A Tale of Fire and Water

Fun in the Modern World

         Leon leaned against the crisp, chilled glass of the airplane window. He still had trouble believing it. After being rejected by college after college, he was finally accepted into his sister's. He was pretty lucky to get in anywhere, so of course he had accepted. He chuckled. Whoever said legacy didn't count for anything was an idiot.

         He zoned out as the safety demonstration was played, his mind filling with cynical thoughts. If you aren't smart enough to figure out how to put on a god-damn seatbelt you deserve to die. He ignored the rest of the presentation, he'd flown so often that he could most likely recite it from memory. Instead, he thought back to how exactly he had wound up on a flight to New Zealand.

         Two years ago, his sister, Emily, had gone off to a college named Were, turning down Swarthmore in the process, something Leon had yet to understand. Her life, up until that point, had had but one objective, to be accepted to a good college, get a great job, and life out a life full of luxuries. In that respect, Leon viewed her as childish. She did not truly recognize her purpose in life. He leaned back against the cold leather of his seat, listening to the creak as the material stretched to accommodate his body-mass. He did not presume to know the meaning of life, but he did believe that, as humans, we strive to view our lives's not as what they are, but what they are not. He knew that the path his sister had taken was not what it should be, but he also knew that his opinions could and would not manifest themselves to her. He was not patronizing, or critical. Just observant. It was not his place to criticize another's life choice's. After all, look at him.

        Bing.

         Leon buckled his seat belt, bearing the tell-tale chill of the tense moments before take-off. Such a light-hearted blip should not be the herald of the jostling anxiety of flight. Someone, somewhere, had a taste for the ironic. He had long since repressed his fear of the roar of the engine, or the lurch of gravity as the airplane's wheels left the rough, black substance of the concrete runway. Yet, there was one thing he could not repress. The airplane lurched, and his hand reflexively clenched the armrest, his fingers turning white. Man was not meant to hurtle through the air. His heart was beating ferociously in his ribcage. He focused on his breathing, and slowly began to relax. His muscles went limp, his heartbeat slowed, no longer threatening to burst from his chest like a scene out of a bad horror movie, but he felt a tinge in his shoulder. That was to be expected.

         He lightly touched his shoulder, softly, delicately searching for the cross of scar tissue that was the only residue of his operation a year before. He placed his index directly upon the center of the X, and pushed. Pain. He tore his hand away. Dammit. The doctors had told him he should have fully-recovered a few months ago. They claimed to have no idea as to why he still suffered pain at the slightest touch. His torn cartilage had been repaired, the shoulder was nestled perfectly into his clavicle. In all rights, he should be coasting through the water again, but he wasn't. The doctor's had decided that there was absolutely no way they could have possibly made some mistake, and had told him, in their fancy medical lingo, that he was faking it. What a load of crap. The airplane lurched again, jolting him out of his trance, and burying the embers of rage that had begun to surface in him. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, they had told him. They even got him a shrink. A freakin' shrink! Yeah, he really wanted to talk about his grab-bag of emotions after being told he might never get to swim again. All he wanted to do was hit something. Of course, that required the use of his shoulder, and the doctors couldn't have that, could they? He was getting emotional again.

         Bing.

         Goddammit.

------------------------------------------------------------
         “Little brother! There you are!”

         Leon still couldn't get over how damn hot it was in the airport. How the hell could they not have air conditioning? In fact, he barely had time to notice his sisters approach before he was bearing her weight in a supreme hug. “Emily, please stop. People are going to start thinking I'm you're boyfriend, and god knows I want to appear single.” He said, glancing over his sister at a group of blonds walking past. He winked. They ignored him.

         His sister immediately released him, glaring. “Wow, you really haven't changed, have you? As shallow as ever. You know, I probably should have gone home this summer, just so I could teach you how to be a human being before you came to school to embarrass me.”

“Yup. I guess so, but exploring the Shire was too much of a lure for you, huh? Where do I pick up my luggage?”

“Yeah, you're going to be popular, I can already tell. How's your shoulder?”, Emily replied, before Leon felt a sharp jab to his injured clavicle.

“Ow! Oh, ha-ha, you're a riot. Make fun of the cripple. That's original, sis.”

“Oh, get over yourself. Come on, baggage claim is this way.”, she said, before walking off, perhaps a shade faster that was necessary.

