" Seth said, "I think that there's a lot to tell from everything that happened and I've always found that the beginning is as good a place as any to start." At this his dad laughed out loud. Seth said, "Dad, I don't think this is the time to be laughing and I don't really see what's so funny about what I said. I was being serious." After his dad had calmed down, he said, "It's not that. It's just that someone once said the same thing to me a very long time ago and back then the situation was very different." Seth asked who that person was. His dad said, "This person was more like a father to me than my own and out of all the people I have been fortunate to meet in my life...he was the best there was, better than the whole lot of them. There was always an innate goodness in him that he could never shake off. That goodness also made him more loyal and honor-bound than the most dutiful solder." Seth asked what happened to him and his father replied, "Well like most good, strong, honest people he was betrayed by someone very close to him and that betrayal led to his demise, but that was a very long time ago and makes no difference because it's all in the past...Well then, I believe I shall take your advice and start in the beginning."

       "Once upon a time, when the Earth, Sun, and Moon were young, the Earth made a decision to bring about it's own creation and from out of the dirt sprang beings that we now know as man. It was not long before the Sun saw these creations and grew jealous of the Earth's children of dirt and so it decided to send forth three of it's own races to dwell with the Earth's creation on the earth. It was soon after that these creations held sway over the children of dirt for they were indeed beautiful. The Sun had given it's creation more beauty, intelligence, and powers than most of  the children of dirt could ever hope to achieve. 

       Now the god who had created the earth, sun, and moon, along with all other things, saw these creatures and favored the children of dirt for he loved them for their imperfections. This angered the Sun and he ordered his creations to turn on the children of dirt and they became the creatures of trickery and deception that we now call the Fae, Elvin-folk, and True Wicca. 

         When the Moon saw what was being done to the children of dirt, she felt sorrow that they should experience such pain and suffering only because they trusted in beauty, and so she sent three of her creations to combat the children of the sun so that the beloved of their god could live as they were intended. These are the races that we now call Vampires, Weres, and True Seers. And thus the seven races have lived on the earth unto this day." Throughout this story, Seth's sight had slowly returned to him.

      Seth said, "That's a great story and all, but what does that have to do with anything?" His father answered, "In our world,this is our creation story. Ours is the world that only a handful of the children of dirt still believe in. It is a world where heaven and hell is a definite and all stories hold some truth." Seth said, "Our word? Don't give me tha-" At that moment, Seth saw fire come out of his father's mouth. 

Seth stuttered, "You-ju- just-" "Spewed fire out of my mouth," finished Seth's dad. Seth could only nod like some idiot at this.

      Seth's dad then said, "While I have your attention, I'm only gonna say this once so listen up. You're not human. You never were and you never will be. The fact that both your black eyes just disappeared a few moments ago is proof of that." Seth put his hands over his eyes and cursed when he didn't feel any bruising. As he was repeating to himself that this was not happening and it was all a dream, he thought about his mom and said, "What about mom? She's as normal as they get so don't tell me that she can do what you just did." Seth's dad replied, "Your mom is a special case in that she is still human, but her aging process slowed down to match mine during our....wedding ceremony." "Why do I get the feeling that their is more to that- Never mind. I don't want to know," said Seth. He then got up and promptly left the room and he did not stop until he got on his bike and drove far away from the place that had just shattered his entire world.

       

The Rebirth off a Dragon: Chapter 6

Chapter Six

    This time Seth was only out for about thirty seconds. He knew this because when he woke up, he saw the blurred faces of the other inhabitants surrounding him while Jack and the two guys who were playing pool were trying to restrain the psycho who had just punched and yelled at him in Czech. Seth's dad had taught him Czech, but at the time he was too shocked and disorientated to try to figure out what the crazy bastard had yelled at him. Seth then closed his eyes and faced the direction where the psycho was and after struggling to get up, Seth yelled, ''What the hell did I ever do to you?!'' 

       The psycho then got really mad and almost broke free, even though he was held down by three full grown men. This time when he yelled Seth managed to at least understand  what he was saying. In Czech, the guy yelled, "Fire, don't give me this crap! I was at your goddamned execution! How the hell are you still breathing and looking like you are actually enjoying your life?!" It took a moment for Seth to figure out that he wasn't saying "Fire" as in actual fire, but that he was calling him "Požár"as if his name actually was Fire. 

