Sci Fi & Fantasy / The Druid Prologue, Chapter 1-2

The Druid                                Prologue

I don’t know why I’m on my way to public school. I was perfectly content being home schooled. Why they would send me to public school baffled me. I couldn’t let anyone know who or what I was. It felt like a predestined failure. I didn’t like this place, and I didn’t like these people. How does someone make friends when you have to hide who you are?

The flowers told me rain was coming, and the trees’ whispers confirmed it. The leaves were turning because it was going to be a strong storm. These signs came to me so naturally I seldom gave it a second thought.

We raced down the road as I watched the stripes of the highway blaze past in a blur. We were almost there. How the hell did they expect me to fit in here? I knew I was special, more like ‘Special Ed,’ they might think. I had read enough to know I wouldn’t fit it. I was not good in sports and didn’t have a single athletic bone in my body. Botany and Biology had been my key forms of education. Yeah, this is going to suck.

I leaned against the door, hoping it might open unexpectedly and throw me against the pavement, to my death. I wasn’t that lucky. We pulled into the parking spaces in front of the massive school.

Mixed emotions flooded my mind as I crawled reluctantly from the car. What was I to do? Just stop? I didn’t want to be here. I made my way through the masses of people to the principal’s office. I could feel their thoughts. They were all so very confused. Half truths and skewed reality were going to have to be my way if I wanted to blend in with these, people. It felt so strange to have to suddenly hide parts of me that had been encouraged over the last few years.

“You are special, Ty,” Mark told me.

“Don’t use your special abilities. You must blend in here! We’ve taught you all we know,” Kent reminded me.

“Great, no pressure there,” I thought as I stood amongst the throng of people pushing past me. I hated it. So many thoughts and feelings brushed against me that I felt smothered.

These people hurt too much for words. How in the hell would I ever blend in here? I tucked myself into the hooded sweatshirt that covered me, and sat on the plastic chair in the administrative office, waiting for my class schedule. I half-heartedly hoped they would forget me.

“Charleson, Ty, come into my office please.” Mr. Kard announced.

I slumped into one of the two chairs that sat before his desk. “Yes, Sir,” I whispered.

“I hear you have been home schooled, Ty,” he said, almost indignantly. I could feel his disdain against my skin.

The school principal was a pudgy man with a crooked nose, grey hair, and a pedophile for a son. I could read his thoughts as if they were my own. He had also been skimming the school’s books and I instantly despised him. He was a self important ass, as were most people, and I could feel his insecurity quickly replaced by a sick self-imposed authority. He was a bad man.

“Yes, sir,” I answered.

“You turn seventeen this year, according to your file,” Mr. Kard said.

I nodded my reply.

“Well, then, I’ll assume you are ready for your Junior year,” he said as he squinted his eyes in my direction.

It didn’t help my worry, knowing this man hated me on sight. He thought that my family and our ways were strange. And I knew why. I could see it in his mind. He had had a tryst with my uncle Trent during his childhood. It flashed across his mind and I could feel his tension, among other things.

“You’re already late for class,” he said with a knowing grin. He didn’t really care. He only hoped for my discomfort.

I nodded and made my way through the concrete halls to gym class. I stood in the doorway outside of the gym . Mr. Durgo finally noticed me, though I had hoped he wouldn’t.

They had been playing dodge ball. I knew the game. I had read about it. I think there had even been a movie about it some time back, but I couldn’t remember the name. I could feel the vehemence they shared. I couldn’t explain it more than that. They hated and wanted to hurt each other. I knew that at least some of these people had to consider each other friends, so that puzzled me even more.

The red bloated balls all came flying toward me. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I caught each and dropped them. The ones I couldn’t manage to catch, I dodged. This wasn’t my way. I could feel Mr. Durgo’s agitation at me for not being in uniform. I wanted to rush to the closeted space that I saw in his mind where they changed clothes. I could also see the sick pleasure he got from it.

What kind of man took this kind of pleasure from our embarrassment? I wasn’t going to fit in here. I could feel his sadness from having divorced earlier this year. He had lost a daughter, too, and was sad and angry.

Welcome to Gym class. I was so angry with Kent and Mark for leaving me here. It didn’t matter. I was here and I didn’t have any choice.

“It’s okay, you know,” I whispered to him.

Durgo just stood, staring at me. His anger was building and I hadn’t done a thing. I had only offered him the slightest bit of comfort. He was in so much pain.

The class ended at the tone of the bell. The speakers announced the end of our class and we had to rush to be ready for the next. There would be no time for showering today.

“I’m sorry.” I told him, and I meant it. I guess I shouldn’t have said it. I didn’t know we weren’t supposed to feel here. This was such a strange world for me.

I spent several classes buzzing about in my mind. English class had been the best. We had begun reading “Hamlet.” A tortured soul to say the least, but no less tortured than these fools. I had read it ages ago and thought it was fabulous.

One body drew my attention more than most. His name was Brian. He was blond haired, average build, short, and cute. His world was a nightmare of pain, and he kept to himself. He didn’t talk much with the rest of the guys, which made me like him even more. His green eyes flashed in my direction and I quickly hid myself behind my book. I had to keep quiet.

I looked into his memory. He had a full heart waiting to love. Unfortunately it had been toughened up by too much misery. These people had too much baggage. I knew from their thoughts that High School was not a place of fun and free love. Worlds hinged on perception. This place sucked! Even worse, homosexuality burned across their minds like a bull’s eye. They perceived it as some detestable thing and, at the very least, prized information to torment you with. Here, they all thought it was wrong! How was I supposed to work with that!? I wanted desperately to go back to my world at home. Surely there was more they could teach me there.

