by Daniel Fife
"That's what you get, Firoth," goaded Steven as he turned to leave.
Danny crisscrossed his arms around his stomach as he struggled to breathe. "It's… not… over," he said, wheezing through grunts and groans.
Steven stopped mid-step before turning back to face Danny; his expression was one of utter joy.
Coughing, Danny shuffled to his feet. He let his right hand fall to his side in a balled fist while his left remained clutched at his stomach.
Smiling, Steven stepped back within striking distance.
Rage fueled Danny's movements and focused his mind. Again, an image appeared in the form of a soft, white aura, outlining Steven's body. It moved just in front of him, predicting his progress.
"Are you sure about this, Firoth?" Steven asked, placing his hands on his hips.
Danny grimaced as he watched the outline of the larger boy’s next move. "Positive," he said, ignoring the pain in his stomach.
The aura surrounding Steven's body jumped forward as the phantom image of his right arm slipped down from his side and shot outward. Aimed at the tip of Danny's nose, the balled fist passed harmlessly through his head, causing him to flinch in an instinctive reaction.
Moments later, Steven followed through with the same movement the silhouette had predicted.
Recovering from his confusion, knowing where the arm of the bigger boy would end up, Danny dodged to the right and aimed his own fist for the center of Steven's face. Connecting solidly, Danny's arm shuddered from the impact. The blow produced a loud thud, followed by a slight cracking sound; it sounded like a stalk of celery snapping in half.
Steven's expression turned from determination to surprise as he fell backward, his hands covering his face in a mix of pain and protection.
Danny stood at the ready, hovering over the larger boy. Steven was laid out on the ground in front of him. Danny remained still, fists balled up, prepared for whatever Steven might try next; he felt the eyes of everyone upon him. However, Steven never got up.
The only sound seemed to be coming from Steven's cries of agony as he clutched his nose. Crimson seeped from between Steven's fingers, streaming down the slope of his face, a sight Danny was not ready to see.
I didn't mean to hurt him. It wasn't my fault. He attacked me first. These thoughts, as well as many others, rushed through his mind.
Danny looked into the eyes of Marie Topeland as she stood behind her fallen friend. Her face showed a mixture of surprise and horror. Seeing nothing but fear in her gaze, Danny looked at Clay. Danny's sudden eye contact caused the slender boy to take a step backward.
"Danny Firoth!"
That's Mr. Ingram, my physical education teacher.
Strong arms gripped him and held him fast. "There's no fighting allowed on school grounds, you know that."
Confusion and fear spread through Danny's body like a forest fire.
Steven rolled from side to side, holding his face. A small puddle of blood began to accumulate beneath him.
"Take him to the nurse's office," Mr. Ingram said to Marie and Clay. Neither of them moved, shock still on their faces.
"Now!" ordered Mr. Ingram.
They nodded slowly, helped Steven to his feet and began walking back toward the school.
"You're coming with me, Danny Firoth. We're going to call your mother and tell her what happened. Then you're going to detention."
Unable to believe what had just happened, with no real choice of his own, Danny found himself pulled back toward the school.
He was hauled up the stairs to the double glass doors, the entrance to the middle school. Wide eyes and astonished faces regarded him. Danny couldn't decide whether they viewed him as a hero or a villain. Among them, he noticed Matt's curious, surprised stare.
Mr. Ingram pulled Danny through the doors, across the hall and threw him into a padded chair in the office. The stuffing in the seat was minimal, very uncomfortable upon impact.
"I didn't start it," Danny pleaded, watching Mr. Ingram dig through student files.
"Well, you certainly finished it, didn't you?" He pulled out a manila-colored folder with Danny's name printed at the top. He walked over to the phone, picked up the receiver and began dialing.
Danny sighed as he sank back into the uncomfortable chair.
"Hello, Ms. Patricia Firoth, please," Mr. Ingram said into the receiver.
