WindWolf94
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- Posted: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 03:44:57 +0000
So, i've got maybe 2 years more writing experience, now. i want to compare something i've written with something I've re-written. I'd be grateful to anyone who would take the time to read these two drafts and tell me if i've improved any.
Draft number one:
Blaze looked out towards the grey horizon as cold rain pelted her head. Rain really didn’t mix well with her, but neither did staying cooped up all day, so once again, here she was, sitting on the radio tower, a dizzying height from the ground, in the rain in the middle of fall. At least the view was good.
The landscape didn’t have much to offer anymore, mostly rock formations and a few plants. Even after the world nearly destroyed itself, this place was still a city; nature was barley there anymore. Blaze never minded that, emptiness could be just as beautiful and forests and meadows as far as she was concerned.
As the clouds began to part Blaze let out a sigh. It felt kind of pointless to go home, there was never anything to do while Byron was out of town. For some reason he always refused to let her come along with him to council meetings, even though it was her job to guard him. It irritated her to no end, she was his sister! She should be charged with the most important tasks while guarding him. Blaze briefly considered not going home tonight, just roaming outside the city, maybe exploring the ruins a few miles out. She snorted at her own thought, pushing it from her mind, Skye would be home from school soon, and he would worry if she up and disappeared for a night.
The climb down the radio tower was a long one, as always. The rain made the metal braces slippery and hard to navigate, but all the same, Blaze made it down ok, just like every other time it rained. She didn’t know when she began coming out here, maybe a bit after her father went missing, or maybe when Byron started ignoring her, too busy with work for much else; either way it had been years, everyone knew where to look if she was needed.
The muddy ground pulled at her shoes as Blaze made her way home,’ Mud or dust’, She thought, ‘always mud or dust.’ Her trek led her on for a mile before the empty outskirts of the city gave way to small residences sprinkled around the land; even further off in the distance multi story buildings in varying states of disrepair rose from the sea of thrown together shacks. Brick walls remained standing in some places, becoming one wall of the cluster of houses that ended up being crowded around it. One particular building was Blaze’s destination, a rather tall one, crumbling near the top with iron gates instead of a front door. As always, a guard stood at the entrance, just a new recruit this time, since Byron was away.
The young man saluted Blaze as she approached the gates. She hated that, superiority and inferiority were matters she would rather not deal with, too much potential for abuse of power. The guard looked somewhat confused; Blaze thought to herself that she hadn’t masked her disdain for being saluted well enough. She flashed a smile at him, hoping that he would get that there were no hard feelings, and continued on past the gates.
Blaze opened the door to her house, she found it empty, maybe school was running late today. A nice, hot shower sounded like a great idea at the moment, and no interruptions from the guards for a few more days was starting to sound good.
Freezing cold water blasted onto Blaze’s head when she turned the shower on. She jumped backwards out of the stream of the water, shrieking and cursing like a sailor. It really sucked living in a building with twenty other people.
She sighed, stepping out of the shower, the cold tile floor sending a shock of cold through her whole being, right down to her bones. Shivering a bit, she pulled her new clothes on, no point in taking a shower with no hot water. Her soaked jacket hung near the door, dripping and making a puddle on the floor.
Blaze flopped onto the couch, sinking into the blue, somewhat dusty cushions. Absent-mindedly she stared up at the ceiling, blank white plaster dotted with small bits of water damage here and there, she should really have someone come and fix that. Threads frayed between her fingers as she lazily picked at a hole in the couch, in the back of her mind a small voice was nagging her to just fix it before it got worse, laziness won out and she continued pulling at loose threads.
The sound of the door opening awoke her several hours later, pulling her out of a particularly interesting dream, she blushed and silently thanked her parents that she wasn’t born male.
“Sleeping the day away, huh?” Byron said with mocking disapproval.
“You know, normal people just say hello.” Blaze replied, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
Byron sat down on the other side of the couch, the other cushion let out a puff of dust, making Blaze sneeze. He shook his head, black hair swooshed around his shoulders.
“We should really get a new couch, this old piece of crap is falling apart.”
“Sure, I’ll get right on that, after we get someone fix the water damage, repair the shower, and get rid of the family of mice that just moved in.” Blaze said sarcastically.
She walked to the door and pulled her still-soaked jacket on, shivering as the cold, wet fabric touched the bare skin on her arms.
“We need a freakin dryer.” She grumbled as she picked up her wooden sword. “I’m going to find Skye, it’s getting late and I’m kind of worried.”
Blaze stepped out into the dark hallway, the electricity was on, but the wiring was shot from the rain that leaked through the roof. Peeling paint flaked off the wall with every step she took, it could be really creepy sometimes, how this old building creaked. Sometimes it sounded it was like it would fall, but to this day it stood. The old stairs took skill to navigate, not knowing which floorboards were loose and where nails stuck out of the wood could earn you a nasty injury. A few years ago a kid even fell over the railing ,he lost the use of his arm.
The chilly fall air went right through Blaze’s jacket, she almost regretted wearing it out but it was a habit by now, she was rarely seen outside of the house without it. Muddy ground gave way to cracked , uneven sidewalks, no repairs had been attempted in years, they were useless anyway, just ground a few inches higher than the street. Nothing to drive on the street anymore.
Blaze always heard stories about how the roads used to be, when she was little. Now only the rich, or high ranking in the military, had any access to cars anymore, parts were expensive and had to be handmade because no one had enough money to re-engineer machines to do it for them.
Blaze weaved in and out of clusters of buildings, brushing against the people who were heading home from work, no one bothered to say “Excuse me” or “Sorry” anymore, too much trouble for someone who didn’t really care.
Outside of the school a large group of kids were talking noisily, they formed a circle with the kids in the back hopping to get a better view of the action going on in the middle. Blaze could see over most of their heads. The middle of the circle contained a tall blond boy, maybe about sixteen, he looked a little stronger than most of the boys his age, who were just hitting their second or third growth spurts. Another, smaller boy was backing away from him, the crowd pushed him into the middle every time he tried to disappear into it. His long brown hair which usually was held back in a ponytail, was free and falling over his shoulders, His sky blue eyes were wide in fear. His nose had already started to bleed and his red cloak, which was already covered with patches, had a new tear in it.
“What the hell is this?!” Blaze yelled, trying to shout over the crowd .
She pushed past kids of all sizes, fighting her way to the center. With one final charge she finally broke through the front of the circle and was expelled into the middle, she stumbled a bit before standing up straight and looking at the blonde boy. He had the smaller boy pinned, with a fist raised and ready to strike, the smaller boy looked up at him defiantly, but made no attempt to fight back or struggle.
‘always a pacsifist’ Blaze thought to herself. She kicked out at the blonde boy, forcing her foot into his ribs. “Get out of here you little douchebag.” She said, glaring at the boy. “All of you, just screw off, I should have your parents take this out of your asses, but I don’t have the time.”
A small stampede tore it’s way out of the schoolyard, leaving Blaze alone with the brown haired boy, who was trying to wipe at his nose. She held a hand out to him, smiling kindly.
