Sparks and Flames

by CS Patra

  “My mother works in a bank and my father has his own business. We manufacture candy and toys,” she said. “Um, I’m the youngest of three girls. You already met Midori and my eldest sister, Mayuri, actually lives further away in Beltan. She goes to school there. We were actually adopted by the Benton family years ago. That’s why I don’t look like my mother and father. Look, I have a picture.”

  She showed him the family photo and he saw what she meant. The parents looked nothing like their daughters. Her father had blond hair that was thinning, a blond mustache, and warm brown eyes. Their mother was a redhead with sparkling green eyes and freckles over her creamy complexion. However, they all looked like a happy family. He caught sight of the young Rukia in her purple dress, staring blankly at the camera. It was as though she didn’t know how to react towards it. Her hair didn’t have those blue streaks in it back then but he could tell it was her. She had been a cute girl in the past.

  “Here you go.” He handed her the photo back. “I wish I could show you a picture of my family but I didn’t bring it with me. I really am half-Indian, half-Puerto Rico though.”

  “Oh, I believe you. Now you’ve got to answer me why a guy from the Velt ended up here. What were you looking for?”

  He couldn’t tell her the truth so he had to think fast and lie. “I wasn’t invited to the party, but I know some people up here so they let me in.”

  “I see.” She didn’t opt to question it further. “What is it like living in the Velt?”

  “Harder than you think. We work hard and I have a lot of people that I care about living there. Unfortunately, we’re so far down in this line that I don’t think we’ll see any improvements. The government doesn’t seem to care about anyone in the Velt. That’s the sole reason why I’ve never been able to go to school. We just don’t have enough money.”

  “Oh, I wish I could give you some of my money,” she said, looking down at her purse and taking out a few bills. “In fact, keep these.”

  “What? No, I couldn’t take your money!” He exclaimed, pushing it back. “I’m not that poor, Rukia. I do have money to last me the next few weeks. It may not be much but I’ll survive. I promise you that much.”

  “I want you to have it though.”

  “I’m telling you no. I won’t take it.” He closed her fingers over the money. “I appreciate this, but you should keep your own money. I’ll make mine.”

  “If you insist…” She put the money away. “I really do want to help you.”

  “When I need help, I’ll let you know,” he said, wondering if he should have taken the money. It wasn’t often that a lovely young lady offered to give him anything. “I can’t thank you enough for all your help back there. I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t around.”

  “I told you; thank my sister and the fact that she carries her cricket bat everywhere. I swear, she’s glued to that thing.” Rukia shook her head. “I told her that she looked strange, but she says it comes handy.”

  “Well, it certainly came handy in this situation. If she didn’t have that, I think I would have been a goner,” Kian said. “I have to thank you as well.”

  “Me? What did I do?”

  “Take me out of that crazy place,” he said. “I was getting bored and tired of the noise and crowds. Even before Oda got to me, I wanted to leave. I’m glad you were here because I couldn’t handle it any longer.”

  “In that case, I think you saved me. I was also getting bored of the party,” Rukia said. “I told Midori that I wanted to go home, but she said we had to stay. It was just to be polite. Frankly, I don’t think anyone should be polite to Oda. That man is a creep.”

  “Your parents just made you go to his party alone?”

  “Well, they did let Midori go with me and you can see how good she is with a cricket bat. I don’t think I have anything to worry about.”

  He smirked. “When can I see you again, Miss Rukia Benton? I would like to thank you properly.”

  “You don’t have to do that but if you really insist…” She smiled at him. “Let’s go out tomorrow night then. Do you have any plans?”

  “None whatsoever. Do you?”

  “No. I think that tomorrow night would be great. Come up to my house in Calensa.” She drew a little map on a napkin. “Here, this is how you can get there. I’m drawing it from where Oda’s house is. Since you know how to get there already, I thought that was a good starting point.”

  “Good, good. I can give you a ride then.”

  “You don’t need to give me anything. I can meet you anywhere you want to go.”

  “Please allow me to give you a ride on my bicycle though. I haven’t ridden it in ages and I’ve always wanted to take someone on it,” he said. “I’ll be very careful when riding it though. I promise you that.”

  He looked so cute with his puppy-like green eyes that she couldn’t find the heart to say no. “Okay, fine. You can take me on your bicycle if that will make you happy.”

  “Yes, it will!” He exclaimed. “Thank you, Rukia! I promise that you’re not going to regret it!”

  “I look forward to spending more time with you, Kian,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s fate or what that got us together, but I have a feeling we’ll see a lot of each other.”

  Deep down, Kian was feeling the same thing. He knew this wasn’t the last he would see of Rukia Benton.