         Leon grinned. He loved teasing his sister. Absolutely nothing was taken seriously at all, and she usually shocked him out of his self-pity. He hoped she felt the same, though he never really did understand her. She had quite literally come to New Zealand as a calculator without the slightest hint of emotion, a robot, if you will, and yet here she was, blond hair bobbing over the crowd like a lantern leading the way through a dark night. There was a spring in her step that she had most definitely not had before. Leon quickened his pace to catch up with her. “You seem unusually full of human emotion, what's up? Did you get with someone or something? I swear, I've never seen you like this before.”

         Emily turned  to face him, as though surprised that he had started conversation.“Hmm? Oh, no way. You kidding? Boys are a distraction, I just had a good summer is all.”

“Oh, I see, you got with a girl. Good for you, coming out like- Ow!” Another jab.

“Don't start. You just get off the plane, and you're already spouting this crap, this is going to be a long year.”

“Okay, I'm sorry. You aren't a couple, I get it, alright? You just seem happy is all.”

“You're right about that.”

“So what did you do?”

“I...” Emily paused, a look of confusion crossing her face for a second.

“...am still a virgin? Ah! Stop hitting me!”

         Emily rummaged through her purse for a moment.

“Here!”, she proclaimed, shoving something into Leon's chest forcefully. “I got this for you, god only knows why, since you're apparently just as much of a fucking ass as you were last year.” He glanced at it. It was a small, black, felt bag.

“Oh, um, okay? Thanks?”, Leon replied, confused.

“Just open the damn bag!”

“Sure thing! It's not something I can't open in public, right? No drugs, or some guys cond-”

         Emily raised her fist.

“I'm opening the fucking bag! Cut me some slack!”

         Leon look closer at this surprise gift. Really, it didn't seem overly spectacular. He did, however, feel something small inside.

“Open it, dumb-ass!”

“I know! Learn some patience, Jesus!”

         Leon widened the small opening at one end of the bag, and saw one of the most original necklaces he had ever lain his eyes upon. The chain was a thin cord of the same color as the bag, but the ornament was what had caught his attention.

         The basic shape reminded him of a narrow S, as though someone had run out of room while writing a paper, and had to scrunch the letter in just before the edge, except the top and bottom ended in sharp points, as did the ends. Maybe it was closer to a Z? It too, was the same shade of blackness as the bag, and stood out against the pale white of his sweaty palm. Intricate designs were carved into it, pure white, some somewhat resembling tribal characters he had seen before, but most were so alien that Leon was really quite perplexed as how to truly describe them. They ran along the edge of the shape, but one was etched right into the center. It matched the shape of the necklace perfectly, except that it was a reflection, and, like the other designs, it was sterling white . He placed his thumb over it, and it felt cold to his touch. Not the sharp painful cold that his airplane had held as room temperature, but a soft, gentle caress that did, truly remind him of water.

“What is this Emily?”

“It's just a fisherman's Protection. Basically, legend says that anyone who wears this necklace has complete dominion and protection over water. Fishermen wear less elaborate versions of it when they go out to sea, the idea being that the necklace will ensure their safety.”

“What's so special about this one?”

“Nothing really. It's just more ornate.” Emily replied, grinning.

“Weren't we just fighting a few seconds ago?”, Leon was really lost. How could his sister flip emotions like that?

“You mean after you called me a lesbian?”

“Yeah! And a virgin.”

“Of course, and I'm still mad at you! But what do I want with this thing? Just come with me while I go somewhere, okay? This necklace is kind of a reward.”

“Why? You hate me right now, right?”

“Yes, but...”, Emily's face changed. For a split second, she looked... eager. “I have some unfinished business, and frankly, I need your abilities to help deal with it.”

“My abilities?”

         “Yeah, like being an asshole!” She punched him again, but not in his shoulder, he noted. “Just come with me?”, her eyes pleaded.

“Okay?”

         She lit up. “Thank you so much! Let's get going right now, we have to be there by midnight!” She took off, running for the exit, eyes searching for a cab to hail.

“Wait!”, Leon shouted. “Where the hell is baggage claim!?”


         Leon trudged through the forest, how exactly he had gotten there, he was not quite sure. “What the hell do you want me to do, sis? This is getting freaking ridiculous!”

Emily looked back at him from above. “You just have to experience this! It's not far, I promise.”

“That's what you said an hour ago Emily! Where the hell is this thing?”, Leon whined. “And what the hell happened to my bags?”

“I called a friend, he picked them up.”