“Come on Skye, get up.”
He took her hand and pulled himself to his feet. His nose had stopped gushing blood, now only a slow trickle wound it’s way down his face, stopping just above his lip.
“They got you good, huh? You know, you should learn to fight, just to protect yourself.” Blaze said while handing him a strip of fabric out of her pocket. She didn’t know how it got there, things just found their way in there sometimes. He took it and started wiping under his nose, trying to get the blood off before it got too crusty. Skye looked at the ground, saying nothing. Blaze had already tried this before, her brother just wasn’t a fighter, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt a fly.
“I can’t keep protecting you forever, you know?” She said to him, pushing the issue. He turned and started walking towards the road, deflecting her question. Blaze rolled her eyes, he could be such a child sometimes.
Skye looked down at his cloak sadly as they walked, a piece of the red fabric was barley hanging on by a thread at the bottom, Blaze made a mental note to cut that part off when Skye wasn’t looking. Blaze decided to ask Skye again, if anything it would fill the silence.
“You know, I could teach you to use a sword, or-“ The sound of metal hitting pavement interrupted Blaze, a few feet away from her a small cylindrical object rolled on the ground. The fire spilling out of either end is what caught her attention, she looked to the sky searching for anything suspicious among the buildings. Atop one of the skyscrapers, a large figure stood on a ledge. It’s tannish leathery wings spread to their full width, it groaned loudly, the screeching echoed off of the surrounding buildings. It pulled another cylinder out of it’s bag pulled a string attached to the middle, and threw it as far as it could.
Another cylinder fell from the sky, followed by a shrill, eardrum shattering screech, and then the sound of more metal hitting the ground and the roofs of the low residential buildings. What Blaze saw when she looked up at the roof of a tall building confirmed her fears.
“They’re firebombing us!” She yelled. People in the street started to panic, tripping over themselves and each other in a frenzy. Blaze turned to Skye, grabbing his shoulders to make sure he was paying attention.
“Skye, you have to go. Run and don’t stop until you reach the forest, Byron and I will meet you there later.”
“But what about the house, shouldn’t we-“ he tried to protest.
“Just get out of here!” Blaze cut him off, pushing him into a run.
Searing flames flared out towards the street as Blaze ran, trying to reach home before it was too late. The smell of burning wood and flesh filled the air, choking her and making her eyes sting. Screaming people rushed past in droves, pushing and climbing over each other, only concerned with their own survival. Fear gripped Blaze’s heart, images of Byron, trapped, unconscious, like their mother, flashed through her mind. She bit the inside of her cheek and pushed them away, determined not to give in to her growing anxiety. Her feet pounded against the pavement, every step making it harder to breathe and see; she stopped for a minute to pull her goggles down over her eyes.
Blaze wandered through the smoke into a particularly narrow alleyway. Glancing around to get her bearings, she found herself closer to home than she had imagined, she let out a relieved sigh before dashing towards the street again, heading for the tallest building she could see through the smoke. Road gave way to muddy grass and iron gates greeted her, smoke pouring from them, going to retrieve anything inside would be a suicide mission.
She heard a yell to her left, and found Byron defending himself against a [reaper]. The deformed, humanlike creature screeched and brought its spear down towards his head, he blocked, catching it between the twin prongs of its blade with an old pipe. A second [reaper] descended behind him, going in for a stab, Blaze ran in and knocked the spear away, the shock of the weapons colliding made its way up her arms. She was back to back with Byron now, digging her feet into the ground she prepared to block another strike; she deflected the blow and used the chance to go in for one of her own. She caught the [reaper] across the face, sending to sprawling back to the ground; Byron spun out of the way of an attack and struck the other one in the back of the head.
“Where’s Skye?” He shouted, trying to be heard over the roaring of the burning buildings.
“He’s in the forest, come on!” Blaze replied, taking off in a run.
Byron struggled to keep up; the burn scars on his legs felt tight and were aching terribly. Last time they were firebombed he had gone back into their house, to try and save their mother; she was dead by the time he got there. He shook his thoughts of the past off as they ran on and on, past burning houses and screaming people.
They tried not to watch as parents went into smoke filled doorways to save their children, who were still trapped inside, screaming out to be saved. The stink of death was so strong that they could taste it, lone children called out for their parents and siblings, searching for something familiar in the streets that they could no longer call home. The raging inferno seemed to engulf everything, turning homes to ash in mere minutes, and fracturing families forever.
Injured people wandered the streets, feeling their way through the smoke, seeking an end to their pain. Many had already succumbed to smoke inhalation; they acted as stumbling blocks in Blaze and Byron’s path, littering the road like old garbage.
Turning a corner, Blaze’s foot brushed against something, it moaned in response to her boot touching it. She looked down at the source of the sound; an old man slumped against the wall. His clothes hung off of him in scorched rags, exposing charred, cracked skin. Spots of pink, red and even black dotted his face, hands and arms. He looked up at Blaze, his lone working eye bloodshot and full of pain, whether the other was swollen or burned shut, she decided she would rather not think about.
“K-kill m-me.” He moaned weakly, causing blood to trickle lazily from his cracked lips.
Blaze fought the onslaught of nausea that threatened to make her lose control of her stomach. The man would die a slow, painful death if he were left alone; Blaze knew that, but killing someone who wasn’t trying to kill her really wasn’t something she was okay with. She thought back to their mother, who met a similar fate; making someone suffer through that would be too cruel. Blaze steeled herself, raising her wooden sword above her head, the man closed his eye and smiled, silently thanking her for what she was about to do. She brought her sword down, spattering blood on the wall behind him. Slipping her sword back into her belt loop, she took off running again with Byron not far behind.
As Blaze and Byron ran, the buildings gradually spaced out, going from clusters of houses with only cramped alleys between them, to free standing houses and spacious roads. The fire was still in the innermost part of town, where it was most crowded, but it was spreading. [reapers] were still dropping firebombs occasionally, and they were moving outwards. They seemed to be determined to burn every inch of the place to the ground, and Blaze couldn’t work out why that was, there wasn’t anything of particular value in the city, nothing that anyone would want.
When the red, flashing lights of the radio tower cutting through the smoke came into Blaze’s view, a surge of relief washed over her, their lives weren’t in danger anymore, [reapers] weren’t smart enough to follow more than a few orders at a time, and they were busy with destroying the city. The hard packed soil beneath her feet had a comforting familiarity to it, along with the dust that swirled around with every step she took. Blaze felt more at home out here than she ever did among the tall, grey buildings that obscured the sky.
Byron looked up at the sky, hoping to find some semblance of direction; smoke obscured everything, turning the usually dimly lit, foggy sky, into a blank, grey abyss. He sighed and resigned himself to following behind Blaze; she knew the outer areas better than him anyway. He worriedly gazed at the sword at her side, brown, worn wood was now covered in drying red, dents and nicks filled with blood. Blaze was used to killing by now, he knew that, but it made Byron worry that she didn’t seem too torn up about that old man. He absently wondered if their dad would think he failed as an older brother.