By the end of the day I had reduced three of my teachers to tears. I hadn’t meant to, but I couldn’t control my sympathy. I am an empathic Druid. I feel. The ‘Circle’ had called it my failing. I had felt their disappointment. I knew it with their words, as much as their hearts. It wasn’t my fault.

The day had finally ended and I stood outside the school, waiting. Kent pulled up in front of the school in our old black Chevy truck. I climbed in and slammed the door. I had hoped the sound would push away these people’s pain. I could still feel it pressing against my skin.

“Get me out of here, Uncle Kent,” I begged. The tears were welling in my eyes. I didn’t want to feel for these people. There was so much despair and I hated this place. They had to have known what it would do to me.

“Why?” I asked as the tears rolled down my cheeks.

My heart ached and I didn’t know what hurt me more, the fact that they knew, or that they didn’t seem to care.

“This is the year of fire, Ty,” Kent answered. He glanced at me like I should know what it meant. I did know, but I didn’t want to accept it.

Chapter 1                                             Beginnings

    
            School had begun like so many times before.  This year though, I was forced to attend public school.  My first day had been horrible.  I had alienated three teachers and, most likely, the entire student body.  
  
It was August.  The sun beat down, waning in strength.  The days were growing shorter and the nights colder.  It was the season of death, and the land was preparing for its long winter slumber.  
  
            It would have been easier if they had been honest with me.  Kent and Mark were trying to acclimate me to my surroundings.  I could see the plan in Kent’s mind.
  
            “Hey!  Back off, Ty,” Kent warned.
  
            “Sorry, Uncle Kent,” I said.  I hadn’t been subtle enough as I dug through his thoughts and he had felt it.  
  
            I listened as the gravel crunched beneath the tires of our old Chevy.  I found my answer though.  They wanted me to become accustomed to the real world.  
  
            “Look, I know it’s hard, Ty.” Kent said.
  
            I doubted he knew how difficult my first day had been though.   I was tempted to push the feelings of my day through him so he would really know.  It was a side of him I hadn’t felt before.  He seemed shut off and absolute.  
  
            “You have to learn to cope with those around you.  This is the real world, Ty,” he said, as we turned another corner.
  
            I watched as the corn blurred past my window.  I wanted to think of anything but this day and he was pushing me.  I lay my head against the glass of the window.  I wanted a safe oblivious place to rest my mind.  We hit a pothole and my head bounced against the glass.  It hadn’t been hard enough to cause a bruise or bump, but it was enough to pull me from my thoughts.
  
            I felt the anger rising in me and I fought it.  Anger is a useless emotion.  It never served any purpose and their teachings read through my mind like a manual.    I heard the words from previous lessons almost as clearly as if they had spoken them
  
            “We have to leave you for a while, Ty.” Kent said, in an even tone.
  
            “Leave me?  What do you mean you have to leave me?” I asked.  My emotions ran rampant, surging through him.  I could have probably stopped it, but I didn’t want to.  
  
            “You’re leaving?” I asked again. “How can you leave me?”   I was nearly hysterical.  My day at school had been bad enough, and now this?
  
            Uncle Kent drove up the long dirt and gravel driveway that led to our house.  He stopped at the top of the curve that wound around to our home.  He shifted into park, but didn’t stop the engine.  He was serious!
  
            I hadn’t paid much attention to the bags in the bed of the truck.  I plunged into his mind like a dagger.
  
            “Stop!” he shouted at me.  He sounded angrier than I had ever heard him.  He had never spoken to me this way, and it hurt.  
  
            “All of the bills are paid and everything is taken care of.  It isn’t like we are going to be gone forever.  We’ll be back when you need us, Ty,” he said, looking into his lap.
  
            “I need you now!” I yelled.  “Please don’t go!” I begged, my eyes brimming with tears.  
  
            “Get out of the truck.” Kent said, with no emotion.
  
            What in the hell was going on?  I looked into his eyes for some clue, but found nothing.
  
            I grabbed my backpack from the floor and opened the door.  I climbed out and let my backpack fall to the ground with a thud.  Kent honked the horn and moments later Mark came through the side door of our home.  I left my bag sitting beside the truck and ran to him.  He pulled me into a hug.
  
            “Please don’t leave me here alone. Uncle Mark!” I begged.
  
            He gave me a tight squeeze and released me.  
  
            “If you can stop us, then we might stay,” he whispered.  I could sense his mixed emotions.  
  
            Mark moved past me and to the truck.  He pulled open the door and climbed in.  
  
            “Arawn, grant me your favor!”  I yelled, raising my arms to the sky.
  
            The wind picked up and pressed against my skin.  Dark clouds filled the sky above us. Giant gray billowing clouds pushed away the red and gold of sunset.  More and more clouds filled the sky as I concentrated.  They coalesced and lightning built between them, echoing rumbles of thunder.  I’d never attempted to invoke such power before, but  I had never wanted anything so badly either.  
  
            Four bolts of lightning blazed down to the earth behind our truck creating a deep furrow in the ground.  The smell of ozone and the deafening claps of thunder filled the air.  The crashing noise broke my concentration and another bolt of lightning tore downward and struck the gravel road in front of our house.  The impact sent rocks and dirt flying in all directions.  The winds blew harder, making it difficult to stand.
  
            “Control your storm, Ty!” Mark yelled.
  
            I raised my head and took back control of the storm.  Thunder and lightning were flashing between the clouds and I was afraid the next bolt might land where I was standing or even worse, on our truck!
  