      Seth told him that he was mistaken and that his name was Seth, not Požár. This caused the guy to yell a string of curses in Czech which was quickly followed by him saying, in Czech,"You always were an arrogant son of a bitch, but I never took you for a liar. I've known you for too long and anyone who has been with you for even five minutes can tell that you are Požár. No one else has your aura so don't even try lying to me!" 

      "Actually, he is telling the truth. The boy is only sixteen. I would know, considering I fathered him and was there at his birth so stand down Lojza," said a voice from the corner by the door. Seth knew that voice, but had never heard it so cold. This was after all the voice of his own father. And In that moment, Seth understood a little bit of why Jack had no love for his father.

      Next, the strangest thing happened. The three men let go of Lojza and with a final glare at Seth, Lojza walked away, but not before saying, "I won't back down again, not even for you, Alek." For the first time in his life, Seth wondered just who his father was. Seth's dad then turned to him and said that they were leaving. Seth had never been the rebellious type, but he got the feeling that something was going on and if he left now, he would continue to stay in the dark of whatever was going on and he didn't like being kept in the dark like some idiot about things that could potentially involve him. So for the first time in his life, he told his father no. 

      His dad then said to him that this was not up for discussion. Seth replied by saying, "What's going on?" His dad said, "What do you mean? Nothing is going on from my end, but you must have a lot to tell me from your end considering you did not leave the house with those bruises." Seth's mom always said that his dad was like a chameleon, able to sneak his way into any environment and until this moment Seth had never believed this statement. Now he perfectly understood what she meant. This fact caused him to choose to stand his ground and say,"I'm not leaving until I hear the truth. I've had a long, god-awful day that was just made worse by some psychopath that I don't even know and what do you know, but this psychotic stranger who hates my guts because I look like some dead guy happens to know you and didn't kill me not because he couldn't and didn't want to, but because you had asked him not to!" Seth had started out calm, but he had yelled the last part out.

     Throughout his tirade, the elder Drak had looked at his son with a calmness that bordered on indifference, but at the end of it he said, "I'm sorry." This was the very last thing that Seth had expected and it caused his mind to pause for a moment as it tried to comprehend what his father had just told him and when it did, he asked, "What are you apologizing for?" Seth's father said, "For not being able to protect you from your bloodline." Seth said, "My bloodline? What's that supposed to mean?" Seth's dad then asked Jack if he could borrow a room and when Jack was going to refuse, his wife elbowed him and he agreed to let him use one of the rooms upstairs. Seth's dad said, "Son, you've had a long day, but I'm afraid that it's only gonna get longer. Now, come on before I change my mind. I have a lot to tell you about yourself and the world you were born in." Seth didn't waste anytime in following his father, but as he followed him into the empty room in the second floor of the club, the uneasiness that began when he drove here, mounted up to full force, but he shook it off by telling himself that this wasn't the time to be getting cold feet.

The Rebirth of a Dragon: Chapter 5

Chapter Five

        When they walked out, Josephine walked in a direction that was opposite to where Seth had parked his bike. Seth reasoned that he was probably gonna die tomorrow when he showed up for school so it wouldn't matter if he showed her his bike. And besides, he would be devastated if anything happened to it. He had earned that thing through two years of hard work and there was no way he was going to lose it because he left it overnight on a street corner in Upper Manhattan. So he asked her to go the other way. This caused her to say, "I thought that you're the one whose supposed to follow me." To which he replied, "Yeah, but my ride is back there." She then asked why he would drive in a city like New York. At this he was glad to know something that she did not and replied with a "You'll see."

       When they got to his bike and Seth told her that this was his ride, he heard her mutter something along the lines of "didn't see that one coming." He asked if she said something and she said, "Look...I'm no coward and there isn't much that I'm not willing to do, but you're crazy if you think I'm getting on that death trap with you." Seth said, "So you'll pick a fight with a sociopath, but you won't get on a motorcycle?" She said, "That girl wasn't a sociopath. She was just...really angry. And I didn't pick a fight. I was just making sure that nothing serious happened to that wi- girl." Seth thought, "'Wi-girl?' I don't think she'll answer me if I question her about it. Anyways, I have to think of a way to get rid of her weird motorcycle fear without being a complete jackass about it...I've got it!" 