The night stretched on as Byron and Blaze made their way towards the forest, it was visible on the horizon, but never seemed any closer, as if it was taking a step back every so often. The wind at their backs was still hot, blowing off the town, carrying with it the ashes of shattered lives and broken families. Blaze wondered how long it would be before they could go back; the optimist in her said that it wouldn’t be long, that she shouldn’t worry so much. Her instincts told her otherwise, they said to run, run as far as she could and never look back.
Byron was still silent, nothing felt like it needed to be said, reassurances would fall on deaf ears for either of them; they didn’t put much faith in empty words. Their home was gone, everything they knew, what was left of a normal life for them had just been ripped away. Words couldn’t bring it back; they both knew this, yet the idea of explaining it to Skye left both of them searching their minds for the right words, trying to find a way to tell him, while still shielding him from the horrible truth.
As the trees on the horizon grew in front of them, Blaze and Byron slowed their pace, no need to hurry this far from town. Blaze turned back to look off into the distance, the city was still aglow with the inferno; she thought that, from this distance, it looked almost beautiful, like the last embers of a dying fire. A soft voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
“Hey, Blaze… that you?” Skye said, peering out from behind a tree.
“Yeah, me and Byron, come on out.”
He stepped out of his hiding place, and made his way towards her tenativly, making sure there were no enemies around. Once Skye was sure of their safety, he ran to Blaze, catching her in a gentle hug, while trying to avoid irritating any burns. After a moment he turned to Byron and did the same to him.
“So, how bad is it?” He asked.
Blaze and Byron stood silently, still trying to find a way to break the news to Skye. Blaze decided the honestly would be the best policy this time, She opened her mouth to speak, and was cut off by Byron.
“Not that bad, but it’ll be a while before we can go back.” He lied, not meeting Skye’s eyes.
Blaze glared at him in response, but let her gaze soften when Skye looked back to her, she couldn’t tell him now, not when he had hope. She peered into the forest, looking for any signs of danger, nothing seemed to be stirring, and the animals were either asleep or scared of them.
The chilly fall wind reminded Blaze of the fact that it was imperative to find somewhere to sleep, she inwardly groaned at the thought of having to sleep on the cold ground tonight, but the exhaustion that tugged at her mind won out. A large, hollow tree trunk caught her attention, it wasn’t anything special, but at least it would offer a little shelter from the bite of the wind.
Blaze tried to make herself comfortable, Skye slept with his back against hers for warmth. Byron was to stubborn to sleep near either of them, so he sat with his back against the tree, shivering occasionally as the cold seeped into his skin, making to muscles tense involuntarily. Blaze laid awake for a while, thinking about the old man, the children screaming for their parents, and her own mother. Fourteen years had passed since the last firebombing, why start again now? Still wondering about the motivation behind the attack, Blaze fell into a dreamless sleep.
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Draft number Two:
A chilled fall wind blew through the struts of the broken down radio tower Blaze was perched in, sitting in silence, the girl watched as dark rain clouds blew in over the barren landscape that the residents of (Townname) called their home. A shiver ran through her, spurred on by the creaking wooden wall of a small shack that housed various antiqued pieces of equipment. All of which was either broken or useless, these days it just sat gathering dust in cobwebby solitude.
A sigh escaped her, and, disappointed, she turned from the Grey on even grayer view. A small droplet landed on the tip of her nose as she set foot on the rusty ladder, and she gasped slightly as the cold metal came into contact with her hands. Rain began to pelt her as she neared the ground, and taking care to not slip, she descended faster than she would have liked, taking care to avoid the jagged spurs of metal that protruded where unfortunate hands has not worn them down.
Blaze Dismounted the ladder, and with a slight, petulant glare, she saluted the guard waiting to take her place at the top. Gray, gritty mud squished beneath her boots and more and more clung to the black, well worn canvas with every step. She sighed again, Mud to dust, Dust to mud, it didn't matter anymore, everything and everyone was always coated in the silty earth that their city was built on. In her clothes, in her food, in the bath, she couldn't escape it.
Thunder crashed overhead and she broke into run, Splashing onto the ruined sidewalks as she went. Sometimes she wondered why the even bothered with them, except for the military, no one had a car, and there was no military base in town. Children laughed and jumped into the brown puddles that gathered in the many cracks and potholes that ran through the road. Blaze snorted, so much for 'look both ways before crossing the road.' She passed the High school, a small, one room building constructed of rickety boards, a slight breeze blew and the wood creaked in protest, threatening to fall on the few occupants who bothered with education after they were thirteen. Blaze admired them, the people who wanted to better themselves for the good of the community. It just wasn't what she wanted out of life. The town guard was more up her alley, and, among other things, they needed the money, so at fourteen years old, she signed the papers and agreed to give her time and energy to the people. There are worse lots in life than breaking up bar fights and killing the occasional looters, she supposed.
Tall, ominous buildings loomed over the streets as she moved into the business district, gray concrete with exposed rebar and wood patched holes was common fare among the dilapidated skyscrapers. For as long as Blaze could remember they had been deemed too dangerous to enter by the town officials, and were left to rot in solitude, save for the odd moron looking to add a little adventure to their day. Unfortunately for them, and anyone that got sucked into their vortex of stupidity, their “Expeditions” As they were sometimes called by those too self deluded to know a stupid idea when they saw one, almost always ended in disaster for all involved. A shudder ran through Blaze at the particularly unpleasant memory of having her leg re-broken and set in three places after she tried to help a trapped man across a rescue ladder and he panicked, fell, and grabbed her, taking them both down and through the rotted first floor to a non accessible basement. They were rescued as soon as the team could get into the room, but by that time they reached them, the leg had started to knit wrong.
Outside of the forbidden buildings, merchants yelled prices and product names at passing people, who, for the most part, ignored them. A large amount of the population was forced to forage through heaps of refuse, trying to find something salvageable, and although it was illegal, a good find could put food on the table for a while. Blaze stopped at a small stall, The butcher's haul laid out on the shabby wood. Nothing looked good today, Some deer that had already been chewed on and giant rats were all he had, she turned her back on it and left, stomach growling in protest.
Finally she came to her destination, A tall, beige building made of crumbling bricks with a fenced off entry. A guard, who's name escaped her at the moment, stood by the gate with a single, shiny key clipped to his belt. As she approached, he stood at attention and saluted.
“Please don't do that.” Blaze said, “I'm not on duty right now.”
He relaxed
“Yes ma’am!” The boy yelped enthusiastic.
Blaze rolled her eyes, An enthusiastic new recruit was the last thing her nerves needed right now.
“Look, Kid.... Uhm, What's your name?”
“Marcus ma’am”
“Right... Marcus, you can go now, I’m here. I can hold down the fort. Just.... Go patrol or something.”
She said while waving off in the direction she arrived from.
“Yes ma’am”
Blaze inwardly groaned as he handed the key over and scampered off.