            “Thank you, Arawn, be at peace,” I yelled, slowly bringing my arms back to my side.  The storm calmed and dissipated as fast as it had come.
  
            I looked at Kent.  “Will you please stay?” I said.
  
            “Ty, we love you, but you have to learn this on your own.  You must learn control.  If the ‘Circle’ were to find out that you possess this power, they would take you from us.  We didn’t push you like we should have in the past, and now you must make up for our mistake,” Kent said, and then turned off the ignition and stepped out of the truck.
  
            I ran to him and we hugged.  It felt like I was saying goodbye forever.  
  
            “Do you have to go?” I asked.
  
            “Yes, but we’ll be here when you need us.  Now, please listen to me carefully.  You can’t let the students in your school flood you with emotion.  You are going to have to learn to close yourself off for your own sake.  You can’t talk to people as though you have known them their entire lives.  They aren’t Druid, you know this!” Kent said, giving me another tight squeeze before releasing me.  
  
            “Go hug your uncle goodbye and be careful,” Kent said as a tear rolled down his cheek.
  
            I ran around the front of the truck and into Mark’s arms for one final hug.  
  
            “You lied to me,” I said.
  
            “No, Ty, I didn’t lie.  I told you we might stay, and we would have if you hadn’t been able to call higher power.  Practice every chance you get and don’t let your fear control you.  I love you,” Mark said with a sniff and released me.
  
            “I love you too, Uncle Mark,” I said as I wiped away my tears.  
  
            My uncles got back in the truck and started it up again.  They pulled forward and did a U turn through the yard and stopped.  It didn’t occur to me to place the lightning strikes in front of the truck.  
  
            “And fix the driveway!” Kent yelled, giving me a final wave.  The truck started moving again and I watched as their tail lights traced the way down our driveway and onto the road.  The sound of the rumbling engine of the old truck faded into the distance as they drove away.
  
            I walked to the old rusted metal shed beside the house and got the shovel.  I filled in the holes in the driveway and patted them down as best I could.  I listened to the cicada as they called the night with their shrill song.  The sun had finally set, and the cold damp air sent a small shiver through my body.  My mind was numb and my body tired.  It had been a long day.  I put the shovel back into the shed and shut the rickety door with a creak.
  
            The harvest moon had passed, and the local farmers had all but finished gathering their crops.  The sweet smell of corn and damp earth seemed to permeate the air as the wind pressed against me.  We had some hills in this rural area of Illinois, but it was mostly flatland.  You could see for miles.  There seemed to be a constant blast of wind on our hilltop, and I was glad.  The hottest days of summer seemed to push away the breeze that now chilled me.
  
            I entered the house through the side door, letting the weathered wood-framed screendoor slam behind me.  I had barely kicked off my sandals on the landing before I heard Shadow’s nails clicking against the tiled kitchen floor.  She ran up to me and bounced against my legs.  I bent over and gathered her in my arms and carried her through the kitchen and into the living room while she covered me with doggy kisses.  I sat on our old couch and gave her a tight squeeze before laying back.  I rested my head against the arm of the couch and ran my fingers through her soft grey curly hair.  
  
            We had gotten her from the pound when I was twelve.  I had begged and begged for a dog, and had driven Kent and Mark nearly insane before they finally relented.  We went to the local humane society in Galesburg on a Saturday morning.  I remember looking at each and every dog as they hoped for their freedom.  I overheard two of the veterinary technicians talking about the poor cockapoo puppy that had contracted Parvo, and would probably not make it through the night.
  
            I walked behind the techs and into a small dark room that had a single metal cage.  The tiny curly grey haired puppy had been isolated from the others, to stop the spread of the killer virus.  She was just lying there asleep in her cage.  I had tapped on its edge to wake her, but she barely moved.  Her little grey blue puppy eyes opened.
  
            “Heya Shadow,” I whispered.  
  
            This was definitely my dog.  I felt her sickness and wrapped her in as much love as I could muster.  Her tiny tail gave a weak wag as I opened the cage door.  I ran my finger across the top of her head before picking her up and cradled her against my chest.  She was so weak.  
  
            The techs had heard the creaking of the metal hinges, and had come into the room.  They explained to me that she was very ill, and wasn’t going to make it.  They tried to take her from me but I had started yelling for my uncles.  She was mine, and that’s all there was to it.  The veterinarian on duty came in with my uncles and reached to take her from me.  Shadow gave the tiniest little growl in protest, before settling her head back against me.  The veterinarian couldn’t believe the sudden infusion of life this little puppy now possessed.
  
            An hour later we were home and I lay on my bed with her on my chest.  It was the best sleep I had ever had, as I felt her warm little body against my heart.  We slept together and by morning she was up and about, licking my face.
  
            She has grown a lot since then.  I’ve snuck her too much people food over the last few years, and she has fattened up to almost twenty five pounds.  She was a little overweight, but not by much.  Shadow was spoiled in every way, and I loved her with all my heart.
  
            I felt her nuzzle her cold wet nose against my chin as I ran my fingers through the soft fur of her back.
  
            “I know, I know,” I said as I yawned.  “Let’s get ready for bed.”
  
            Shadow hopped to the floor with a thump, before shaking her body from head to toe.  
  
            “At least I still have you,” I said, rising from the couch.  
  
Our back porch had been sealed in to make it part of the house, and it was now my personal garden.  I had spent a lot of time in that room over the years, tending to my many herbs.  I walked through the house, listening to the old wooden floor creaking beneath my feet, with Shadow close behind me.  I entered my garden through the heavy wooden door.  I flipped on the light in my make shift greenhouse and checked the soil of my nearby aloe plant for moisture.  Watering them could wait until tomorrow.  
  
