At the movie theater Liz found herself enthralled in Fu’s words. She was head over heels for this boy. He made her laugh and showered her with gifts and compliments. His soft eyes looked into hers, “You’re perfect Elizabeth. I know I haven’t known you for very long but now that I have met you I can’t imagine my life without you.” She stared at him in amazement.
Was he for real? Am I really in this movie theater with the hottest guy I’ve ever met and he likes me? She thought to herself. She could never think straight around him. Maybe this is love? She questioned herself.
After the movie they walked around town for awhile holding hands. The air was cool but Fu kept her warm. The restaurant ahead of them was playing music. Liz didn’t know the song but it had one of those beats that just made you want to move. Before she knew it Fu had grabbed her by the hand and dragged her over towards the restaurant. He started dancing next to her. At least she assumed he was dancing. She laughed and joined in however, Liz could actually dance while Fu looked like a fool. “Just the way you are,” by Bruno Mars came on once the rhythmic upbeat song they had been dancing to ceased. Liz laughed and was about to continue walking when Fu grabbed her once again. He pulled her into his arms and began to slow dance.
I crashed through the door in a fury. Adam’s shocked expression lay before me. I shook with rage and I was going to take it out on him. I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and smacked him into the wall behind him. “Where is he? I know you know! You have connections within the Snakes. That’s how you knew they broke into my house. Where is he, Adam?”
I screamed at him until my voice ran sore. What really got me was that his expression never changed. He looked at me calmly with his placid eyes waiting for me to cease my rampage. “Where is he?” I repeated.
“Let me go,” he told me. I released him. My anger had been drained out of me. I felt defeated. The only thing left was worry. Adam held me in his arms. Hot tears stung at my eyes but I refused to let them escape. His embrace was warm, I felt safe and secure, it was a feeling I never wanted to lose. Just the feel of his skin against mine calmed my body. “Adam, they took Brody. Why would they do that?” I questioned him.
“I don’t know hun but I’m going to find out.” He reassured me. He set me down and went to the telephone to make a call. With my anger somewhat subsided my head began to clear. Adam’s house was a mess. I suppose he never had time to clean it. In the corner stood Logan. I smiled at the sight of him. “Hey buddy what are you doing?” I called sweetly to him.
Was he shaking? “Logan, what’s wrong?” He flinched as I reached for him. Oh no, had he been there the whole time? I must have scared him. I went over to him and set him in my lap.
He squirmed and cried in my arms but I held him tightly until he hugged me back. I wiped the tears from his eyes and kissed his forehead. Had I really looked that frightening? “I’m sorry you had to see that,” I told him. He nestled his head against my chest. He wasn’t afraid anymore, that was good.
Adam walked back into the kitchen with a grim look on his face. “Put him to bed,” he told me. It wasn’t his bedtime but I did as he asked. Adam had called his neighbor, Peggy to come over and stay with Logan. When they were settled, Adam came back in the kitchen and faced me. Whatever Adam had to say it wasn’t good. I began mentally preparing myself for the news. Was Brody ok? I sat at the kitchen table waiting for Adam to speak. “We need to hurry,” he told me.
I stood up, “Then let’s go.”
“Emma I’m not precisely sure what is going on but we are going to need Carmen and Liz. The Snakes are stronger somehow. My friend says they are taking orders from a new guy that he has never met before. He says that something strange has happened to the rest of the crew. Scales began to grow along their skin and their eyes have a lizard-like appearance to them. He saying they’ve evolved into something inhuman and it all began when the new head honcho took over.
He thinks that the new guy must have drugged them or something. But Emma that’s not all, they know who you are. My friend didn’t know much, simply that their new leader was looking for someone by the name of Goldenflame.”
I sat there too stunned to say anything. This was my fault. I had put Brody in danger but how did this mysterious stranger know who I was and what did he want? Without saying anything I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Carmen’s number. I told her to grab Liz and meet us at Adam’s house. I let her know that it was urgent and then hung up.
“You know where their hide out is, right?” I asked Adam.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Do you know if Brody is ok?” My muscles tensed up as I awaited his answer.
“I don’t know Emma,” he looked down at the table, unable to look me in the eyes.
I stood up very decisively. “I’m going on ahead. When Carmen and Liz arrive let them know what’s going on and meet me there,” I told him.
He stood up as well, “I can’t let you go there alone.”
Carmen hadn’t even finished listening to the voice mail I
had left her; as soon as she heard Emma’s voice she sensed that there was something wrong. She jumped into her car and peeled out of her driveway. She had never heard Emma so anxious, she thought to herself.
Fu was in the middle of telling Liz a funny story about how he had pranked a friend of his when he lived in Brazil; the sound of screeching brakes and the smell of burnt rubber reached them. A red corvette had pulled up alongside of them with the passenger side window rolled down. “Liz, get in we have to go,” called Carmen from the vehicle.
“Sorry Fu I have to go,” Liz told him as she started to open the door.
“Don’t go,” he replied. His voice was silky smooth and entranced her, for a moment she hesitated. She wanted to stay with him but she willed herself forward. She opened the door and hopped into the car.
“Sorry Fu,” she called back as Carmen sped off.
Adam had convinced me that in order to get my brother back we needed to work as a team. Despite my feelings of urgency I knew he was right. When Carmen and Liz arrived Adam sat them down and explained the situation. When he came to the part about Brody they all looked at me. I turned away. I stood in the corner waiting for Adam to finish. He had told me the location of the Snakes’ hide out. I could leave now and have them catch up with me.
“What are we waiting for?” said Liz.
I smiled, that was exactly how I felt. I already had my armor on. My entire body was encompassed in the golden medal except for my head. I twirled the staff between my fingers out of impatience. In a heartbeat they were all ready.