Unwilling to listen to the conversation, Danny turned his attention to the students passing by in the hall, wishing he was one of them.
"Danny," said Matt, poking his head in through the office doors, "What happened?"
"I, uh…"
"This doesn't concern you, Mr. Mickler," Mr. Ingram said, before Danny could verbalize his plight.
Matt cringed, apologized and vanished into the thinning crowd in the hall.
"Patricia Firoth?" Mr. Ingram asked, turning his attention back to the phone.
Danny listened as Mr. Ingram explained the situation in cringing detail.
"Yes... okay... understood." He hung up the phone and turned to Danny. "Come with me," gesturing with his finger while opening the glass door with his other hand.
Danny shuffled his feet in an attempt to buy time, but he complied.
"You're going straight to detention," Mr. Ingram informed him. "Your mother is going to pick you up afterward." He led Danny a short way down the hall and turned right. They went down two flights of stairs; Mr. Ingram opened a pair of dark-green doors that led into the cafeteria.
"Sit here!" Mr. Ingram pointed at a specific table. "Be quiet, no sleeping. I'm going to find you something to do," he said, leaving Danny by himself in the large, empty room.
Left to his own devices, Danny went over the incident in his mind. The events were already beginning to blur, to meld into one another. It all happened so fast, and yet, somehow, he'd beat-up the biggest kid in eighth grade. The beginnings of a smile creased his cheeks the more he thought about it. People would look at him differently now. The smile widened; Danny felt the amusement build. I'll be a hero, he thought to himself, fighting the glee he was feeling.
"I don't know why you're smiling," Mr. Ingram said as he returned with a handful of pencils and some paper.
Danny's smile disappeared faster than it had begun.
Laying the pencil and paper down in front of Danny, Mr. Ingram continued, "You're going to write Mr. Rooney an apology letter, and you're going to write me a four-page essay about ‘why it's not acceptable to fight in school’."
"But, I didn't…"
"That doesn't matter right now. If you'd done what any other sensible person would've done, walked away, you wouldn't be in this position, would you?"
"And what, be laughed at by everyone else?"
Mr. Ingram put both hands on the table and met Danny's eyes in a tense stare. "It takes more courage to do what's right than it does to try to look cool, Mr. Firoth."
Danny looked away and focused on the center of the table. "You don't know what it’s like," Danny said in a soft voice. "Steven picks on everyone and if I don't stand up to him, who will?"
Mr. Ingram's voice grew softer, mimicking Danny's low tone. "Are you going to fight the whole world, Danny? Are you going to save everyone?"
Danny felt confusion and frustration burning within his stomach. The argument had taken a turn he hadn't expected. He let his silence answer for him.
Mr. Ingram sighed and pushed the paper toward him. "Just work on the assignment, Danny." He turned and walked toward a desk in the corner.
"Yes," Danny said to his teacher’s back.
"Yes, what, Danny?" turning around, looking at his student with obvious curiosity.
"I'll always fight for what's right. I'll defend those who can't defend themselves, no matter what."
"Then I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other." He turned back to his desk.
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Chapter 3 - A Date with the Dark
early two hours had passed when Danny put the final defin
ing words on the four-page essay. Beyond the windows, the sun was barely visible, sending the last, soft waves of light streaking into the cafeteria. It would be dark soon.
"I'm done," said Danny, holding the four pieces of paper up for Mr. Ingram to see.
Mr. Ingram moved toward Danny, retrieved the white pieces of paper and began to read.
Danny had been honest but, at the same time, he'd written the essay in an attempt to play to his teacher's point of view. He didn't want to have to write the paper over again.
After reading the last page, Mr. Ingram lowered the papers to his side and said, "Good, well-written, Danny. So the next time you find yourself in this situation, what are you going to do?"
"Walk away," he lied.
Danny had meant every word in their earlier conversation. Steven was a menace to all the students in the school, those who couldn't stick up for themselves, and Danny felt good about what he'd done.