  Chapter 5

  Kian was a little upset that he wasn’t able to get Oda like he wanted. The rest of the group had done their part, but he couldn’t finish it off. He would normally feel lousier than this, but that wasn’t the case tonight. Tonight there was a different feeling in the air. He owed it all to that girl Rukia. She made him feel a little different inside and he liked it. He just wished he had killed Oda first and this night would have been perfect.

  I let that piece of slime slip through my fingers. He thought. Rukia’s sister is the one who took care of him, not me. Even still, I don’t think she killed him. Just gave him a good beating. While he deserves that, he deserves to die more.

  He had to push aside the thoughts of his failure. He thought about Rukia and how sweet she had been. She was unlike any girl that he had met before. Much like Dominica, she told the truth, but she didn’t have the strength that Dominica had. She was more fragile and looked like she could break if someone pushed her. The blue streaks in her hair shone in the moonlight when they were walking. No doubt this girl had come from a town like Calensa. She deserved to be showered with gifts and expensive things. He wasn’t the kind of person who could give her what she needed.

  He could still picture Rukia in that pretty blue dress with the corset tied tightly around her back. She didn’t seem like she was suffering while wearing something like that. He also loved those blue streaks in her hair. He longed to run his fingers through them. Maybe if he got lucky enough to get close to her, he would get his chance.

  Now he had changed out of his fancy clothes and was back in his hunting gear. He had no reason to change, but he felt more comfortable in them. He could walk around freely wearing this and everyone would know who he was. They would have no reason to fear him unless they were Elementals. He had no intention of hunting anything tonight so they could all sleep soundly. All he wanted to do was get home and lie down in his bed. This had been a long night with ups and downs. At the end of it all, he hadn’t completed his mission.

  Velt, Velt, same old smelly Velt. He thought as he made his way towards the headquarters. The lights were out and most of the people had already gone to bed. There were mice and other critters running around on the streets. He didn’t want to feel like he hated his home. He had plenty of friends who lived here and people were nice to him. He just wished that they all had a better living situation.

  His heavy boots dragged him down the streets of his neighborhood. It looked so sad with its houses that were falling apart. There were children out on the streets with barely a
nything on their backs. He shuddered as he kept walking and wishing that he could do something for them. He tried from time to time to give them things to make them happy. The one thing that they all loved was pencils. It didn’t matter if they were sharpened or not, they were just glad to have them. They were also very fond of markers and paper. Above all, they loved books. They were trying to learn to read at school so they could read the books that people donated. These were a way for them to escape the horrible world that they had been thrust in. Just seeing their faces light up was enough to warm anyone’s cold, dead heart.

  You kids deserve so much better. He thought. You deserve more than the Velt could ever give you and then some. It’s just not fair how things ended up for all of us.

  As he was passing the headquarters, he heard someone call out his name and he looked up. A black girl was waving towards him so he walked to her. It seemed like something was urgent so he decided to ask her about it. “What’s going on, Dominica?”

  She blinked. “That’s it? That’s all you can say to me? I’ve been waiting for you for hours! You should have been back here well before the rest of us!”

  He sighed. “I failed my mission, okay? Well, something happened and he got away. I couldn’t kill him tonight. I froze up at the worst time imaginable.”

  Her face softened. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No, he just got a little close a few times. It’s okay though. I’m fine.”

  He expected this kind of caring to come from her. Dominica was the leader of one of his smaller groups and the closest thing that he had to a friend. She was the one who was proud when he earned his rank as Lieutenant and always listened to his stories on how his hunts went.

  “What happened, Lieutenant? What really happened? You disappeared for a long time,” she pointed out.

  “I got a little side-tracked with the mission,” he admitted. “I almost had the enemy but he slipped through my grasp. You can blame all those other partygoers for foiling my otherwise perfect plan. That’s all there is to my story.”

  “It’s all right. It happens to the best of us. You will get him next time,” she promised.

  “That’s the one bad thing. The man was wasted, but he saw my face. What if he tells others about me?” He asked. “I have to kill him as soon as possible.”

  “Did you tell him what you were?”

  “No, but he guessed I wasn’t there to be friends with him,” he murmured. “I had to pretend I was weak and vulnerable. He almost took advantage of that until…”

  He trailed off as he thought about Rukia and her beautiful blue-streaked hair. Her sister might have been the savior but Rukia had also saved him by getting him out. She had been the one to take some time to talk to him. In a way, he enjoyed getting to know her. It was the first time he felt like a teenager. They were talking in a coffee shop and enjoying each other’s company.

  “What happened after that?” Dominica asked.

  “I was saved by some crazy partygoers,” he said. It was partially true. What Midori Benton had done was a very crazy thing. He could still picture how angry she had been and how she came down on Oda with her cricket bat. “They burst into the room and stopped him from doing what he was doing. I let my guard down too easily. I won’t do it again,” he narrowed his gaze. “If I have to burn the whole town down to get to him, I will.”