Carmen snapped her fingers and her green cloak appeared. Liz conjured up her outfit. Tattoos worked their way up her arms and she wore a black halter top, blue tights, black boots, and most importantly a mask. Adam had unsheathed his sword. His outfit automatically appeared. He was adorned in black with red marks around the collar and red boots. A black mask covered his face. “Lyn says this is the first time she has seen this disguise on a male Komodo Dragon because all your past lives were Kunoichi,” said Carmen.
“What does that mean?” asked Liz.
“Kunoichi means female ninja,” replied Adam. “All my past lives were women,” Liz stifled a laugh. “And all of yours were men,” he told her.
“Odd,” I thought to myself. How the gender roles seemed totally reversed.
We ran to the warehouse where Adam said the Snakes were using it as a chop shop for stolen cars and drug deals. We left the car at Adam’s in fear that they would trace the license plate. Good thing we were all in good physical condition because the warehouse was a good fifteen miles away. We flew most of the way there. We found that all of us could fly except Adam so I carried him on my staff. I wasn’t sure what kind of trouble we would encounter nor the severity of danger. All I know is that I have to protect my brother. If it wasn’t for me he wouldn’t even be in this mess. I needed to know who took him and how they found out who I was. Was it creepy hobo? Is he still after my powers? How could I be so careless by assuming that he was a thing of the past? I’d almost forgotten about him.
I’m coming Brody, hold on. A few more blocks to go and we would be there. My heart tightened in my chest. I had to keep a clear head. This wasn’t a high school street fight. We were going up against drug dealers and car thieves. Not to mention Adam had said that they would be stronger than normal humans. I didn’t know what I was headed towards all I knew was that I had to go. I took solace in the knowledge that my friends had my back but I also did not want to put them in harms’ way.
“Stop,” said Adam. We stood before a deserted warehouse.
“Ugh, it smells awful,” said Liz.
“Why would their hide out be this dump?” asked Carmen.
“That is exactly why,” responded Adam. Screams began to emerge from within the worn down building. “Brody,” I flew to the roof and crashed through the window. I didn’t have time for stealth. Glass was strewn everywhere. I found myself surrounded by giant lizard men. I didn’t know any other way to describe the sight of these monstrous creatures. The warehouse was three stories high and filled to the brim with lizard men. I didn’t see a single human in the joint that bore even a slight resemblance of the humans they once were. Each man was engulfed in red scales. Their eyes were cold and reptilian. Some had tails and some did not. I could tell by their clothes which ones were female and which were male. It grossed me out when the creatures began slithering their tongues at me.
With staff in hand I took a fighting stance. I managed to fend the first ten off with ease. A circle of unconscious bodies surrounded me; along with a seemingly endless hoard behind them. I jumped into the air and with my newfound balancing ability and sprinted across the ceiling beams. The sound of more screams hurt my heart. It was coming from the room next door.
A ruckus could be heard on the floor below me. It must be the others, I thought. I kicked down the door. The room was empty save for a chain that ran from the ceiling and hung to the center of the room. Just high enough to lift Brody off his feet. He dangled back and forth. His arms were stretched over his head and the chains cut him at the wrists. His shirt was bloody with cuts. With a dazed look in his eyes he rolled his head to look at me. Oh God, he looked so young. Beside him was a table full of various torture devices. I tensed up. The room was dark but I felt the presence of someone else in the room. From the corner of my eye I saw the flicker of a shadow. Lunging forward I caught him in my grasp. I held before me a scrawny little snake demon. I made my voice sound deep so that Brody wouldn’t recognize me, “Did you do this?” I questioned it. It shook with fear and began to cry.
“Yes, yes I did but please don’t hurt me I was only following orders.” I slit his throat without a second thought.
“I saw that,” said Adam coming up behind me. “I told you these powers would corrupt us, you killed that poor creature as it begged for mercy.” He looked away, disgusted.
“Poor creature!” I shouted, indignant. “That poor creature did that to an innocent boy!” I pointed my staff towards Brody.
“You didn’t kill him because you thought it was the right thing. You did it out of cold revenge. Well revenge can’t reverse what has happened to Brody. You are filled with pain and guilt but don’t let that effect you the next time we are forced into battle! Got it?” His words burned me for there was fire in his voice. I clenched my fists.
“How dare you talk to me about feelings. You are a cold emotionless bastard and always have been!” I was glad I had my helmet on so that he couldn’t see my face. I held Brody in my arms. He shook under my touch but when he realized I had come to help him, not harm him, he fell into my arms. He passed out from exhaustion.
I turned to Adam, “How many left outside?”
“None,” replied Carmen finally finding us.
“Unfortunately the mastermind behind this got away; Liz ran after him but she lost him.”
“Which way did he go? I’ll go after him myself,” I told her. “I need to catch him or my family may never be safe.”
“Forget it,” said Carmen. “Adam, take your sword and place it on Brody,” she told him. Adam did as he was told.
“Why am I doing this?” he asked.
I lay Brody down while Adam placed the sword against his chest. The sword glowed and Brody groaned in agony.
“You’re hurting him,” I vexed. I pushed the dragon blade away from Brody but his chest was completely empty of all the cuts that had once been there.
“Now all we have to do is erase his memory,” said Carmen.
“Wait, are you sure you can do that without making any mistakes?” I asked her.
“Don’t worry I’ve been doing this for centuries,” she winked at me. She placed her palm over his forehead.
“Thank you, all of you,” I looked at my three friends.
“What now?” asked Liz. “We have a slew of either dead or unconscious lizard dudes out there. Do we just leave them?”
“Yes,” said Carmen. “They are demons now and will be taken care of by the spirit police. You gotta admit Lyn’s vast knowledge comes in handy,” she smiled.
I have never really been one for hugs but I hugged all of them. “I have to take Brody home now,” I told them.