I flipped off the light and shut the door behind me.  I had almost forgotten to lock the door.  It had become a recent and difficult to remember habit of ours.  I made my way across the living room and into the kitchen and locked the side door and then, finally, the back door that we almost never used.  It was still locked from the days before.  The damp air, blowing through the windows, promised a chilly morning.  I went through the house, in my nightly ritual, and shut and locked them all.
  
Finally, Shadow and I went upstairs.  I passed the now empty bedroom that usually held my uncles.  I entered the bathroom, stripped down, and took a long hot shower.  After drying off, I gathered up my clothes and traipsed down the hall and into my bedroom.  The drying moisture on my body gave me a slight chill as the wind tossed the thin white curtains around my window.  The light from the hallway stretched across my bedroom floor, and made the curtains look like fingers clawing in and out of darkness.  
  
            Rain had started while I was in the shower, and I closed my windows all but the last inch.  I loved the rain.  It seemed to bring the scent of nature to the wind.  I turned on the alarm of the small clock radio that sat beside my futon bed on the floor.  Shadow had already climbed onto the futon and was waiting for me to join her.  I flipped off the light in the hallway and slowly knelt down onto the futon.  I crawled across it and pulled the covers down.  I slipped under them and bunched them against the pillow beside my head.  That was Shadow’s spot.  She tugged at them with her paws for a few moments, before finally fluffing them to her liking and settling down to sleep.
  
            The alarm blasted me from sleep.  I was dreaming and all I could remember was the earth cracking beneath my feet.  I couldn’t remember the image so much as the sound.  It was like someone had taken a giant tree and broken it in half, right beside me.  I sat up in bed and reached through the darkness to find the switch to turn off the alarm.  It had already begun to annoy me.  I normally woke up at this time anyway and I resented having to be placed on some kind of timer to make sure I could go to ‘public’ school.  I wanted to bash the plastic thing into pieces, but resisted the urge.
  
            It was chilly and I pulled the covers around my shoulders as I sat half awake on my bed.  I stretched my jaws in a yawn, waiting for sleep to leave me.  That ever present silvery feeling made me stand and pull the covers with me toward the door to my room.  I chuckled, seeing Shadow sliding across the floor after me, unwilling to leave her spot.  I couldn’t blame her; I didn’t want to get up either.
  
            I reached behind the door and grabbed the robe from the hook.  I let the covers fall from my naked body and quickly wrapped the cold damn terrycloth around me.  Now, I really had to pee.  
  
            “Shadow, come on!” I called to her as I slipped on my house shoes.  
  
            I was half way down the stairs before I heard the familiar thud-thud of her following me.  I trudged through the kitchen and to the side door of the house.  After I unlocked and opened the heavy wooden door, Shadow nuzzled open the screen door and went trotting out before me.  I followed her out and pissed in the back yard.  I went back inside, started the coffee, and clicked on the furnace, while she finished her morning ritual.  I could feel the cold creeping up from the tile floor, through the cotton of my now damp house shoes as I sat at the kitchen table.  
  
I got up when I heard the familiar scrapes against the screen door that told me Shadow was ready to come in.  I let her in, and then shut the side door to keep out the cold.  The kitchen was strangly silent this morning.  Usually the uncles were already awake and the smell of almost-sausage and coffee filled the air.  This morning, only the quiet damp cold greeted me.  Almost-Sausage was what I called the vegetarian soy substitute we ate as part of our breakfast.  I was reminded time and time again how fortunate we were, that the modern world could now provide.  We didn’t eat meat, eggs, or fish.  It just wasn’t our way.
  
            I threw a couple of slices of bread into the toaster and pulled the margarine from the refrigerator.  The house had finally begun to warm up, and I thought that maybe I would leave the heat on tonight.  It was only going to get colder, and it would certainly help me wake up in the morning.  I liked it cold when I slept, but I didn’t like the fact that my nose had been colder than Shadow’s this morning.  I would leave the thermostat at 60 from now on.  It was my first executive decision.  I liked the feel of it.  
  
            The toaster startled me as it popped up my newly browned bread.  I threw in two more slices and buttered the ones I had placed on the counter.  I slathered the first two slices with a thin layer of peanut butter, while the second two slices toasted.  I had barely finished when the next two popped up.  I buttered them and then let them sit so that it would melt.  I carried our plates to the table and cut Shadow’s toast into small pieces after sitting down.  She did love toast, and I hated to eat in front of her.  It just didn’t seem right.  One peanut butter and one butter for each of us.  I got up, realizing I had forgotten my coffee, and poured me a cup and adding sugar.  I didn’t care for it black like the uncles.  
  
            I sat Shadow’s plate on the floor and we both scarffed down our breakfast.  The rain had stopped early in the night, and the rising sun was doing its best to burn off the remaining raindrops.  It peeked through the windows, almost blinding me.  I took our plate to the sink and rinsed them off.  The round white clock on the wall behind the kitchen table told me it was 6:30 and that I had an hour to get ready for ‘public’ school.  
  
            I filled the green plastic watering can with water from the kitchen faucet and lugged it to my herb garden.  I watered my plants and then returned to the kitchen and placed it at the side of the kitchen sink.  
  
            It was time to assess the chaos of my hair and get ready for the day.  I bounded up the stairs to the bathroom beside my room and looked at the brown mess of my shoulder length hair.  It looked as though I had been struck by lightning.  It was always like this when I woke.  Clumps of brown stuck out, defying gravity, while in other spots it smashed to my head.  
  