"You're free to go," Mr. Ingram said, gathering up the paper and pencils. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Danny nodded. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and ran out of the huge room before Mr. Ingram could change his mind. He couldn't wait to get home, despite the scolding he knew was waiting for him. Quickening his step to a jog, he moved down the narrow hall, toward the entrance to the bottom half of the school, where he knew his mother would probably be waiting for him.
The hall was oddly quiet, as opposed to the usual collection of voices. The overwhelming silence was a little disturbing. Danny picked up the pace some more, almost turning his trot into an all-out sprint. He reached the glass doors faster than he thought possible. Peering outside, he failed to see his mother's car and sighed at the prospect of imprisonment within the deserted halls of the school for much longer than he cared to be there.
Time passed, with it so did the comforting light of the sun. Danny slumped down against the brick wall next to the glass doors. Boredom set in as he stared beyond, hoping with a pleading desperation that his mother would show up any second.
With time to kill, Danny retreated inward, working through the events of the day. Everything seemed so normal until... how could I have done what I did? Danny pondered the question, seeing the fight in his mind, trying to discover how he had bested the largest boy in his grade.
Unable to unravel the riddle, Danny sighed, resting the back of his head against the cool wall behind him. Whatever had happened, whatever he'd done, whatever it meant was lost to him. At the least, he would get the respect he deserved, maybe Steven would leave him alone from now on. This wish brought a slight smirk to Danny's face.
An abrupt rumble forced him from his thoughts, the walls quaked around him and the floor shook beneath him.
"Earthquake?" whispered Danny, struggling to regain his footing and find a doorway to shelter under. The shudder lasted for a second only. Danny peered out, underneath the threshold of the gym doors. "In Indiana, I doubt it," he said, answering himself. "What was that?" he asked the looming darkness.
Danny crept out into the middle of the hallway and glanced beyond the glass doors. Against his better judgment, he decided to investigate.
He stalked down the shadowy hallway. The overhead lights remained off, leaving the dull auxiliary lights to illuminate the way. To his right, he passed the door to the boys' restroom; to his left, a long line of blue lockers. Danny noticed his own locker as he skulked by.
Halfway down the hall, the school shuddered again. With nothing to dive under for shelter, he forced his back against the steel lockers, making a loud clang; he buried his face between his knees and wrapped his arms around the top of his head for protection. He'd learned the posture during tornado drills and figured it would work in his current circumstance.
Just as quickly as it had started, the shaking ceased, the floor stilled once again. Looking up from his cradled position, he noticed small pieces of the ceiling falling like snowflakes, shaken loose by the sudden tremor.
Danny pushed himself to his feet and began walking down the foreboding hall once again.
Danny finally reached the cross-section of the hallway. The hall continued ahead of him, leading to the shop classroom and a smaller gym. To his left, a pair of steel doors marked the entrance to the main gym. To his right, another hall led to the home economics classroom, stairs went up to the rest of the school, and two glass doors opened to the outside, a sudden vibration alerted him to the possible origin of the commotion.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Danny turned right and began walking down the hall. It was a short cut to the science labs. Enclosed by the school on three sides, the area beyond the outside path served as a parking lot and a courtyard.
From his position halfway down the hall, Danny made out the familiar road that led into the large expanse. He still couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. The ground rumbled beneath him once again, as if objecting to some unseen event.
Danny decided to use the brick wall as cover, throwing his back up against it for reassurance. He shuffled along the side, toward the glass doors and whatever lay beyond.
Inches away from the panes, his hands began to tremble. Pressed against the brick, he couldn't make out anything except for the familiar path to the opposite side of the school.
Building up his courage, Danny crept up to the doors and peeked out, only to find the brick blocking his view. He would have to go outside.