       Seth quietly said, "How would you like to make a deal?" She was apparently lost in her thoughts because her reply was, "Come again?" Seth said, "I asked if you would like to make a deal with me." She nervously asked, "What sort of deal?" Seth replied, "It's simple really. If you agree to ride on my bike to wherever we're headed, I'll do something for you. And that something will be completely up to you." She said, "That's some deal, but I'm not getting on that thing." Seth paused and then said, "Oh, I understand if your scared." She got closer to him and said, "I'm not scared of anything!" He stepped closer and then said, "So are you in or out?" In the heat of the moment she replied, "Oh, I am so in." Seth then went to his bike grabbed his helmet and said, "Great, here you go. Just put this on and direct me while I drive." Josephine had a really confused look on her face and looked like she was about to argue, but only muttered a swear as she got on his bike.

        Ten minutes later, they arrived at their destination with Seth's ears still ringing from Josephine shouting directions in his ear and his ribs throbbing from how hard she was gripping his waist during the drive here. When they both got off, Seth looked around and saw that they were somewhere in Lower Manhattan. He saw Josephine enter what looked like some club and said, "Wait, why are you going in a club?" She answered,"'Cause this is the place." He said,"This is a club. Why would they let a couple of teenagers into here?" She smiled and said, "Don't worry. The owners are old friends of my dad and know my face since they were the first to meet us after we moved in. Now relax and come in." Seth questioned his sanity again and then figured what the hell. Today was a day for doing stupid things and if he was going down, he might as well go down with a bang.

        When they entered, there were a couple people playing pool in the corner, a bartender in the back, and two girls and a guy cleaning the place up. When we entered, the bartender looked up and waved to Josephine. Seth saw her walk to him and quickly followed. Seth thought that this guy fit his opinion on what a bartender in a seedy club in lower Manhattan was supposed to look like. He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties with purple hair and brown eyes that were almost black. He was also twice the size of Seth and two inches taller. All in all, not someone that Seth wanted to piss off so he stuck close to Josephine and kept his mouth shut.

      Then Josephine whispered something to the bartender, but it was too low for him to catch. Josephine then straitened up and said, "Oh, right I forgot to make introductions. Seth this guy is my dad's old friend and owner/bartender of the place, Jack Giftzahn. Jack this is my classmate and sort-of friend Seth Drak." The bartender stopped cleaning the glass in his hands and asked,"Drak? You wouldn't happen to share any relation with Aleksander Drak?" Seth said, "Yeah, he's my dad, but how do you know him?" Jack gave Josephine a look that said,"Where'd you find this brat?" He then turned to Seth and said, "Let's just say that when your dad first moved here, we didn't get off on the right foot and still wouldn't be what you would call...'friends.'" He said this nice enough, but Jack looked like he really wanted to kill Seth for being related to his dad. Seth filed this tidbit for later so that he could ask his dad why Jack hated him so much and how he had even met Jack.

       A voice said, "Don't take offense from him. He's just mad about losing to your old man. When your dad first moved here, he caused quite a stir and this guy still can't get over the fact that he lost a fistfight to your father." Seth thought that he must have heard her wrong. His dad was the type who was more comfortable with his nose in a book than with a fist in his face. Not only that, but Seth's dad was always telling him how violence is never the answer and he should figure out some other way to solve a situation before striking with his fists. Even now he could hear his dad's voice telling him to use that head of his to think instead of getting involved in something stupid. Seth respected his dad, but he thought that his advice had taken the next bus out of here the moment he had decided to get involved in that fight in school.

      "I think you have the wrong Aleksander Drak. My dad isn't the type to fight," replied Seth. The voice in question belonged to a women in her mid-thirties who Seth took to be Jack's wife from the way she draped her arm around Jack's waist. She then said, "Is he a few inches taller than you with a lean frame, and your coloring?" Seth said, "Yes, bu-" "Then, he's definitely your dad." Seth felt like this would be the end of the discussion from how matter of fact her tone was. He then heard the door open and someone walked in. The guy who walked in tapped Seth on the back and said, "Požár, co to sakra ještě děláš naživu?!" This was quickly followed by a sucker punch in his only good eye that made Seth faint for the second time in one day.

       

       

       

The Rebirth of a Dragon: Chapter 4

Chapter Four

    The man was walking down the streets of the city he had lived in for his whole life.  He had always liked this city. He had liked it long before it was a city. Even when he had reached the age where he had seen and done everything, he had liked it. He had been here for a long time, longer than even most of his kind. He had been here when everyone still lived in caves and wore furs on their backs. He had seen the change of religion and princes time and time again, but despite the tediousness of these cycles he felt that it would be hard to leave it behind. Even with the claims he had made to his kind, he wondered if he could leave it. This was after all his home. And then he thought of what the person he had called bratr would soon do to him and what he had already done to the women he had called láska. Ne, he could not stay, but this would not be the last they had heard of him. He swore that even if they took his body and destroyed it, as they wished, his soul would return.