            I brushed my teeth and got dressed, finally shedding my robe and returning it to the hook on the back of my bedroom door.  I ran downstairs and washed my slightly curly brown hair in the kitchen sink hoping it would dry before I got to school.  I reminded Shadow to be good, and left her trapped in the house for the time I was away at school.  I waited at the end of our driveway before finally seeing the bus come to collect me.  It was 7:30.  I would have to remember that for the future, so I could better plan my mornings.
  
I climbed the steps to the bus.  It was packed with kids and I didn’t see anywhere to sit.  I was only a mile from town, and it seemed I was their last stop.  
  
“Sit down, please,” John, the bus driver, told me.
  
I glanced at him and then back to the faces that seemed to dared me to even look at them.  I felt their hate, but I wouldn’t acknowledge it.  Still, I was confused as to what to do.
  
“You can sit with me,” a quiet voice said.
  
I followed the sound to find Brian six seats back, sitting alone in the ugly green bench seat.  I moved through the aisle and plopped down beside him.
  
“Thanks,” I almost whispered.
  
“No problem,” he answered, and stared back out the window his shoulder rested against.
  
The bus lurched forward and soon we were in front of the high school, preparing to get off.  
  
“We’re in all the same classes,” Brian said, staring at the floor.
  
“Oh?” I answered.
  
“I’ll show you around if you want.  Help you to class and all that,” Brian offered.
  
“That would be great,” I answered.  “Thanks!”
  
We got off the bus and prepared for a brand new day.  The group of jocks that leaned against the flagpole didn’t inspire me, and I knew there was going to be trouble.

Chapter 2                                 The Dance

I walked beside Brian on the concrete death row, toward my new school, staring at the small colored pebbles that formed the sidewalk beneath my feet. I had hoped to make it past the flag pole and the jocks leaning against it.

I felt the one called Jerid O’Toole walking toward us and I braced myself.

“Yo, Brian!” Jerid yelled, shoving Brian’s shoulder knocking him into me. I was ready for it, and stopped Brian from falling. I felt the aggravation in Jerid for not having succeeded in pushing him to the ground.

“What the hell are you doing with ‘freak show’?” Jerid asked, while his friends followed, laughing.

I didn’t mind a nickname, but this one was definitely not on my preferred list. I watched as they surrounded us. Jerid gave Brian’s arm a strong pull, and threw him to the ground, leaving me in the center of them. I tried to go to Brian, to see if he was alright, but Jerid blocked my way and pushed me back. I could feel their hostility as it crawled up the center of my spine.

“So, I hear you live with those two old fags out on Orion Road,” Jerid spat at me.

“Four against one, you must be pretty scared of me,” I answered, ignoring his question, and let my book bag slide down my arm to the sidewalk. The fag comment didn’t bother me, but the fact that he pushed so much hate behind it, did. I was going to get my ass kicked.

“I’m not afraid of any faggot!” Jerid yelled, shoving me backwards, causing me to stumble and fall into the dew soaked grass.

We were quickly drawing a crowd as I rose from the ground and brushed myself off. A breeze pushed through the area and the Uncles’ wind whisper came to me. “Dance.”

I began the slow fluid motions of the dance of battle. My feet planted into the ground for balance as my arms arced to the sky in slow rounding circles.

“Ooo, the fag thinks he knows Karate,” Jerid yelled, and the growing crowd erupted into laughter around us.

It wasn’t Karate, it was a dance! I hadn’t learned to fight, had I? My heart was pounding and I felt sweat forming on my skin. I dove into Jerid’s mind, picking out his most hidden secrets and insecurities.

“What are you doing you stupid fag?” Jerid asked laughing.

“The dance of battle,” I said. “You still fishing through your mom’s underwear drawer hoping your other testicle will drop, half-a-man?” I was angry and spat out the words.

The crowd stepped back in sudden silence as Jerid’s face contorted from embarrassment to complete rage. I could feel Jerid’s embarrassment feed a now blinding rage as it coursed through his veins like molten lava.

Jerid ran toward me with an almost inhuman yell as I continued the dance. I spun around him in a crouch and sent him flying into the ring of people with the slightest push to his upper back. The boy had no balance. The uncles had taught me to fight after all. I just hadn’t realized it. ‘Crafty bastards,’ I thought.

Jerid’s three friends ran toward me from the crowd. I danced my way through them, sending them to the ground. It was like a strange waltz that only I knew the steps to, as I ducked and weaved between them.

“This battle is over,” I said, as the four of them lay on the ground moaning and bleeding.

I walked toward Brian as the crowd parted, giving me a wide birth. I wanted to see if he was alright. I felt Jerid running up behind me and knelt, extending my right leg behind me and into his groin. He fell to the ground with a vicious grunt.

“This battle is over,” I said even louder, turning to look back at him. Jerid was in the fetal position, rocking back and forth, groaning in pain.

I know I hadn’t done any real harm to him physically. Jerid’s pride, however, had suffered a mortal wound. His mind was awash with astonishment at having been beaten so quickly and absolutely, by a supposed ‘fag’. His embarrassment was growing exponentially and I could feel his tears pushing against the backs of his eyes. His withering ego brushed my heart like a fragile and tattered thing and I couldn’t help the flood of pity that went out to him, from my heart.

I stood again and made my way to Brian. He was nursing a nasty cut on his elbow from where he had fallen. I pulled some cobwebs from the almost skeletal bushes that dotted the front of the school. I gently took his arm in my hand and carefully pressed the cobwebs against the gash, and placed a leaf from the bushes over the area.

“Hold this in place; it will stop the bleeding,” I said as I knelt beside him, tending to the wound. I thanked the spider and bush with my thoughts.