Forcing the heavy doors open, ever-so-slightly, Danny heard strange noises coming from around the corner. Shuddering thuds echoed throughout the enclosed schoolyard. The ground rumbled and a loud bang thundered from somewhere beyond his sight, as if something large had just collided with the school. He almost forgot that the doors would lock behind him if he allowed them to close. He didn't want to be stuck outside with whatever lay beyond. Untangling his backpack from his arms, he positioned it between the glass door and the doorsill, keeping it open.
Satisfied with his escape route, Danny crept along the wall and peeked around it. What he saw took the breath right out of his lungs; it caused his heart to pound in his chest and made his legs turn to rubber.
With pearl-colored teeth that gleamed in the light of the lamp and shiny black claws that danced and scraped at the cement, the dragon's almond eyes darted in random directions, as if searching for prey. The creature's scales reflected the soft light, causing them to glitter with a rosy hue. About the height and width of a large car and the length of a bus, the dragon looked slender—like a snake, with the addition of powerful arms and legs complete with wickedly sharp talons and a pair of wide-spread wings. Elongated, similar to the head of an alligator, the dragon's head sprouted twin smooth, ebony horns that narrowed to frightful points, originating from just behind its brow.
"A dragon!" Danny said in a hushed tone. The dragon jumped, swatting at some unseen foe. It was the most beautiful, most frightening creature that he had ever seen.
Then something dark, distorted by an aura of thick black smoke, pulled his attention away from the dragon. Danny peered closer, searching for details—for a split-second he thought he saw a form in the swirling mist. He could make out a head with red eyes, thin, lanky arms and long, wiry legs. Something silvery gleamed in the thing's outstretched fingers, as it batted at the larger form of the dragon. The churning smoke dissipated, he could see that the dark creature's weapons were long, sharp claws.
Danny couldn't believe his own eyes. He took a few steps forward to get a better view. However, on the second step, he failed to watch his footing, felt his shoe catch, and stumbled forward. He tumbled to the ground with a grunt; he caught his weight by placing both hands flat on the cement.
Where there had once been the sound of combat, an eerie silence followed. Gulping down his fear, Danny looked up to find the gaze of the dragon and the wicked red eyes of the smoky creature locked on him.
The soft brown eyes of the dragon shone with small flecks of gold, endless, intoxicating and almost friendly.
Below the hypnotic
gaze of the dragon, Danny found the penetrating stare of the dark humanoid. The wind picked up in earnest, causing the thick smoke surrounding the creature to part momentarily. Instantly, Danny made out an array of pointy white teeth that seemed distorted in a vain attempt at a smile. It was most certainly not a greeting of friendship.
The black creature took three elongated steps toward Danny and leapt into the air with amazing speed.
Unable to move, Danny watched helplessly as the black thing barreled down on him. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain to come—yet it never did. Instead, he heard a high-pitched screech, like a wounded animal. Opening his eyes, he saw the dark creature before him, too close for comfort, its torso wrapped in black talons. The thing screamed; it lashed out at him, the thin, silver fingernails flicking within inches of his face.
With a deep, throaty growl, the dragon flung its enemy to the opposite side of the yard. Danny watched as the black thing flew through the air, thudded against the brick wall and then fell to the ground in a lifeless heap.
Danny felt the eyes of the dragon upon him and turned to meet the creature's penetrating glare. He could hear a deep growl, originating from somewhere within the dragon's body. It must be a warning, he was sure of it. He didn't know how or why, but this creature had protected him, now it was telling him to leave.
Out of the corner of his eye, Danny noticed movement; he turned his focus toward the black creature that had attacked him. His eyes went wide, it was getting up.
The dragon followed Danny's gaze, turned back toward him and growled again, this time much louder.
"You don't have to tell me twice," Danny whispered, no longer in shock. He quickly regained his feet and bolted for the glass doors.
Pausing in front of the doors, he retrieved his book bag from between them, passed through, and forced them shut behind him. Taking off at a dead sprint, he whipped the backpack over his shoulder just as he turned the corner. His sudden speed caused him to brush against the lockers, but it didn't slow him down.