After passing the rusty chain link fence and gaping hole in the masonry where the door should have been, she was met with the almost darkness of the building's interior. A set of wooden stairs led up to two rows of apartments, each with it's own address painted on the door. When she came to 5328, she knocked, and then after getting no reply, pulled her keys out of her jacket pocket, and let herself in. She cursed inwardly as she tripped over the jumble of shoes by the doorway, none of which were hers. Boys, she thought to herself, could be rather hypocritical sometimes.
She flipped on the bathroom light, and after locking the door, despite being the only person home, Turned the shower on and stepped in. A blast of cold water pelted her, and shrieking and cursing, she stumbled backwards out of the shower. Grumbling to herself, she picked her soaked clothes up and tossed them into a corner, onto the ever growing pile that the three busy, and slightly irresponsible young people who inhabited the small home almost never bothered to wash.
After changing into a Dry set of clothes, Blaze Wandered into the kitchen. She opened the cabinets that she knew would almost certainly be empty, and was not disappointed. Salt, pepper, and cinnamon were the only things in the house at the moment. Her stomach growled and she thought, Maybe... She remembered the last time she tried to eat cinnamon straight from the bottle, Her brother Byron, had dared her.
“Just do it!” He goaded, looking around for their father “Everyone in (Townname2) says that if you can do it, you're really tough, and if not, you're a chicken!”
“I'm NOT a Chicken!” She whined, and stuck the tablespoon in her mouth.
A few seconds passed, and a cough rose to the back of her throat. Brown powder spewed out her mouth, forming a cloud in front of her.
“Ha Ha Blaze! You look like a dragon!” Byron laughed, but was quickly silenced by a quickly expanding pool of vomit around his shoes. They were both grounded for a week.
After wandering into the small, cluttered living room, Blaze flopped onto the couch, sinking into the blue, somewhat dusty cushions. Absent-mindlessly she stared up at the ceiling, blank white plaster dotted with small bits of water damage here and there, she should really have someone come and fix that. Threads frayed between her fingers as she lazily picked at a hole in the couch, in the back of her mind a small voice was nagging her to just fix it before it got worse, laziness won out and she continued pulling at loose threads. A hazy feeling washed over her, and after a monster of a yawn, she dozed off as the early afternoon sun finally peeked out from behind the clouds.
Blaze awoke to the quiet closing latch of the front door, Groggily, she pushed herself into a half-sitting position, she cracked an eye open and was overcome with a brief panic. There was someone in the house with her, a male, and he was approaching her slowly. Alarmed, she sat bolt upright. Her fear subsided when he spoke.
“Hey Blaze, sleeping the day away?” Byron chided lightly.
“Hello, I think,” She grumbled, “Is the word you're looking for.”
He chuckled a bit before flopping down on the couch next to her. A puff of dust rose up around them, and he sneezed. An uncomfortable silence settled over the room as the two sibling sat side by side, each trying to find a conversation starter. After five minutes of nothing but quiet hanging between them, Byron spoke.
“I know you're mad at me.”
“I don't want to talk about it...” Blaze replied, hastily looking anywhere but Bryon’s general direction.
“You know I couldn't take you with me.” He said quietly. Always level headed, Byron was.
“The hell you couldn't” She spat back at him “ Ever think maybe I’m good for more than bar fights?”
“I just wanted to keep you safe. You and I both know what can happen at those meetings.”
“It's my Job, Byron. You of all people should realize that you need someone you can trust there.”
“I don't trust you. You would get yourself into trouble. You don't know how to keep your mouth shut when it would benefit you, Blaze.” He growled, Raising his voice a bit at the end.
“At some point you have to treat me like an adult.”
“Tough s**t. Start acting like one.”
Blaze pulled her boots on, and stood from the couch abruptly.
“I'm gonna go meet Skye.” she huffed.
Byron remained silent. Blaze buttoned the front of her still soaked jacket and stepped into the darkness of the buildings interior. She slammed the door, and stomped down the stairs.
The weather had taken a turn for the better, warm sunlight shone down on the rain drenched streets and buildings giving them an almost beautiful shine. The air smelt of fresh things and the slight breeze carried the scent all throughout the city. However, all of this did nothing to elevate blaze's mood. As much as she already knew that Byron didn't trust her, hearing him say it aloud dealt a serious blow to her ego, and pushed her down into an inescapable funk of seething anger that was just begging to be taken out on someone. She tried to push it down, for Skye's sake. If she ever hurt him in any way she might not be able to live with herself.
By the time Blaze reached the high school, The ground had dried considerably, and a thin layer of dust settled on the surface, blowing around in the wind and puffing up every time a boot landed. As she approached the school, A crowd of students came into view. They had gathered themselves in a circle, blocking something in the middle from view. Blaze heard a yell emanate from the center of the kids, and after struggling through a mass of adolescent adrenaline, she was forcibly ejected into the center.
On the ground, two boys were fighting. The larger had the smaller pinned under him, he raised his fist to strike the boy. A boot landed in his ribs before he could throw his punch. After coughing for a moment, he lunged at his attacker. Blaze easily avoided the tackle, and watched as the large boy charged directly into the crowd of unsuspecting teenagers.
“City guard. Go home. Now.” She growled at them.
None of them moved from where they were standing.
“NOW!” She barked “Or I could take you all to the station. I'm sure your parents would love to take the fine out of your asses.”
The crowd moved, tentatively dispersing from the schoolyard. Blaze reached out to the boy on the ground.
“Another fight, Skye?” she scolded him.
He nodded, and swiped at the sticky mess of dried blood under his nose.
“Did you at least fight back this time?”
He was silent for a moment. “I don't want to fight.”
“Sometimes you have to.” Blaze sighed. “If you let this go it'll just keep happening. Maybe if you kicked his scrawny a** he would leave you alone.”
Skye slouched a little. Staring at the ground, he kicked up a cloud of dust. He knew what was coming next, and a sigh escaped him.
“You know... I could teach you how to fight. Maybe with a sword, a weapon on your belt would discourage anyone who wanted to mess with you.”
There it was. It wasn't that Skye was particularly weak, or even averse to violence. He was, I reality, a self admitted coward. Taking a risk was not a fathomable idea in his mind, and he would rather let someone else handle the unpredictability in his life. Shutting his sister down made him feel horrid, though.
“Fine.” He whispered.
“...And, I mean, I know you probably don't want to or anything, but, really you need to learn sometime.” Blaze babbled on, unaware of his answer.
“Fine, I said.” He said, a bit louder, this time.
“R-Really?” Blaze asked, wide eyed and perplexed. “I never really expected you to say yes.”
“Yeah, really.” He replied “But, can we go easier this time? I was sore for weeks when you taught me last.”
“Haha, Not a chance!” Blaze laughed, clapping him on the back.
Skye winced a bit as the bruises on his back were aggravated, but tried to keep a smile on his face.
“Uhm, Sorry...” Blaze apologized, with a sheepish grin.
“S'fine.”