“You okay?” I asked as I peered into his gold-flecked green eyes.

Brian sat for a moment looking at me wide eyed. “Uh, yeah,” he finally stammered. His lips curled into an almost imperceptible grin. He was astonished and filled with triumph from what I had just done. He was overflowing with the sensation of vindication and I worried. He had enjoyed Jerid’s humiliated too much.

We made our way to the front right pair of double doors of the school, when the principal, Mr. Kard, came bursting through the door. He grabbed my right fore-arm and sleeve, tearing my shirt.

“You’ll come with me young man!” he growled.

“Get your hands off of me!” I said, brusquely, surprised by the lower tone of my own voice. I spun my right arm in an arc around his, planted my feet, and slammed my left palm into his chest. He flew backwards nearly three feet and shattered the glass of the metal door with his impact. Luckily, the window was made of safety glass and didn’t follow him to the concrete below, where he now sat slumped, in a daze.

The disorientation was quickly leaving Mr. Kard. I rushed past him as I pushed Brian through the door, heading toward the principal’s office. It took a few moments for me to grasp the severity of what I had just done. I was quickly filling with dread, still not sure how far I had crossed the line.

“You better make yourself scarce. I’m not sure what’s going to happen now,” I said to Brian, softly.

I went through the office doorway, past the unit secretary, and straight to Mr. Kard’s office. As I was turning the doorknob to his office Ms. Sanders said, “Mr. Kard is not in at the moment. You’re not allowed in his office.”

“Trust me, he’s going to want to see me after he gets back up,” I mumbled and went into his office. I stood in front of his desk waiting.

It seemed like only seconds later that he came storming into his office and slammed the heavy wooden door behind him. He was seething with hate.

I changed my stance, sensing his desire to do more than just yell at me. Mr. Kard had been completely embarrassed and had lost any control over the anger he might have had moments ago.

“Who in the hell do you think you are!?” he bellowed.

The phone rang and he all but ripped it from his desk before speaking.

“Hello!” he answered with too much hostility.

The expression on his face changed almost instantly as I heard the words, ‘arrest,’ ‘assault,’ and ‘son of a bitch.’ I didn’t know who was on the other end of the phone, but they were tearing up his ass! Mr. Kard’s once blazing red face was now quickly losing its color. I heard the word ‘blowjob’ and knew it was Uncle Trent. They were keeping a close eye on me, and it made my heart yearn for their company and the quiet of our home.

“Yes,” he hissed into the phone and slammed it against the plastic base.

His eyes blazed with hatred as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his billfold.

“That’s for your shirt,” he grumbled, and threw a now crumpled twenty dollar bill at me.

“Now get the fuck out of my office,” he growled.

If the man didn’t calm down, he was going to have a heart attack. While he wasn’t my most favorite person in the world, I didn’t want him dead. I picked up the wadded bill, stuffed it into my pocket, and headed to class.

The bell sounded, signaling the three minute mark before class was to begin. The halls roared with noise as lockers slammed and whispers of this morning’s events traveled from mouth to ear.

Euphoria choked the air as Brian walked up behind me.

“In three minutes, you are going to be the most famous student this school has ever known,” he said in an excited but quiet voice. Brian was so timid.

“Try to behave yourself.” The wind whispered Kent’s message through the open classroom window as we walked to our seats.

Brian turned and gave me the strangest look. “Me? I think maybe you should try to behave before you get expelled,” he said with a smile.

“What?” I said. ‘Did he hear the wind whisper,’ I thought to myself as the second bell sounded.

I sat in my seat and tried to sort out what was going on while Mr. Franks took attendance. Brian gave me a small push from behind and pulled me from my daze.

“Ty Charleson.” I hard my name as my zoology teacher stood staring at me. I would bet this wasn’t the first time he had called my name.

“Here.” I answered.

“Ahhh, thank you for joining us,” he said, staring at me.

“Thank you for having me, Mr. Franks,” I answered sincerely.

A few giggles swept across the room as he peered at me through squinted eyes. He turned and continued taking roll.

“Man, you’re really pushing it today, aren’t you,” Brian whispered into my ear from the desk behind me.

‘What!’ I thought. I was going to have to block out all of this emotional noise. It felt like half the school was climbing out of their skin with the new story that would have to wait another 45 minutes to tell.

I closed my eyes and pushed away the emotions that jabbed at me like a thousand needles. I imagined an impenetrable second skin around myself that sealed me away from the chaos. The room had become deathly quiet and I opened my eyes.

It didn’t take any empathic skill to recognize the scowl on Mr. Frank’s face. The brown haired girl, who I later found was named Krista, was handing me a stack of text books. I quickly grabbed the pile from her, took one, and passed the remainder back to Brian.

“Copy the notes from the board,” he said, “and read Chapter 1. There will be a quiz at the beginning of class tomorrow.”

Mr. Franks centered his dark brown eyes on me. “I will expect complete silence for the rest of the class.”

My barrier was holding, but it was strange. At home there was still nature to feel in the silence. With this ‘second skin’ in place, however, it made everything seem almost fake. Everything had suddenly become tangible, but plastic. Even the breeze blowing in from the nearby windows didn’t seem to reach my skin. It was like making a snowball with gloves on. You could feel the cold, and firmness of the snow, but you didn’t experience the crunch and frozen bite as the flakes melted against your skin. Even though it was so foreign, I was thankful for the small bit of peace it brought my mind.