“When!? I've been with you the entire time Emily! I haven't seen you touch a phone!”

“Leon, you're just going to have to trust me. Now come on.”

         Emily turned around and began marching through the wilderness again.

“Hey! HEY! Listen to me! Fine, you know what, I'll just go back and call a cab!”

Without breaking stride, Emily shouted over her shoulder, “Good luck! Finding your way back in the dark, I mean.”

         Leon looked around, and suddenly realized it was dusk. “Dammit!”, he yelled. His sister was too clever for her own good. “You know what happens to kids lost in the woods at night, right? Huh? They get eaten by bears or get killed by a chainsaw wielding hillbilly! And why the fuck is it so damn hot in this country?”

“Grow some balls...”

“I'm serious! Listen to me! HEY!”
------------------------------------------------------------

         Leon groaned with relief when he saw his sister's bobbing head cease it's rapid march through the woodland of god-knows-where. “Where the hell are we?”

         Emily craned her head back. “We're here.”

         Leon looked around quickly, but there were no landmarks in sight. “Where the fuck is-”, he stepped forward, and did a double take.

         Anytime Leon saw a circle of stones like this one, he thought of Stonehenge. He really didn't know why, but this one didn't evoke that memory in him. Possibly because 3 feet ago, he hadn't seen it at all. It had materialized out of empty space. “Emily, what the hell this?”

         She turned to him. “Stand in the middle, look to the sky, and you'll know what I did this summer.” A grin seemed to have been stamped over the lower half of her face, but it did not extend to her hollow, blank eyes.

         “Emily, what's going on?” Leon asked, slowly backing away from both her and out of the strange formation of stones. “You're really creeping me out now.” Leon stumbled over a tree root, and fell to the ground. Cursing, he scrambled to his feet. His sister had disappeared.

         “Em? Emily! Quit fucking with me! Dammit!” Leon shouted. His echo answered, but otherwise, the forest had grown silent. Not even the various bugs and gnats that had been sucking the life out of him this entire trek seemed to inhabit this bubble of space of which only the strange circle of stones occupied. Also, the temperature had dropped dramatically with the disappearance of his sister, so much so that the sweat that was plastered all over Leon's body began to make him shiver.

         Leon was no coward. Far from it. His own stupid sense of pride was the only thing that gave him courage sometimes, but he always held some small vesicle of bravery within him, no matter the situation. When he had been forced to quit swimming after his injury, he bore through, when his parents had divorced, he'd bore through, when he had been injured, he had born through. It was only now, trapped in the middle of a strange forest, in a foreign country, that he realized that without his sister, he had no fucking idea where he was. And that he was fucking screwed. “Okay, calm down. Emily said to stand in the middle.” He felt one of the stone pillars against his back, and suddenly realized he could see through the dark. “What-” He looked down, and realized that his necklace's symbol's had begun to glow. “-the hell?” He turned around, and saw that the pillar had similar symbols etched into the sides. He examined his necklace, the symbol in the center shone, clear as day, and illuminated a space maybe 15 feet around him. He tucked it quickly into his shirt, hoping to preserve his night vision. It was like he had hit a button, and the light cut off. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his phone. No reception. To be expected, since he was in the middle of the damn countryside.

“Nice going, you have royally screwed me over, Em.”

         Leon couldn't just abandon his sister, she had to be nearby. As bitchy as hiding from him, here, of all places, was, he still couldn't just forget her and march off through the trees. If he just left, he doubted he'd make it very far anyway. What was it she had said. “Stand in the middle...” Leon took a deep breath, stuck his arms forward, and began to walk. He counted 13 paces before he reached the opposite pillar. Well, that's just great. Of course it's 13. What else could creep him out any fucking more? He pivoted, and began walking again, stopping this time after 7 paces. He was going to kill Em when he found her. Well, he'd have her get him out of the forest first. Then he'd kill her. “And look to the sky...”

         He clenched his eyes shut against the pain, and doubled over. Well, he tried to, but he couldn't really move. His fucking shoulder was on fire, and his head felt like it was going to explode, but it didn't hurt. At least, he didn't think it did. He was a little preoccupied with his damn shoulder, and his apparent paralysis. Eventually, the pain dulled, but he couldn't open his eyes. Blue lights danced across his vision. Then, he started to see things. Fucking weird things. “What the hell?”

         Pounding, drumming against his head, reverberating through his skull was a pounding beat. His head began to feel heavy, and it's pressure was only increasing.