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Now, Obviously, Draft number two isn't finished yet, but i'm only working on it a little bit at a time, and didn't want to wait for input from other people. Yay for impatience.
Draft number one:
Blaze looked out towards the grey horizon as cold rain pelted her head. Rain really didn’t mix well with her, but neither did staying cooped up all day, so once again, here she was, sitting on the radio tower, a dizzying height from the ground, in the rain in the middle of fall. At least the view was good.
The landscape didn’t have much to offer anymore, mostly rock formations and a few plants. Even after the world nearly destroyed itself, this place was still a city; nature was barley there anymore. Blaze never minded that, emptiness could be just as beautiful and forests and meadows as far as she was concerned.
As the clouds began to part Blaze let out a sigh. It felt kind of pointless to go home, there was never anything to do while Byron was out of town. For some reason he always refused to let her come along with him to council meetings, even though it was her job to guard him. It irritated her to no end, she was his sister! She should be charged with the most important tasks while guarding him. Blaze briefly considered not going home tonight, just roaming outside the city, maybe exploring the ruins a few miles out. She snorted at her own thought, pushing it from her mind, Skye would be home from school soon, and he would worry if she up and disappeared for a night.
The climb down the radio tower was a long one, as always. The rain made the metal braces slippery and hard to navigate, but all the same, Blaze made it down ok, just like every other time it rained. She didn’t know when she began coming out here, maybe a bit after her father went missing, or maybe when Byron started ignoring her, too busy with work for much else; either way it had been years, everyone knew where to look if she was needed.
The muddy ground pulled at her shoes as Blaze made her way home,’ Mud or dust’, She thought, ‘always mud or dust.’ Her trek led her on for a mile before the empty outskirts of the city gave way to small residences sprinkled around the land; even further off in the distance multi story buildings in varying states of disrepair rose from the sea of thrown together shacks. Brick walls remained standing in some places, becoming one wall of the cluster of houses that ended up being crowded around it. One particular building was Blaze’s destination, a rather tall one, crumbling near the top with iron gates instead of a front door. As always, a guard stood at the entrance, just a new recruit this time, since Byron was away.
The young man saluted Blaze as she approached the gates. She hated that, superiority and inferiority were matters she would rather not deal with, too much potential for abuse of power. The guard looked somewhat confused; Blaze thought to herself that she hadn’t masked her disdain for being saluted well enough. She flashed a smile at him, hoping that he would get that there were no hard feelings, and continued on past the gates.
Blaze opened the door to her house, she found it empty, maybe school was running late today. A nice, hot shower sounded like a great idea at the moment, and no interruptions from the guards for a few more days was starting to sound good.
Freezing cold water blasted onto Blaze’s head when she turned the shower on. She jumped backwards out of the stream of the water, shrieking and cursing like a sailor. It really sucked living in a building with twenty other people.
She sighed, stepping out of the shower, the cold tile floor sending a shock of cold through her whole being, right down to her bones. Shivering a bit, she pulled her new clothes on, no point in taking a shower with no hot water. Her soaked jacket hung near the door, dripping and making a puddle on the floor.
Blaze flopped onto the couch, sinking into the blue, somewhat dusty cushions. Absent-mindedly she stared up at the ceiling, blank white plaster dotted with small bits of water damage here and there, she should really have someone come and fix that. Threads frayed between her fingers as she lazily picked at a hole in the couch, in the back of her mind a small voice was nagging her to just fix it before it got worse, laziness won out and she continued pulling at loose threads.
The sound of the door opening awoke her several hours later, pulling her out of a particularly interesting dream, she blushed and silently thanked her parents that she wasn’t born male.
“Sleeping the day away, huh?” Byron said with mocking disapproval.
“You know, normal people just say hello.” Blaze replied, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
Byron sat down on the other side of the couch, the other cushion let out a puff of dust, making Blaze sneeze. He shook his head, black hair swooshed around his shoulders.
“We should really get a new couch, this old piece of crap is falling apart.”
“Sure, I’ll get right on that, after we get someone fix the water damage, repair the shower, and get rid of the family of mice that just moved in.” Blaze said sarcastically.
She walked to the door and pulled her still-soaked jacket on, shivering as the cold, wet fabric touched the bare skin on her arms.
“We need a freakin dryer.” She grumbled as she picked up her wooden sword. “I’m going to find Skye, it’s getting late and I’m kind of worried.”
Blaze stepped out into the dark hallway, the electricity was on, but the wiring was shot from the rain that leaked through the roof. Peeling paint flaked off the wall with every step she took, it could be really creepy sometimes, how this old building creaked. Sometimes it sounded it was like it would fall, but to this day it stood. The old stairs took skill to navigate, not knowing which floorboards were loose and where nails stuck out of the wood could earn you a nasty injury. A few years ago a kid even fell over the railing ,he lost the use of his arm.
The chilly fall air went right through Blaze’s jacket, she almost regretted wearing it out but it was a habit by now, she was rarely seen outside of the house without it. Muddy ground gave way to cracked , uneven sidewalks, no repairs had been attempted in years, they were useless anyway, just ground a few inches higher than the street. Nothing to drive on the street anymore.
Blaze always heard stories about how the roads used to be, when she was little. Now only the rich, or high ranking in the military, had any access to cars anymore, parts were expensive and had to be handmade because no one had enough money to re-engineer machines to do it for them.
Blaze weaved in and out of clusters of buildings, brushing against the people who were heading home from work, no one bothered to say “Excuse me” or “Sorry” anymore, too much trouble for someone who didn’t really care.
Outside of the school a large group of kids were talking noisily, they formed a circle with the kids in the back hopping to get a better view of the action going on in the middle. Blaze could see over most of their heads. The middle of the circle contained a tall blond boy, maybe about sixteen, he looked a little stronger than most of the boys his age, who were just hitting their second or third growth spurts. Another, smaller boy was backing away from him, the crowd pushed him into the middle every time he tried to disappear into it. His long brown hair which usually was held back in a ponytail, was free and falling over his shoulders, His sky blue eyes were wide in fear. His nose had already started to bleed and his red cloak, which was already covered with patches, had a new tear in it.
“What the hell is this?!” Blaze yelled, trying to shout over the crowd .
She pushed past kids of all sizes, fighting her way to the center. With one final charge she finally broke through the front of the circle and was expelled into the middle, she stumbled a bit before standing up straight and looking at the blonde boy. He had the smaller boy pinned, with a fist raised and ready to strike, the smaller boy looked up at him defiantly, but made no attempt to fight back or struggle.
‘always a pacsifist’ Blaze thought to herself. She kicked out at the blonde boy, forcing her foot into his ribs. “Get out of here you little douchebag.” She said, glaring at the boy. “All of you, just screw off, I should have your parents take this out of your asses, but I don’t have the time.”
A small stampede tore it’s way out of the schoolyard, leaving Blaze alone with the brown haired boy, who was trying to wipe at his nose. She held a hand out to him, smiling kindly.
“Come on Skye, get up.”