       Seth woke up and tried to sit up, but found that it was too painful. He then laid down and closed his eyes because it hurt too much to keep them open too. For a moment he wondered why that was, and then the memories came flooding back. He then wanted to know how he had survived. He was sure that the Kane guy was going to kill him, but when he tried to think past the moment when he had figured out that his opponent could commit murder, he felt a throbbing in his head. Seth then decided that he should be grateful that someone like him, with no fighting experience, was able to survive a confrontation with someone who not only had much more experience in that field, but also took great pleasure from causing others harm.

     "Hey, Sleeping Beauty, I know your awake so rise and shine," said an irritatingly familiar voice. Seth cracked his good eye open and said, "Do you always insult injured people who try to save your life or is it just me?" She smiled and said, "As a matter of fact, I only insult out of one of two reasons. One is your pissing me off so out of principle I have to mock you and the other is 'cause I like you. Ask my brother. I do it all the time." Seth asked which one he was, to which she replied that he was a little of both. Seth asked,"Why?" She said, "Easy. After the stunt you just pulled, I now know that you are most definitely not a coward so you have a tiny bit of my respect and don't think that this means anything because you're only at the same level of respect that I give to my cat. Now as to why you piss me off, I'd have to say that's because your you. During brunch, my brother found out some of the rumors about you. You want to know what they say about you?" "Not really, but you're gonna tell me anyway and it's not like I can leave," replied Seth.

       She smiled and said, "See, there was a reason I liked you. You're quick to figure things out. Well anyways, they say you're a genius, but you go completely out of your way to blend in. You've got the top grades, but that's all you're good for." Seth said, "Huh...and here I was thinking that I had managed to stay out of the rumor mill." Seth would have to ask James what else they said about him. She looked surprised. It was much more different than her usual expressions. Seth got the feeling that this didn't happen often to her and felt proud of himself for causing that look on her face. Before she was about to say something, he said, "Hey, I jut realized something." she asked him what and he replied, "I don't know your name." 

        She then laughed. It was a pretty sound and Seth found that he preferred it to her usual smirk. When she calmed down she said, "What's up with that? Out of all the things you could have said, that's the last thing I could have saw coming... OK, I've decided." Now Seth felt something like apprehension as he watched her stand up. He then asked what exactly she had decided. She then said, "I am going to take you out of you're shell. After today, it's pretty obvious that you could be something other than the genius kid who only knows how to study so I've decided that I'm gong to help you." 

         Seth was pretty sure that he had a dumbfounded expression on his face because she said, "What? You think I can't do it?" he then shook his head and said, "I've only known you for hours, but from that time I'm sure that you seem like the type of person who would attempt to do something like this, but to be honest I'm not really all that interested." She smiled and said, "Really, well I'm afraid that that's too bad because I've been known to be an extremely determined person." 

      "And by that she means stubborn," said her twin as he walked in. He took the seat that his sister had vacated moments before. After he sat, James walked in. James said, "Oh good you're up. Wait, not good. Christ, man, what the hell happened back there? One minute we were both standing there at a safe distance with the rest of the crowd and then the next, you're gone and actually in the middle of all the action. Seth, I'm asking this because I'm your friend and I've known you for almost seven years... Have you completely lost it?!" Seth said, "I don't know, but it's a possibility." James said, "That was a freaking rhetorical question! Do you have any idea who you were fighting-and speaking of the fight, what the hell was up with that explosion?" Seth said, "No, I am not sure who exactly I was fighting other than he was part of Katrina's group and his name is Kane and what explosion are you talking about." 

      At this comment, Seth could have sworn that he saw the twins share a look, but it was over so quickly, he thought that he must have imagined it. The male twin then changed the subject by saying, "Thank you for what you did back there. My name is Nicolai Alecard and although my sister will never admit it, you did help, and for that I will always be grateful."  Seth asked Nicolai how he would know that if he was gone before Seth had intervened. Nicolai shrugged off the question by saying that he had his sources. Seth thought, "Great, another guy who mastered the art of avoiding questions." 

