It was cold....
Too cold.....relatively, at least....considering there was a fifty foot tall, fire breathing, soul crushing demon, somewhere behind the big boulder they were currently hiding behind, and it had been vomiting flames all over the place some minutes ago.
Well.. maybe calling it soul crushing was too much; they didn't know that... yet.
As if the deafening sounds of footsteps that monster was creating weren't already enough, they could hear them drawing closer, the noise reverbrating throughout the seemingly endless cave they were in. A large gust of wind rushed past the boulder on both sides.
'The bastard just loves flapping his wings, doesn't he?' Axle thought to himself.
Judging by how fast that thing could move and how long it took for the wind to get to them, Axle calculated that they had at least forty seconds before it would pass them... how he could do that, he didn't know.
It...
It was walking in their direction, but not towards them. It was searching for them, and yet seemingly unaware that it was going to pass by them soon...
None of them knew exactly what it was... It might have been a dragon, but dragons didn't have four ridiculously large wings, ten horns and skin that looked like liquid gold.....or maybe they did....maybe all those cartoons and movies, that he had dedicated his life to watching, had all been terribly wrong... maybe.... maybe.....
Thirty two seconds.....
'You know what, screw it!'... This wasn't the time for regrets. His friends were waiting for his signal. He had to stay focused.
Twenty four seconds...
There had to be a reason for all this... Sār couldn't have sent them here just to die...
Eleven seconds...
Those horns... they were actually just two but they both branched into five on each side.....
Eight seconds...
Its snout came into view on their left side, high in the air and fuming. They quickly moved to the right, behind the boulder to avoid being seen, making sure to stay completely out of its view.
Five...
...and they all seemed like they were carved out of black crystal...
Four...
Two large wings touched the ground, dangerously close to the boulder they were hiding behind.
The steps had become unbearably loud, but they had to endure...
Three...
The tail of the beast had just started going past them.
Their hearts were furiously pounding...
Two...
Axle looked to his friends...
It was either a harsh whisper or a small shout... they didn't care; they only heard one thing...
"Run!"
It was a simple and acheivable plan really, wait till the monster passed and run in the opposite direction towards the exit - the mirror they had come in through.
But in the history of things going wrong... this was probably a legendary example...
They had barely gone a few metres when, suddenly, the large tail that had seemed so far away seconds ago, whipped in their direction, too fast for them to dodge... the slim but thick tip of the tail swept them off their feet all at once...
By the time they had finished uprooting their faces from the sandy floor, the massive creature was already looming over them..., and they turned just in time for them to see the inside of it's already opened mouth glowing a hot white...
**************
"Another day... another weird dream," Axle said to himself, having just woken up from sleep.
It actually wasn't just another day. Today was his birthday. He was finally and officially seventeen. He could finally be free from Hailey's teasing...
He chuckled at the thought.
He knew he could never really be free from her teasing, today would grant just a few moments of respite, but that would be it. She would quickly find other topics to tease him about, and resume the age topic when she turned eighteen in ten months.
Besides, even if she stopped, there was every guarantee that Ash and Keno would encourage her to continue... You would think that he would be supported by his fellow guys. Only Lyssa seemed to support him, albeit in silence.
He moved himself to a sitting position, his back resting on the headboard of the bed, legs still tucked under the warm duvet.
There was nothing much to his room... Just the basics. A bed, a wooden wardrobe to his right and a bedside drawer to his left, there was only one lamp on the drawer and that was the only source of light in the room apart from the natural light coming in from the windows. The holographic clock on the drawer said the time was ten forty-seven. The walls were blue and the wood work was masterfully crafted. There were different symbols on the frames and engravings of runic symbols, floating islands and, on the headboard of his bed, three suns.
With a sigh, he got up from bed and headed out of the room, going straight for the bathroom.
The room door creaked open and moments later he was infront of the bathroom mirror, a toothbrush in his mouth and a cell phone in his hands, notifications indicating missed texts from his friends and a reminder for an assignment he had to do. The mirror reflected a well maintained bathroom, not too large and equipped only with neccesities... well, except for the jaccuzi he had had installed two weeks ago... his eye caught it, as it always did every morning for the past two weeks. With a small shake of his head and as much of a chuckle as his toothbrush would allow, he remembered why exactly he had gotten it. Like with all teens, it was the result of peer pressure, except his own friends had just wanted a chance to soak in the jacuzzi when next they came for a sleepover... which was the day after he had installed it.
He turned back to his reflection.