He took her hand and pulled himself to his feet. His nose had stopped gushing blood, now only a slow trickle wound it’s way down his face, stopping just above his lip.
“They got you good, huh? You know, you should learn to fight, just to protect yourself.” Blaze said while handing him a strip of fabric out of her pocket. She didn’t know how it got there, things just found their way in there sometimes. He took it and started wiping under his nose, trying to get the blood off before it got too crusty. Skye looked at the ground, saying nothing. Blaze had already tried this before, her brother just wasn’t a fighter, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt a fly.
“I can’t keep protecting you forever, you know?” She said to him, pushing the issue. He turned and started walking towards the road, deflecting her question. Blaze rolled her eyes, he could be such a child sometimes.
Skye looked down at his cloak sadly as they walked, a piece of the red fabric was barley hanging on by a thread at the bottom, Blaze made a mental note to cut that part off when Skye wasn’t looking. Blaze decided to ask Skye again, if anything it would fill the silence.
“You know, I could teach you to use a sword, or-“ The sound of metal hitting pavement interrupted Blaze, a few feet away from her a small cylindrical object rolled on the ground. The fire spilling out of either end is what caught her attention, she looked to the sky searching for anything suspicious among the buildings. Atop one of the skyscrapers, a large figure stood on a ledge. It’s tannish leathery wings spread to their full width, it groaned loudly, the screeching echoed off of the surrounding buildings. It pulled another cylinder out of it’s bag pulled a string attached to the middle, and threw it as far as it could.
Another cylinder fell from the sky, followed by a shrill, eardrum shattering screech, and then the sound of more metal hitting the ground and the roofs of the low residential buildings. What Blaze saw when she looked up at the roof of a tall building confirmed her fears.
“They’re firebombing us!” She yelled. People in the street started to panic, tripping over themselves and each other in a frenzy. Blaze turned to Skye, grabbing his shoulders to make sure he was paying attention.
“Skye, you have to go. Run and don’t stop until you reach the forest, Byron and I will meet you there later.”
“But what about the house, shouldn’t we-“ he tried to protest.
“Just get out of here!” Blaze cut him off, pushing him into a run.
Searing flames flared out towards the street as Blaze ran, trying to reach home before it was too late. The smell of burning wood and flesh filled the air, choking her and making her eyes sting. Screaming people rushed past in droves, pushing and climbing over each other, only concerned with their own survival. Fear gripped Blaze’s heart, images of Byron, trapped, unconscious, like their mother, flashed through her mind. She bit the inside of her cheek and pushed them away, determined not to give in to her growing anxiety. Her feet pounded against the pavement, every step making it harder to breathe and see; she stopped for a minute to pull her goggles down over her eyes.
Blaze wandered through the smoke into a particularly narrow alleyway. Glancing around to get her bearings, she found herself closer to home than she had imagined, she let out a relieved sigh before dashing towards the street again, heading for the tallest building she could see through the smoke. Road gave way to muddy grass and iron gates greeted her, smoke pouring from them, going to retrieve anything inside would be a suicide mission.
She heard a yell to her left, and found Byron defending himself against a [reaper]. The deformed, humanlike creature screeched and brought its spear down towards his head, he blocked, catching it between the twin prongs of its blade with an old pipe. A second [reaper] descended behind him, going in for a stab, Blaze ran in and knocked the spear away, the shock of the weapons colliding made its way up her arms. She was back to back with Byron now, digging her feet into the ground she prepared to block another strike; she deflected the blow and used the chance to go in for one of her own. She caught the [reaper] across the face, sending to sprawling back to the ground; Byron spun out of the way of an attack and struck the other one in the back of the head.
“Where’s Skye?” He shouted, trying to be heard over the roaring of the burning buildings.
“He’s in the forest, come on!” Blaze replied, taking off in a run.
Byron struggled to keep up; the burn scars on his legs felt tight and were aching terribly. Last time they were firebombed he had gone back into their house, to try and save their mother; she was dead by the time he got there. He shook his thoughts of the past off as they ran on and on, past burning houses and screaming people.
They tried not to watch as parents went into smoke filled doorways to save their children, who were still trapped inside, screaming out to be saved. The stink of death was so strong that they could taste it, lone children called out for their parents and siblings, searching for something familiar in the streets that they could no longer call home. The raging inferno seemed to engulf everything, turning homes to ash in mere minutes, and fracturing families forever.
Injured people wandered the streets, feeling their way through the smoke, seeking an end to their pain. Many had already succumbed to smoke inhalation; they acted as stumbling blocks in Blaze and Byron’s path, littering the road like old garbage.
Turning a corner, Blaze’s foot brushed against something, it moaned in response to her boot touching it. She looked down at the source of the sound; an old man slumped against the wall. His clothes hung off of him in scorched rags, exposing charred, cracked skin. Spots of pink, red and even black dotted his face, hands and arms. He looked up at Blaze, his lone working eye bloodshot and full of pain, whether the other was swollen or burned shut, she decided she would rather not think about.
“K-kill m-me.” He moaned weakly, causing blood to trickle lazily from his cracked lips.
Blaze fought the onslaught of nausea that threatened to make her lose control of her stomach. The man would die a slow, painful death if he were left alone; Blaze knew that, but killing someone who wasn’t trying to kill her really wasn’t something she was okay with. She thought back to their mother, who met a similar fate; making someone suffer through that would be too cruel. Blaze steeled herself, raising her wooden sword above her head, the man closed his eye and smiled, silently thanking her for what she was about to do. She brought her sword down, spattering blood on the wall behind him. Slipping her sword back into her belt loop, she took off running again with Byron not far behind.
As Blaze and Byron ran, the buildings gradually spaced out, going from clusters of houses with only cramped alleys between them, to free standing houses and spacious roads. The fire was still in the innermost part of town, where it was most crowded, but it was spreading. [reapers] were still dropping firebombs occasionally, and they were moving outwards. They seemed to be determined to burn every inch of the place to the ground, and Blaze couldn’t work out why that was, there wasn’t anything of particular value in the city, nothing that anyone would want.
When the red, flashing lights of the radio tower cutting through the smoke came into Blaze’s view, a surge of relief washed over her, their lives weren’t in danger anymore, [reapers] weren’t smart enough to follow more than a few orders at a time, and they were busy with destroying the city. The hard packed soil beneath her feet had a comforting familiarity to it, along with the dust that swirled around with every step she took. Blaze felt more at home out here than she ever did among the tall, grey buildings that obscured the sky.
Byron looked up at the sky, hoping to find some semblance of direction; smoke obscured everything, turning the usually dimly lit, foggy sky, into a blank, grey abyss. He sighed and resigned himself to following behind Blaze; she knew the outer areas better than him anyway. He worriedly gazed at the sword at her side, brown, worn wood was now covered in drying red, dents and nicks filled with blood. Blaze was used to killing by now, he knew that, but it made Byron worry that she didn’t seem too torn up about that old man. He absently wondered if their dad would think he failed as an older brother.