       After that the school nurse walked in. She said, "Mr. Drak, good to see you awake. You're very lucky. Although I'm not sure where that blast came from or how it got started, you seemed to have come away with only minor injuries. I tried to phone your parents, but they weren't home so I had you stay here. Ms. Alecard and Ms. Lupe were far enough that they didn't get hurt, but I wonder how Mr. Lupe got so heavily injured when the both of you got caught up in it. That said, you appear to have some cracked ribs and a black eye, but that's all so you are free to go whenever you feel like it." Seth was tired and in pain, but he was no fool. He was almost positive that the school nurse was trying to accuse him of bringing some sort of firearms onto campus with the intent of harming that Kane guy. 

     As he was about to say something, James said, "All of us have had a long day and Seth has to meet up with his teacher since he couldn't attend his final class-" "Wait, did you just say I missed my last class? How long have I been out for," panicked Seth. Weird day or not, he had never missed a single day of class and couldn't afford to slack off this year with his SATs coming up. The girl said, "Two hours. Class let up about thirty minutes ago." Seth tried to bolt, but then felt a painful throbbing from his rib cage at the sudden movement. Right, he had already tried this tactic before. Seth couldn't help but think that this whole being too injured to get up thing was getting old, even though he hadn't been injured for that long. He made a mental note never to go charging into fights that could leave him like this again and then chuckled at the fact that someone like him had even gotten into a fight in the first place. 

         The nurse angrily asked,"And just what is it that you find so funny, Mr. Drak?" Seth thought that this would be a good moment to shut up and was given that chance when Nicolai said, "It must be his nerves. Surely, you understand that the events of today must have taken their tole on him, mentally." To Seth's surprise, the nurse actually agreed with Nicolai. For the second time,in less than twenty minutes, Seth found himself unnerved with Nicolai. After this the nurse made her exit. Nicolai then exited, but not before securing a promise from his sister that she would make it home safely without him. James then checked the time and said that he had to meet with his parents. He promised to call Seth later to see how he was doing and then he also promptly left.

       The talk of parents reminded him that the nurse had called home and that if Seth's mom caught him looking like how he did, he would never hear the end of it. He looked at the only other person in the room and weighed his options. 

  -Option 1: Go home and face his mom's wrath. Grounding is a definite with a high chance that he would lose his motorcycle.

  -Option 2: Wander around New York City until it gets darker. He's already injured and is young so there would be a high possibility of his mugging, plus he would get more hurt. The chance that he'd run into one of Kane's friends by accident and said friend would then seek revenge for Kane was also considered.

  -Option 3: He swallows his pride and asks the girl who still hasn't given him her name if he could head wherever she was heading and stay their until nightfall. After which, he would drive back home and sneak into his home after his mom had left for work. He would then set his alarm clock extremely early and leave before anyone in his house had woken up.

     Seth decided that option one and option two were more trouble than they were worth so decided on option three. He was about to ask her, but then he looked at her face. She had this annoying smirk on her face as if she knew that he would be royally screwed if he didn't ask for her help. Seth kept on telling himself to calm down enough to get the words out, but he ended up barking them out through gritted teeth so that it came out sounding like,"Would you....be all...right if...I were...to-" At this her smirk got bigger, if that was even possible. He glared daggers at her and she said, "Okay, I've given you enough pain for one day. Get up, get your stuff, and let's go." Seth relaxed and asked, "Where to?" She smirked again, and said, "Well it wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you....Oh, and the name's Josephine, Josephine Alecard." And with that Seth carefully got up and did as she asked, but even so Seth felt a strange wave of uneasiness as he followed her out the door and couldn't help wondering where the hell she was taking him.

    

      

      

The Rebirth of a Dragon: Chapter 3

Chapter Three

    He knew the rumors about Katrina Lupe and could personally testify that she was capable of what those rumors said she did. She and her group were one of the crazier untouchables. He remembered how back in the sixth grade he had personally watched that infamous psychopathic behavior in action. 

    There was this girl, Sarah, who had bumped into her and then quickly apologized, but quick as lightning, the twelve-year old Katrina grabbed the girl and yanked on her arm. She then told the other girl who she thought she was that she could say sorry and everything would be alright. Sarah got really scared and tried to get away, but then a snap sounded. It was shortly followed by an ear-piercing screech. He remembered the disgust and fear he had felt at finding out that the crack was the breaking of Sarah's arm. The horror did not end there because after Katrina did this, she kept on kicking and punching the other girl until he was sure that no one would ever be able to see her as the pretty blue-eyed, brunette girl that she had been moments before. Seth thought it very likely that that day would haunt him for the rest of his life. Even now, he still remembered what that unnatural snap sounded like. 