He was finally seventeen.
His dark, wavy hair fell in front of his eyes and he ran his fingers through it, tucking a few strands behind his ears. He had elf ears, yes, Hailey teased him about them, a slightly pointed nose, she teased him about that too, and piercing blue gray eyes... that was one thing she didn't tease him about.
His blue eyes... his parents always praised him about them.
His mood dampened as the thought of his parents crossed his mind.
"No sad thoughts today," he mumbled to himself.
He rinsed his mouth and moved to enter the shower, the reflection of the jacuzzi caught his eye...
"Just ten minutes", he said to himself.
Forty-five minutes later, he stepped out of the bathroom and straight into his room3 and threw on a light gray t-shirt, a blue jacket and a black pair of ripped jeans, making sure to pick up his black ring from the drawer. He hadn't forgotten the countless texts his friends had sent, so he decided to meet up with them. As he walked down the stairs to the ground floor, he planned his day in his head. There wasn't actually anything he had to plan though, Keno probably had mad ideas about how they would celebrate and if he knew his friends well - which he did - they were definitely on board with making him go through that stress.
He got to the kitchen and opened a cupboard, picking out a box of cereal and then a bowl from the dish rack. Carrying them past the kitchen island to the table, he tried to remember what it was that he was forgetting.
His phone rang.
"No breakfast for me I guess," he said picking up the phone.
"What is it, Ken?", he said.
Keno laughed on the other end.
"Typical Axle, grumpy on your birthday"
"Hurry up and get over here, fart face. You want us to start the celebrations without you?" Hailey's eager voice sounded in the background. He sighed and shook his head. "Birthday celebrations without the birthday celebrant... What worries me is that this is the smartest thing you've said all week, Hailey" "Hey, hey, hey," Ashton's voice came on. "How about you come over here and have this epic diss battle face to face with Hailey, huh? 'Cos I know you're trying to create an excuse not to step out of the house today," he said with a small laugh. "A good morning to you too Ash. Where exactly is there?" "Uhm, Axle... Hi, i just texted you the location, so err... yeah" Lyssa's sweet and nervous voice came throught the phone. "Oh thanks, it's nice to know at least one of my friends has a good heart. I'll be there in ten" "Tick tock, butt head" Hailey said and hung up the call. Shaking his head at the fact that he didn't get to retaliate, Axle turned his attention back to the cereal box and bowl in front of him. "Milk..." He walked to the fridge, basking, for a moment, in the cold air it released when he opened it. He picked up the almost empty milk carton and turned his eyes back to the almost empty fridge. Making a mental note to restock on groceries on his way back from whatever his friends had planned, he walked back to the kitchen table and poured the rest of the milk into the bowl. As he tipped the cereal box, he imagined the little pieces as people escaping an out-of-control plane, chuckling at his own silliness. Eight minutes later he was outside his house. he looked at his phone and shook his head, mumbling something inaudible. He placed his palm on a panel on the door of his house, an electric warble sounded and the panel glowed red. A notification came in on his phone to tell him the house had been locked. He used his thumb to push a hidden button on the underside of his ring; a line that went around it flashed blue for a second and the ring vibrated slightly. The sound of gears and moving machinery was heard and a black hoverboard floated out from behind the house and eased up beside him, above his ankles. It looked like a skatebaord without wheels and he liked it that way. Others usually had neon lights built into theirs so they could have that dragging light effect when they were going fast, but he didn't care much for that so he left it plain black. What he did have, though, was the same runic carvings as the ones on the headboard of his bed, just because they seemed soothing and made his plain board look more like a magical item than a product of technology.
He lived in a really spaced out neighborhood, meaning you'd have to go at least a quarter mile out before you could get the next house. Just how he liked it - not too close, just far enough. He climbed onto his hoverboard, some small claw-like things came out of it and latched onto the soles of his shoes, then he leaned forward and an electrical hum sounded from the board as moved and picked up speed. Axle weaved through the traffic of people, some on skateboards, bikes or some other tech toy they managed to get their hands on, others on foot or on the levitating benches on the sidewalks. He was passively observing as the see-through roads changed colors, from neon-green on lanes for all vehicle types, electric-blue for hovering vehicles only, red on roads where an accident had occured and no color for those that were just being constructed or fixed. They weren't actually roads... more like underground tunnels with transparent roofs. Either way, there was much more space for people to move around up here.
He flew past streets and buildings and shops with hovering signs and security drones before finally leaning back a little to ease up in front of the location Lyssa had sent to him.