I opened my text book and stared at the first page of Chapter 1. I didn’t really read the words; instead, I followed the curve of the black lettering as my mind wandered. I wondered if Jerid and the others were okay. I was also a little worried that they would seek some form of retaliation, and if this was going to become a daily ritual. I wondered if Shadow was okay. She didn’t like being left home alone. Lastly, I wondered if Brian had actually heard the wind whisper, or if I had somehow imagined it. I was grateful I had missed this class yesterday. If it was this boring today, I can’t imagine what kind of mind numbing experience yesterday would have been.

I had been lost in my thoughts when the bell rang, nearly causing me to jump out of my seat.

“Come on, time for PE,” Brian said, slamming his book shut.

We stopped at his locker and he spilled his things into the bottom, without a care. A few lockers down we stopped at mine and I did the same. I was about to walk away, when I decided to give them a quick shove, giving them a little more order. I would have to get them back out eventually, and I didn’t like the mess.

We walked down the hallway and into the large gym. This school had two. In the winter the girls would occupy one, and the boys the other, or so Mr. Durgo had explained yesterday. Only on rare occasions would there be coed gym class. It was fine by me. I didn’t have any problems being around girls, I simply had no taste for them.

We trudged like cattle across the gym. The echoes seemed to bounce from every surface and back again. I could see the glances of the other students when they thought I wasn’t paying attention. I hadn’t noticed yesterday, but this group of boys seemed to revel in their own chaotic look. There were about thirty of us in all. There were a few well dressed young men. I have read it described as preppy. There were about eight or so that looked like they missed the class on personal hygiene, and the rest were in the darkest clothes. A couple even had makeup around their eyes and black painted fingernails. They were clean, but made an incredible attempt to look just the opposite. I had read about it. They were called gothic, and some articles called the style Emo. They didn’t care what anyone thought of their appearance, but went to great lengths to look a certain way. It seemed a little hypocritical to me.

One of the darker, more painted boys walked past me, gave a small nod, and grinned.

“That was epic. Nice job,” he said and continued to the area just before the entrance to the locker rooms.

The second bell sounded, indicating the beginning of class. We continued our stroll toward the rest of the boys now gathered. We finished the last few steps as Mr. Durgo walked through the locker room entranceway carrying a large cardboard box.

“Okay gentleman. Indicate your size, grab a lock, find a locker, and change for class. Now line up!” he yelled.

We merged into a single file line against the waist high wall of the stage that was the front of the gymnasium. Black metal framing and heavily varnished wooden collapsible bleachers lined the sides of the large basketball court. The far wall held a center hung blank score board, pennants of some kind, a couple of poorly painted murals, and a side entrance to the cafeteria.

“Size,” he said.

“Size,” he said louder.

I looked up to see Mr. Durgo staring at me.

“Size,” he practically yelled.

“Huh? Oh, uh, 30 shorts, medium shirt.” I answered.

A fatter man stood beside him. Mr. DePorter, the assistant PE coach/instructor, also taught the special education classes when not helping in PE. He rifled through the cardboard box, and shoved an ugly pair of green shorts, and a green and white shirt toward me.

“Medium,” he said as I took them and looked around for Brian. He was waiting at the entrance to the locker room.

“You’re really not with it today are you,” he asked me.

“No, I’ve never been in a school before,” I said.

“No shit?!” he gawked at me.

“No shit.” I answered with a grin.

“Get moving you two,” Mr. Durgo bellowed.

I followed Brian past the coach’s office and into the last doorway that led to the locker rooms. Inside the door was a metal basket with a pile of used and somewhat rusty combination locks. Brian grabbed one and I did the same, following him. We went to the row of lockers closest to the entrance to the showers, but about halfway down the row.

“Quick in, quick out,” he said to me.

I knew why I wouldn’t want to be in here long with a lot of beefy naked men, but I didn’t know why he would want to make it a quick visit. Now was not the time to try and feel what these guys were thinking. I was getting nervous. I couldn’t do anything that would make these people think I was gay. Just keep my eyes to the floor and get the job done. I resented the idea that I should have to hide it. By the time I had resolved myself to changing my clothes, Brian was already pulling down his pants. Woah.. look the other way. I busied myself with changing my clothes and looked up to see Brian waiting.

“The combination is on the tape. Memorize it, and throw it away.” He said.

“Oh, okay.” I answered.

I pealed the old brown tape from the bottom of the scratched up combination lock and hoped that the sloppy scribbles in blue ink were actually the numbers I thought they were. I tested the lock combination and pulled it open on the first try.

“Looks like you’ve done this before,” Brian said, popping open his lock.

“Nope, first time,” I answered, stuffing my clothes into the small tan locker next to his.

I followed Brian into the gym. Over half the class period had been spent getting us situated. We had finally all gathered against the risers.

“Well, since you spent most of my class changing clothes, I think you’ll run laps for the rest of the period.” Mr. Durgo bellowed.

Several groans were heard and we began a seemingly endless jog around the gymnasium. Working in the garden and around the house had kept me in shape, but it wasn’t long before I was panting like the rest of them and sweating up a storm. I was quickly beginning to build a dislike for Mr. Durgo.

“Okay, gentlemen, hit the showers,” he yelled and disappeared into his office.

We filed back into the locker room and landed on the bench in front of our lockers. People were undressing and wandering through the aisles to the shower area. Okay, rinse off, and get dressed. I fumbled with the combination lock, not having the same luck as my first try. I was nervous and uncomfortable. Nudity had never been an issue at our house but it was an issue here. I finally got the lock opened and fished out my regular school clothes and laid them on the bench. I stripped down and walked into my first high school group shower.