     When Seth joined the crowd, he saw the twins taking a defensive position around a blond girl with a pixie cut that he knew to be the younger Alistair sibling.  If memory served Amy was her name. She was only a freshman. Her brother was in his year, but would be away for family business the first week of school. Seth knew this because James was a rumor expert and this fact had been true for the past six years, according to James. He looked around, but didn't see anyone from Amy's group. She was also an untouchable,but she was a different sort when compared to Katrina Lupe's group. Just as their were different cliques for what Seth thought of as the normal people, he knew that their were different cliques for the untouchables.
   The male twin said, "Back off. I don't want to hit a girl, but neither my sister nor I will stand by quietly as you commit assault on an innocent." Katrina said, "Ooh, lookey here. Looks like we've got a couple of would-be heroes. What you gonna do if I don't really give a rat's ass?" The female twin glanced at her brother and said, "Hey, bro, get the girl out of here and leave the rest to me. There's no point in you fighting a girl and this pup is really pissing me off." Katrina snarled, "You bitch! Just who the hell do you think you're talking to?!" The female twin ignored her and said, "Nicolai go now!" He nodded, picked up the trembling Amy and ran. It surprised Seth that he would be so quick to abandon his sister to a monster like Katrina. He did not take the boy to be foolish and surely he could see that Katrina's tall and athletic frame could easily crush the smaller girl.

       Before Katrina could chase after them, the girl tackled her on the floor and then rolled over. With her prey gone, Katrina faced the girl and said, "You're gonna regret that." The girl gave Katrina an easy smile and said, "Really now,because right about now, I'm actually kind of proud of myself." Katrina yelled a string of curses at the girl while trying to grab her, but the girl only dodged and mocked her. For a moment Seth thought that she would be alright because it soon became obvious that although Katrina was stronger than the girl, the girl in question was much faster. 

     It didn't take long for Katrina to figure this out. The bigger girl than kept on throwing different kicks and punches at the smaller girl. The girl didn't think that there was anything wrong, but soon Seth saw it. Katrina was trying to lead the girl close to her group so that one of them could grab her and hold her still so that Katrina could mutilate the girl in whatever way she wished.

      Later Seth would question his sanity. Later he would wonder why he would do something so absolutely stupid. But that would all happen later. Now he pictured what happened to that girl all those years ago and remembered what it felt like to be called a coward.

   He pushed through the crowd and before Katrina threw another blow, he grabbed her arm from behind and used his other arm to bind Katrina's free arm to her side. Before  Seth could warn the girl to run the other way, he felt  the back of Katrina's head slam into his face. This caused him to release Katrina and stumble back a few steps. Katrina then turned to him and said, "Aww, how sweet, the little genius boy wants to play hero too. Hey Kane, I want to save all my strength for this little bitch here so you take care of this wannabe." A member of Katrina's clique walked out and said, "Sounds like fun." Seth muttered a curse at this.

    Before Seth could think of something to do, he felt a foot slam into his rib cage. This was quickly followed by a sucker punch to Seth's left eye. It was this that caused him to stumble back and land flat on his behind. When he looked up into his opponent's eyes, Seth knew that this guy ws going to kill him. He was really going to kill him.The guy didn't care if Seth lived or died and would probably laugh as he laid bleeding and broken on the floor. 

      Seth thought of all the things he wanted to do with his life and wanted to scream at his past self for making this decision. It wasn't fair that he had to die like this. He had no hope of teachers coming to his rescue at the last moment because whenever something like this happened at St. Gregory's, and it involved the untouchables, Seth could bet his life that the teachers would make themselves scarce. It wasn't fair. He wanted to finish high school ,go to college, get a decent job, and have a girlfriend. He didn't want to die like this. He wanted to live.

      If anyone had asked Seth what had happened next, he wouldn't have been able to reply. All he knew was that in that moment, he felt an intense fear coupled with a sense of unfairness that he would have to die in such a stupid way. He then screamed so loud that his cry felt as if it had reached the heavens. Shortly after a blinding light that was as blue as his eyes appeared . And then there was only darkness.