The night stretched on as Byron and Blaze made their way towards the forest, it was visible on the horizon, but never seemed any closer, as if it was taking a step back every so often. The wind at their backs was still hot, blowing off the town, carrying with it the ashes of shattered lives and broken families. Blaze wondered how long it would be before they could go back; the optimist in her said that it wouldn’t be long, that she shouldn’t worry so much. Her instincts told her otherwise, they said to run, run as far as she could and never look back.
Byron was still silent, nothing felt like it needed to be said, reassurances would fall on deaf ears for either of them; they didn’t put much faith in empty words. Their home was gone, everything they knew, what was left of a normal life for them had just been ripped away. Words couldn’t bring it back; they both knew this, yet the idea of explaining it to Skye left both of them searching their minds for the right words, trying to find a way to tell him, while still shielding him from the horrible truth.
As the trees on the horizon grew in front of them, Blaze and Byron slowed their pace, no need to hurry this far from town. Blaze turned back to look off into the distance, the city was still aglow with the inferno; she thought that, from this distance, it looked almost beautiful, like the last embers of a dying fire. A soft voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
“Hey, Blaze… that you?” Skye said, peering out from behind a tree.
“Yeah, me and Byron, come on out.”
He stepped out of his hiding place, and made his way towards her tenativly, making sure there were no enemies around. Once Skye was sure of their safety, he ran to Blaze, catching her in a gentle hug, while trying to avoid irritating any burns. After a moment he turned to Byron and did the same to him.
“So, how bad is it?” He asked.
Blaze and Byron stood silently, still trying to find a way to break the news to Skye. Blaze decided the honestly would be the best policy this time, She opened her mouth to speak, and was cut off by Byron.
“Not that bad, but it’ll be a while before we can go back.” He lied, not meeting Skye’s eyes.
Blaze glared at him in response, but let her gaze soften when Skye looked back to her, she couldn’t tell him now, not when he had hope. She peered into the forest, looking for any signs of danger, nothing seemed to be stirring, and the animals were either asleep or scared of them.
The chilly fall wind reminded Blaze of the fact that it was imperative to find somewhere to sleep, she inwardly groaned at the thought of having to sleep on the cold ground tonight, but the exhaustion that tugged at her mind won out. A large, hollow tree trunk caught her attention, it wasn’t anything special, but at least it would offer a little shelter from the bite of the wind.
Blaze tried to make herself comfortable, Skye slept with his back against hers for warmth. Byron was to stubborn to sleep near either of them, so he sat with his back against the tree, shivering occasionally as the cold seeped into his skin, making to muscles tense involuntarily. Blaze laid awake for a while, thinking about the old man, the children screaming for their parents, and her own mother. Fourteen years had passed since the last firebombing, why start again now? Still wondering about the motivation behind the attack, Blaze fell into a dreamless sleep.
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Draft number Two:
A chilled fall wind blew through the struts of the broken down radio tower Blaze was perched in, sitting in silence, the girl watched as dark rain clouds blew in over the barren landscape that the residents of (Townname) called their home. A shiver ran through her, spurred on by the creaking wooden wall of a small shack that housed various antiqued pieces of equipment. All of which was either broken or useless, these days it just sat gathering dust in cobwebby solitude.
A sigh escaped her, and, disappointed, she turned from the Grey on even grayer view. A small droplet landed on the tip of her nose as she set foot on the rusty ladder, and she gasped slightly as the cold metal came into contact with her hands. Rain began to pelt her as she neared the ground, and taking care to not slip, she descended faster than she would have liked, taking care to avoid the jagged spurs of metal that protruded where unfortunate hands has not worn them down.
Blaze Dismounted the ladder, and with a slight, petulant glare, she saluted the guard waiting to take her place at the top. Gray, gritty mud squished beneath her boots and more and more clung to the black, well worn canvas with every step. She sighed again, Mud to dust, Dust to mud, it didn't matter anymore, everything and everyone was always coated in the silty earth that their city was built on. In her clothes, in her food, in the bath, she couldn't escape it.
Thunder crashed overhead and she broke into run, Splashing onto the ruined sidewalks as she went. Sometimes she wondered why the even bothered with them, except for the military, no one had a car, and there was no military base in town. Children laughed and jumped into the brown puddles that gathered in the many cracks and potholes that ran through the road. Blaze snorted, so much for 'look both ways before crossing the road.' She passed the High school, a small, one room building constructed of rickety boards, a slight breeze blew and the wood creaked in protest, threatening to fall on the few occupants who bothered with education after they were thirteen. Blaze admired them, the people who wanted to better themselves for the good of the community. It just wasn't what she wanted out of life. The town guard was more up her alley, and, among other things, they needed the money, so at fourteen years old, she signed the papers and agreed to give her time and energy to the people. There are worse lots in life than breaking up bar fights and killing the occasional looters, she supposed.
Tall, ominous buildings loomed over the streets as she moved into the business district, gray concrete with exposed rebar and wood patched holes was common fare among the dilapidated skyscrapers. For as long as Blaze could remember they had been deemed too dangerous to enter by the town officials, and were left to rot in solitude, save for the odd moron looking to add a little adventure to their day. Unfortunately for them, and anyone that got sucked into their vortex of stupidity, their “Expeditions” As they were sometimes called by those too self deluded to know a stupid idea when they saw one, almost always ended in disaster for all involved. A shudder ran through Blaze at the particularly unpleasant memory of having her leg re-broken and set in three places after she tried to help a trapped man across a rescue ladder and he panicked, fell, and grabbed her, taking them both down and through the rotted first floor to a non accessible basement. They were rescued as soon as the team could get into the room, but by that time they reached them, the leg had started to knit wrong.
Outside of the forbidden buildings, merchants yelled prices and product names at passing people, who, for the most part, ignored them. A large amount of the population was forced to forage through heaps of refuse, trying to find something salvageable, and although it was illegal, a good find could put food on the table for a while. Blaze stopped at a small stall, The butcher's haul laid out on the shabby wood. Nothing looked good today, Some deer that had already been chewed on and giant rats were all he had, she turned her back on it and left, stomach growling in protest.
Finally she came to her destination, A tall, beige building made of crumbling bricks with a fenced off entry. A guard, who's name escaped her at the moment, stood by the gate with a single, shiny key clipped to his belt. As she approached, he stood at attention and saluted.
“Please don't do that.” Blaze said, “I'm not on duty right now.”
He relaxed
“Yes ma’am!” The boy yelped enthusiastic.
Blaze rolled her eyes, An enthusiastic new recruit was the last thing her nerves needed right now.
“Look, Kid.... Uhm, What's your name?”
“Marcus ma’am”
“Right... Marcus, you can go now, I’m here. I can hold down the fort. Just.... Go patrol or something.”
She said while waving off in the direction she arrived from.
“Yes ma’am”
Blaze inwardly groaned as he handed the key over and scampered off.
