The Sun Weilders

3

The room was beautiful. Gold drapes hung from high marbled walls. The ceilings were lofty and had wooden beams at intervals. The floor was a pale green tile, in which flames of fire were painted. There were chairs covered with a light fabric that looked undoubtedly expensive. It was ostentatious and ornate at the same time.

On one of the chairs sat a small man with long gray hair. He didn't turn when I walked into the room. He just sat, his head facing the window.

Crimson was right behind me, and cleared his throat. The man winced and spun in his chair to face us.

He had steel gray eyes, not light like his light gray hair. He made me think of Albert Einstein, just by looking at his face. The bones in his face were taut and defined. He looked uncivilized but still greatly flamboyant.  He smiled, flashing a set of pearly white teeth, and his eyes sparkled.

"My name is-" I began.

"Yes. I know quite well who you are, Emry Paynes. I know I sent you the letter, I know I wanted you to come here, and, judging by the looks of it, you secceded," he said quickly.

I was taken aback, and stood mouth agape for a few moments until I regained my composure. Crimson took charge. "We came to find out why you sent for us."

The man shook his head slightly and his smile faded. He got up from the silk-covered chair he was seated in and walked toward the window. He had a black suit on, and a tie that was bright red, orange, and yellow. Like fire.

"My name is Frederick St. Dougal. I knew your parents. Well, before they so tragically died. They were my closest friends, Calvin and Elizabeth Paynes. Do you know you have your father's same hairline?"

My breath caught in my throat. Tears were forming around my eyes; I looked up in an effort to stop them. I had never known my parents, so why is this stranger bringing them up now?
"What do you know about my parents?" I asked, hearing the sadness in my own voice.

"I knew them better than you think. Sit down, Emry. We have much to discuss," was all Frederick St. Dougal said.

I sat in one of the plush chairs while Crimson stood beside me, straining his neck to look at the enormous room.

"You parents only ever saw your face once. Did you know that?"

"Maybe," I replied. Something about Frederick St. Dougal was definitely wrong. Maybe it was because he felt so familiar, like he was someone I saw every day.

"Tell me, Emry, have you been having the dreams lately? The ones where the sun is abnormally close to the Earth? The ones where you have tongues of fire in your hands and they don't hurt?"

How could he have known something like this? Was he a mindreader? 

"Yes," I finally answered, "but how do you know all of this?"

"In time," he continued, as if I hadn't even said anything, "you will learn about these things. But, first on the agenda, do you know what global warming is?"

I remembered reading about it in my science textboook. "I know that is the gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere. It is attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants."

Crimson's stare was a mixture of impressed, surprised, excited, and nervous. "Sorry. Science nerd," I smiled, pointing to myself.

Frederick St.Dougal looked bland, like he had heard this a thousand times before. "Good girl," he remarked, "very good. Now, what if I tell you that global warming is not because of the greenhouse effect, but simply because the sun is getting closer to us?"

Impossible. As if on cue, Crimson said exactly what I was thinking. 

"That's impossible."

"Nothing is ever impossible, my boy. You of all people should know that."

Crimson turned a dark shade of red, matching his hair. Why was he blushing? What did Mr. St.Dougal say?

"Okay," I started, "but, theoretically, wouldn't that cause the destruction of Mercury and Venus?"

"Tell me," Frederick St.Dougal said, "have you ever been to those planets? How do you know that they are even there?"

He did have a point. But why would people lie about something like that? 

"Look, I know this is a lot to comprehend. But, if you think about it, it could all be possible. You just have to believe." He said the last word with so much faith, so much confidence. 

I stalled. "Can I call you something besides Frederick St. Dougal? Maybe like Professor X, or Spliter, or The Ancient One-"

"You will call me Fredd or Mr. Dougal. That is, if you decide to come back tomorrow. It is, of course, your choice. But, if you do decide to return, then you will never call me Freddy."

I would have pushed, but I was tired of this. I just wanted to go home, wanted to think about my parents, and why or how they could have known this old man.

Crimson saved me. "I think we should be going now," he plainly said.

He walked towards the door, and waited for me. I slowly got up, and looked one last time at Mr. Dougal. "Just remember," he said, "you can be the key to destruction. But you also can be the key to human salvation." 

His weak smile was the last thing I saw before I shut the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The drive back to my house was long. Crimson finally broke the silence by saying, "I know this is a lot to take in, but-"

"Stop. Just stop. I don't want to talk about this."

But he continued. "Your parents would prob-"

"Stop it, okay? I don't want to talk to you, of all people, about my parents. You don't even know what they looked like! Don't even try to tell me about something that you don't even know yourself!"

He was pale as we turned onto our street, His mouth was clamped shut, as if he was holding in an important secret.

I got out of the truck when we pulled into my driveway and deliberately slammed the door. As I was going up the steps of my house, his cold hand came down onto mine. I turned towards him, me standing a step above him, making me eye-level with him. How hadn't I heard him walking behind me?

Before I could open my mouth, his face was right next to mine, and he planted a small kiss on my cheek, sending shivers all over my body and my cheeks flamed. I had closed my eyes, and when I had opened them, he was gone, his truck rumbling down the street.

Had I imagined that?

The door opened, my grandmother standing on the other side. Her face was twisted with disgust an outrage. "Where were you? Why did it take you almost and hour and a half to get home from school?"

But I pushed past her and ran up the stairs of my old and creaky house. I flung myself on my bed and buried my face in my pillow. 

Crying could help sometimes, right?

So I let the tears come, partly because I was so rude to Crimson, partly because I didn't mean to be rude to my grandmother, but mostly because I knew I wanted to go back to the Second Shack behind the Restaurant the next day.

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And... there's the end to another chapter! Ik this is kinda boring, but, trust me, things are really about to start heating up! All bets are off in this story. Just saying. 

Please, though, comment about how I'm doing! Idek... 

And thank you so much for the reads! Almost 100!