      

     

The Rebirth of a Dragon: Chapter 2

Chapter two

     In his next class, Seth saw her again. This time, she sat behind him. He wondered why whoever was in charge of the schedules made it so he would have her in two classes in a row when the only class that he signed up for that wasn't an AP was French. Now, he had AP Lang. Seth decided that she most likely wouldn't try to talk to him again after their last confrontation so it should be okay. This theory was then immediately disproved when he had a ballpoint pen jammed into his back . Seth thought that maybe if he ignored her long enough, she would get bored and stop. This idea was was quickly proven false when the longer he stayed still, the harder she jabbed him. Seth rarely lost his temper, but he did have some self-respect. He turned and gave her the full force of what James called his "Ice King Glare."

      The reason his glare was named this was because Seth happened to take after his dad, in that they were both tall and lean with pale skin, straight jet-black hair, and eyes that were pale blue, like ice. For some reason, people always got uncomfortable when either the elder or younger Drak looked them straight in the eyes, but to be honest,Seth thought this was because they both looked more like a ghost, not that it  really mattered to him.

      The girl then just stared back with dark green eyes that dared him to complain. Seth could swear that he felt a nerve twitch as he barked out, "What?" The girl leaned back in her chair and smirked as she said, "And so it speaks." "Excuse me, but did you just call me an 'it'" asked the stunned Seth. He could not remember a time in his life when he had felt so insulted and then he wondered why he even cared if she had insulted him. The girl in question gave him a condescending stare as she asked, "If you have enough guts to stand up to me when I insult you, then why do you act like some wimp who would turn tail at the first sight of danger?" She thinks he's a coward. He didn't know why, but the thought of her thinking that he was one unsettled him, but before he could answer the bell rang and class had commenced. For the first time in a very long time, Seth found that he could not concentrate on the lecture that the teacher was giving and that he had even almost forgotten to turn in his summer assignment.

       When class ended, Seth felt hurt ,but the feeling was swiftly replaced by anger and irritation that a girl he didn't know was able to affect him like this. Why should he feel pain when he did nothing wrong? He wasn't a coward. He just wanted to have a peaceful life. What was wrong with that?On his way out, Seth saw the start of his problems walk away with a boy who must have been her brother because of their likeness to each other. Same skin color. Same hair. Same eyes. They even wore the same black ensemble. Black shirt. Black jeans. Black combat boots. The only difference was that the boy was a couple inches shorter than Seth with a broad frame and the girl reached only to the middle of Seth's  chest and had a curvy figure that was much different than the willowy frames of the untouchables and the skinny bodies that the rest of the female population at St. Gregory's seemed to have. Seth found himself thinking that it was a shame that she had a mouth like hers or he probably would have developed a crush on her. He quickly shook that thought away because it unnerved him that he would be attracted to a girl that had accused him of being a coward.

      As luck would have it, the only thing that was whispered about in the lunchroom was the news on the transfer students which just happened to be twins. Seth couldn't believe it. Out of all the transfer students that they could have got they happened to get god-damned twins, one of which, he was sure was here only to make him feel miserable. He knew he was being unreasonable, but he still remembered the pain that her comment had caused him and he felt that he needed to grab any reason to try and wash away that feeling away. 

      Seth saw James wave to him at a table in the corner with some people whose faces he recognized from his classes. Seth sat down and as he grabbed his BLT from his backpack, he said, "If any of you even think of mentioning either of the transfer students, then get ready to have your tongue ripped out with my bare hands." The whole table stared at him and Seth realized what he had just said. He dropped his sandwich as self-disgust settled in his stomach at the thought that he made such a threat to people that he called his friends. James asked if he was okay and Seth replied,"Sorry. I don't know why I even said that. I've had a long day and I really can't deal with any more talk about the twins." After that Seth felt a combination of dread and fear because he realized that when he made that threat, he had meant it.

       James said, "Nah, man. It's cool. We've all had days like that." After which the people in the table nodded in agreement, but Seth noticed that the topic shifted from politics to the latest movie to different books and classes. Basically it was about anything, but the twins. After about ten minutes of this Seth felt himself relax and join in on some of the conversation. While Seth was in a conversation about the Lord of the Rings, someone came and shouted, "A fight broke out between Katrina Lupe and the new transfer students!"

      One is to wonder what would have occurred if Seth had chosen to ignore the fight or if he had never heard that student announce that fight. Perhaps his fate would have been different. Perhaps he would have remained just the same without change, but change is inevitable and the fact remains that Seth did not ignore this and like the rest of the lunchroom, had raced out witness the fight with his own eyes.