After passing the rusty chain link fence and gaping hole in the masonry where the door should have been, she was met with the almost darkness of the building's interior. A set of wooden stairs led up to two rows of apartments, each with it's own address painted on the door. When she came to 5328, she knocked, and then after getting no reply, pulled her keys out of her jacket pocket, and let herself in. She cursed inwardly as she tripped over the jumble of shoes by the doorway, none of which were hers. Boys, she thought to herself, could be rather hypocritical sometimes.
She flipped on the bathroom light, and after locking the door, despite being the only person home, Turned the shower on and stepped in. A blast of cold water pelted her, and shrieking and cursing, she stumbled backwards out of the shower. Grumbling to herself, she picked her soaked clothes up and tossed them into a corner, onto the ever growing pile that the three busy, and slightly irresponsible young people who inhabited the small home almost never bothered to wash.
After changing into a Dry set of clothes, Blaze Wandered into the kitchen. She opened the cabinets that she knew would almost certainly be empty, and was not disappointed. Salt, pepper, and cinnamon were the only things in the house at the moment. Her stomach growled and she thought, Maybe... She remembered the last time she tried to eat cinnamon straight from the bottle, Her brother Byron, had dared her.
“Just do it!” He goaded, looking around for their father “Everyone in (Townname2) says that if you can do it, you're really tough, and if not, you're a chicken!”
“I'm NOT a Chicken!” She whined, and stuck the tablespoon in her mouth.
A few seconds passed, and a cough rose to the back of her throat. Brown powder spewed out her mouth, forming a cloud in front of her.
“Ha Ha Blaze! You look like a dragon!” Byron laughed, but was quickly silenced by a quickly expanding pool of vomit around his shoes. They were both grounded for a week.
After wandering into the small, cluttered living room, Blaze flopped onto the couch, sinking into the blue, somewhat dusty cushions. Absent-mindlessly she stared up at the ceiling, blank white plaster dotted with small bits of water damage here and there, she should really have someone come and fix that. Threads frayed between her fingers as she lazily picked at a hole in the couch, in the back of her mind a small voice was nagging her to just fix it before it got worse, laziness won out and she continued pulling at loose threads. A hazy feeling washed over her, and after a monster of a yawn, she dozed off as the early afternoon sun finally peeked out from behind the clouds.
Blaze awoke to the quiet closing latch of the front door, Groggily, she pushed herself into a half-sitting position, she cracked an eye open and was overcome with a brief panic. There was someone in the house with her, a male, and he was approaching her slowly. Alarmed, she sat bolt upright. Her fear subsided when he spoke.
“Hey Blaze, sleeping the day away?” Byron chided lightly.
“Hello, I think,” She grumbled, “Is the word you're looking for.”
He chuckled a bit before flopping down on the couch next to her. A puff of dust rose up around them, and he sneezed. An uncomfortable silence settled over the room as the two sibling sat side by side, each trying to find a conversation starter. After five minutes of nothing but quiet hanging between them, Byron spoke.
“I know you're mad at me.”
“I don't want to talk about it...” Blaze replied, hastily looking anywhere but Bryon’s general direction.
“You know I couldn't take you with me.” He said quietly. Always level headed, Byron was.
“The hell you couldn't” She spat back at him “ Ever think maybe I’m good for more than bar fights?”
“I just wanted to keep you safe. You and I both know what can happen at those meetings.”
“It's my Job, Byron. You of all people should realize that you need someone you can trust there.”
“I don't trust you. You would get yourself into trouble. You don't know how to keep your mouth shut when it would benefit you, Blaze.” He growled, Raising his voice a bit at the end.
“At some point you have to treat me like an adult.”
“Tough s**t. Start acting like one.”
Blaze pulled her boots on, and stood from the couch abruptly.
“I'm gonna go meet Skye.” she huffed.
Byron remained silent. Blaze buttoned the front of her still soaked jacket and stepped into the darkness of the buildings interior. She slammed the door, and stomped down the stairs.
The weather had taken a turn for the better, warm sunlight shone down on the rain drenched streets and buildings giving them an almost beautiful shine. The air smelt of fresh things and the slight breeze carried the scent all throughout the city. However, all of this did nothing to elevate blaze's mood. As much as she already knew that Byron didn't trust her, hearing him say it aloud dealt a serious blow to her ego, and pushed her down into an inescapable funk of seething anger that was just begging to be taken out on someone. She tried to push it down, for Skye's sake. If she ever hurt him in any way she might not be able to live with herself.
By the time Blaze reached the high school, The ground had dried considerably, and a thin layer of dust settled on the surface, blowing around in the wind and puffing up every time a boot landed. As she approached the school, A crowd of students came into view. They had gathered themselves in a circle, blocking something in the middle from view. Blaze heard a yell emanate from the center of the kids, and after struggling through a mass of adolescent adrenaline, she was forcibly ejected into the center.
On the ground, two boys were fighting. The larger had the smaller pinned under him, he raised his fist to strike the boy. A boot landed in his ribs before he could throw his punch. After coughing for a moment, he lunged at his attacker. Blaze easily avoided the tackle, and watched as the large boy charged directly into the crowd of unsuspecting teenagers.
“City guard. Go home. Now.” She growled at them.
None of them moved from where they were standing.
“NOW!” She barked “Or I could take you all to the station. I'm sure your parents would love to take the fine out of your asses.”
The crowd moved, tentatively dispersing from the schoolyard. Blaze reached out to the boy on the ground.
“Another fight, Skye?” she scolded him.
He nodded, and swiped at the sticky mess of dried blood under his nose.
“Did you at least fight back this time?”
He was silent for a moment. “I don't want to fight.”
“Sometimes you have to.” Blaze sighed. “If you let this go it'll just keep happening. Maybe if you kicked his scrawny a** he would leave you alone.”
Skye slouched a little. Staring at the ground, he kicked up a cloud of dust. He knew what was coming next, and a sigh escaped him.
“You know... I could teach you how to fight. Maybe with a sword, a weapon on your belt would discourage anyone who wanted to mess with you.”
There it was. It wasn't that Skye was particularly weak, or even averse to violence. He was, I reality, a self admitted coward. Taking a risk was not a fathomable idea in his mind, and he would rather let someone else handle the unpredictability in his life. Shutting his sister down made him feel horrid, though.
“Fine.” He whispered.
“...And, I mean, I know you probably don't want to or anything, but, really you need to learn sometime.” Blaze babbled on, unaware of his answer.
“Fine, I said.” He said, a bit louder, this time.
“R-Really?” Blaze asked, wide eyed and perplexed. “I never really expected you to say yes.”
“Yeah, really.” He replied “But, can we go easier this time? I was sore for weeks when you taught me last.”
“Haha, Not a chance!” Blaze laughed, clapping him on the back.
Skye winced a bit as the bruises on his back were aggravated, but tried to keep a smile on his face.
“Uhm, Sorry...” Blaze apologized, with a sheepish grin.
“S'fine.”
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Now, Obviously, Draft number two isn't finished yet, but i'm only working on it a little bit at a time, and didn't want to wait for input from other people. Yay for impatience.