  “Well, don’t jump to that conclusion yet. I’m sure you will get him without needing to hurt anyone else in the process,” she said. “You better get home now. Your mother was asking how things were going.”

  He nodded. It was times like this that he forgot about his parents. They hadn’t been too thrilled when he mentioned he was joining the hunters. They immediately talked about how young he was and how dangerous Elementals were. His father wanted him to quit this and go to college like all the other good men did. However, Kian knew that it was a war out there. College wasn’t going to help them get out of the Velt. They were already working hard, but they needed to win the battles. For that reason, he went against his parents’ wishes and joined the hunters. It didn’t take long for him to go up ranks and soon become one of the best hunters out there. It wasn’t enough to change his parents’ minds, but it was enough for them to accept how good he was. For that reason, he hadn’t been kicked out of the house.

  “I will talk to her later,” he decided. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll see you at our next meeting. Hopefully, we won’t have to keep planning on attacks against this man. If I see him again, I’m not leaving without his blood stained on my body.”

  When he got in the house, he noted that both of his parents were asleep. They had left the light on for him as well as his dinner underneath a metal dome. There was a note telling him how long to heat it. He put it in the microwave, warmed it up, and sat down at the table. Rukia Benton was the one thing he had not counted on tonight. He had never made a friend that lived in Calensa before. That town was essentially paved in gold. It was going to be strange going to it tomorrow.

  He got his food and started to eat as he thought about Rukia. She was cute and very nice but he couldn’t stay with her for long. He had spent his entire life being the best Lieutenant that the hunters had ever seen. He still had plans to take down all the Elementals if he could help it. This world needed to be a better place. He didn’t have time to waste on anything else. However, Rukia was fun to be around. Maybe the next time, the date would be more quiet and personal. He had promised to bring his bike to her house. Normally, he would have driven to Calensa but this would be more fun. He needed more exercise anyway.

  He went down to the garage where his bike was and pulled the sheet off it. It had been ages since he had last ridden on it. These days, he used a car to get around. The Velt also had public transportation even though it wasn’t very reliable. However, when he wanted some exercise and he hadn’t gotten it in a while, he would take out the bike. It was sturdy enough to hold two people but he wondered if Rukia would be able to balance on it.

  I guess I won’t find out until she sits on it. He decided, getting on the bike and riding it around the room for a bit. The tires were a little flat but that was no issue. He could fill those back up with air before he went to pick her up. When he was younger, he used to be an expert at riding the bike. He was able to go backwards, pop a wheelie, and even bike without using his hands. Now that he was older, he saw no use for the bicycle anymore. He didn’t bother trying any tricks with it. All he needed was to make sure that he could still ride it.

  He got on the bike and tried to pedal it in place. His feet felt like they were made of lead but that was because he hadn’t ridden it in a while. Once he had it on the road, he would feel like himself on it. He liked biking for one reason; it made him feel like a child again. It made him feel like he had something to live for. The idea of just being on that open road with the breeze going through his hair was heavenly to him.

  One of these days, I’m going to ride this bike over the hills. He thought. I’m going to ride out of the Velt and go as far as I can. I’ll start my life somewhere else.

  It was a beautiful thought and he wanted to make it a reality. He just had to wait and be patient. All those good things would come to him soon. Maybe they were just around the corner.

  They had to be.

  Chapter 6

  Kian had a very sleepless night as he cursed himself for failing to get Oda the night before. He had no idea how he let his guard fall but that’s exactly what happened. He owed it to the young girl that had died. She was never going to rest in peace unless he ended Oda’s life once and for all. The next time he ran into him, he would make sure he didn’t come out unscathed. He was itching to get something on him; a knife, a bullet, anything would suffice. Although he wasn’t too fond of guns, he was willing to use them against Oda. He just wanted that creep out of the universe forever.

  Hope he slept well last night because it’s the last time he’ll get a good night’s sleep.
He cracked his knuckles and threw some punches in the air. Whenever he was frustrated, he liked to practice fighting someone. It made him feel a little better. The only other thing that could clear his mind was a bike ride to Rukia’s place. She had texted him the directions overnight so now he had an idea of where to go.

  In the morning, he filled the tires up with air so he could be able to ride up to Calensa. As he passed by the houses, he was amazed at how much of a difference it was from the Velt. Here, all the houses had a roof for starters. They were all so pretty and lined up next to each other. The road was much smoother to ride on as well. He didn’t find himself trying to struggle through mud as he rode through the streets. There were no people crawling around or beggars on the corners.

  He pulled up to Rukia’s house where she was waiting for him outside. He stopped the bike and motioned her to come over. “What do you think? I’m a man of my word.”

  “You came on time,” she noted as he pulled up his bicycle. “You weren’t kidding when you said you were going to give me a ride.”