The speed at which they rinsed was amazing. I learned the skill after watching for a few quick, covert moments. Walk into the spray of water, close your eyes, spin around a couple of times, and get the hell out. Fleeting glances told me Brian was a true blond, and that most, if not all, of these guys were circumcised. I was not, and reminded myself that this really wasn’t the best time to think about it. Moments later I made it out of the locker room, clothed and without incident.

I found Brian leaning against the concrete wall near the locker room entrance as I walked out.

“Not bad for your first time,” he said grinning at me.

It seemed strange to me. Yesterday he had felt so cut off and beat down, and today he seemed almost, happy.

“Thanks,” I said, “Lunch time?”

“Yeah, they try to call it that,” Brian said as we started walking toward the cafeteria entrance.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this city doesn’t have a single stray cat,” he said.

“What!” I yelled, hearing my voice echo off the concrete walls.

“Relax!” he hissed at me, “it was a joke!” He stopped walking, flashed his green eyes at me and shook his head before starting again toward the line that was forming at the cafeteria entrance.

Yesterdays lunch period wasn’t a happy memory. I had gone through the line and collected my tray and slid it onto the metal rail. I stood in front of Doris as she glared back at me. She gave me the image of a very unhappy Viking woman whose hairnet was missing horns. She is a short thick woman of about 5 feet and the shoulders of a linebacker. We didn’t hit it off.

-—-----

“Lunch?” Doris barked at me.

“Yes please, salad,” I answered.

She took her hoof of a hand, clenched the two pronged spit, and stabbed it into the stew of dead cow and some kind of brown sauce that swirled in a deep square metal pan.

“Look kid, we don’t have salad here. You want lunch or not?” she asked, as her hand flexed on the skewer handle.

“I can’t eat that!” I said.

“What, you too good to eat my cooking?” Doris barked.

“It’s not that, I don’t eat meat. I can see a head of lettuce on that table behind you. Can I just have some of that?” I asked.

The fat puffy lids of her eyes almost squeezed shut as she turned and snatched the head of lettuce from the table behind her. She slammed it onto my tray, sending out a small spray of shattered green leaves.

“There you go, one salad, now move it. You’re holding up the line.” Doris growled.

‘A truly lovely woman,’ I thought. ‘I’ve seen more joy in a rotting carcass.’

I only ate a quarter of the head of lettuce and returned the rest to Doris after I had finished my ‘salad.’

“Excuse me,” I said softly.

“The names Doris, waddya want,” she gumbled without even turning around to see who she was speaking to.

“Could you save this for tomorrow?” I asked.

“Huh?” she said, turning. “Oh, you. Yeah, sure,” she said, snatching up the left over head of lettuce and chucked it into the large grey plastic trash can.”

“Beat it,” she snapped, turning back to her work.

‘Oh yeah… I could definitely feel the joy.’ I thought.

-—-—-

I had my tray again, and stood before Doris, trying not to stare at a large brown mole above her left eyebrow. Is that a hair? Today she stood behind a large metal tray of flattened breaded slabs of something.

“Lunch,” she barked, twisting a spear in one of the brown things.

“Yes, please, salad,” I answered.

Those fat lids pressed again for a moment while she stared at me. She turned around and this time presented me with a large bowl of lettuce, cheese, and chopped meats.

‘Well, she did try,’ I thought.

“Thank you, Doris,” I said.

“Move it kid, you’re holding up the line,” she snapped.

I looked out at the sea of tables and saw Brian waving me over to his. No one sat with him as he seemed to huddle in a nondescript corner of the room. That served me just fine. I walked through the ocean of students, riding their stares until I finally made my way to Brian’s table.

“What is that?” Brian asked, his jaw gaping open, as I sat down across from him.

“It’s a salad,” I answered as I picked the chucks of ham and, I suspected, turkey from the top of the lettuce.

“Doris made you that?” he asked, staring at me.

“Yeah, I don’t eat meat though,” I said as I finished fishing through the remaining cheese and lettuce.

“No fucking way!” he said quietly.

“She’s not very friendly, is she?” I said more than asked, as I began eating my salad.

“What?!” I asked, looking at him as he still stared.

“I’m waiting to see if it kills you,” Brian answered.

“Eat your dead animal, Brian,” I snapped.

We finished our lunch and the bell was due to ring soon. I stood up and started back toward Doris.

“What are you doing?” Brian asked.

“I need to talk to Doris,” I answered him.

“I have to see this,” he whispered.

We made our way to the serving area where Doris was busy at work at the table again. She was scrubbing on something. The movement from our angle was not very complimentary to her ‘figure.’ It reminded me of too many pilled up rubber toys in an earthquake.

“Excuse me, Doris,” I said softly.

“What is it?” she barked.

“Thank you for the salad but,” I paused as she seemed to hover and spin in place to glare at me.

“Well, I hate for you to go to so much trouble, when I don’t eat meat,” I said.

“Get the hell out of here kid,” she growled and turned back to her scrubbing at the table.

The bell rang and the next few classes seemed to drone on with nothing of importance I cared to remember.

I walked out the front doors of the school, behind Brian, as the last bell of the day rang. I whispered across the winds to my uncles, “Well, I made it through another day.”

“Barely,” Brian answered.

I stopped walking. That was twice he’d done that. He shouldn’t be able to hear. How could he be Druid and not know it? How could he be Druid and eat meat?

Brian turned to find I wasn’t still following. “Hey, you want a ride?” he almost yelled.

“Uh, no thanks, maybe tomorrow?” I asked.

Brian shrugged and continued walking toward the parking lot.

I found my bus and rode back to my garden, Shadow, and a lot of questions.

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