A colorful sign hovered above the diner and it read "Rosco's Eatz" - their hangout spot.
The first place their parents met. He could see them in the corner through the glass walls of the front of the diner and he could tell they had seen him too, as Ash and Keno held up carboards cut-outs of the words "Happy" and "Birthday", frantically waving them at him, Hailey had a carboard cut-out too... it said "Idiot" with a big heart beside it, and she had a big smile on her face... Shy Lyssa was there too, with a birthday cake in one hand and a thumbs-up cutout in the other
He broke into laughter as he used his ring to deactivate his board and then carry it in one hand.
The almost seamless glass wall parted into a double sliding door with a slight hiss as he approached, exposing the sounds of people, cutlery and machinery, and then closed behind him as he walked through.
He took a deep breath, taking in the aromas of the many dishes on Rosco's menu.
The diner itself was built with the kitchen at the center and a counter and display cases going all the way round. Rosco himself was at the counter facing the entrance, attending to a customer. Axle waved at the stubby man, who returned a smile and a thumbs-up, and then turned in the direction his friends were sitting, studying them for a few moments.
Lyssa and Hailey's seats were facing his direction so it was their faces he saw first.
Lyssa had her ivory hair tied in a bun, two strands on either side of her face, accentuating her Asian features and dark yellow eyes. She wasn't wearing any jewelry, just a cream colored, off-shoulder sweater with black shoulder straps, dark brown cargo pants and plain white sneakers. People usually thought she was younger than she really was because of her face and five foot four frame, but she wasn't exactly bothered whenever that happened.
Hailey though... Hailey would absolutely flare up on her behalf. She was barely two inches taller, had dirty blonde hair and a more matured face looking every bit the Greek she was. One could only catch her soft when she shed tears from those brown eyes of hers and even that barely happened. Her choice of dressing was a red leather jacket with a black top underneath, a blue jean skirt with multiple hanging belts and black, knee-high, leather boots with simple bold stud earrings and a gold bracelet.
Ashton and Keno turned, as if sensing his gaze.
They were basically brothers from different parents... Same dirt brown hair color, same scheming strategies, even very identical tastes and hobbies, except, Ash was a light-skinned African. He had his hair tied behind his head and his was very naturally curly. Keno's hair didn't really go past his ears that much, he was half Russian and half British and he didn't really fancy long hair that much. They wore matching black hoodies, typical of them, but Keno had prints on his black jeans and blue sneakers, while Ashton had just plain blue jeans and gray sneakers on. Both of them had different eye colors too, Keno had the green eyes and Ashton's were just grey.
Axle took a deep breath, bringing himself back to the present.
He walked over to the table where his friends were and he had barely sat down when Keno spoke.
"You're late!" "I'll be there in ten" Hailey said in a silly mimicking tone. "We were worried the cake would melt before you got here", said Allyssa as she tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear. On instinct Axle started to count down from three... two... "Correction!," Keno interjected, as if on cue. "You were worried. We would've eaten at least half of it by now if not for your meddling," he added, shaking his fist in the air for added dramatism.
There was a happy and content expression on Axle's face. His voice carrying the same feelings as he spoke,
"Thanks a lot guys. It... It really means a lot to me that I have you as friends... Yes, even you Hailey", he added with a laugh, "But i can't help but feel like this isn't everything you have planned..., or am i wrong?"
"Whatever do you mean, good sir?" Ash asked, managing to stiffle a laugh
"See...!", he exclaimed, gesturing towards Ashton with open palms, "Ash only does that whack Old London impression when he's planned something with Keno. And judging by all your reactions, you're all aware and on-board with whatever it is. So, spill...". He leaned back on the chair and crossed his arms.
"Sigh..." said Hailey, "We were gonna tell you anyways, might as well just do it now. Over to you Ken"
Ken sat up, eager to speak.
"Well... since you're part of the big boy club now..."
Axle scoffed and raised a hand. "Big boy club my foot! Just in case you forgot, you and Ash turned seventeen just last month. You may proceed..."
"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, to be an official member of this club," he glared daringly at Axle and then continued, "you need an initiation ritual. And we decided yours would be to face your biggest fear...", he ended, feeling proud of himself. Axle's ears perked up.
"Hah! Told you he'd do the elf thing. Hand it over Ash." Hailey exclaimed and faced Ashton. Axle stayed quiet for a moment and then said,
"I heard two words I don't seem to like right now, ritual and fear... Explain yourself..."