Long Live The Hellfire King

Chapter 002: A familiar face

"CALICO ARE YOU AWAKE? ITS TIME FOR SCHOOL!" Uncle Dustin yells for me. I jump up out of bed cursing at myself for sleeping so long. shit shit shit.
I haul ass trying to put together an outfit after spraying on my deodorant. I don't have time for a shower. This will just have to do. I say to myself. I take some baby wipes to my face to at least help with whatever sleepy time crud is on my face and I brush my teeth. I look in the mirror and realize how much if the blue in my hair has faded. It's left my hair this platinum blonde, purple, bluish, and pinkish tint to it. I just brush it and throw a beanie over it. I don't feel like dealing with it. I run to my closet and manage to put together some sort of outfit. A tan sweater with a black and red plaid skirt with some black stockings I found to go underneath and my combat boots. I don't do much for makeup besides some lashes, eyeliner, and concealer. I put some chapstick on my lips grab the keys to my truck and rush downstairs.

Uncle Dustin sat at the kitchen table sipping his coffee while I grab the smoothie he makes for me every morning before heading to school. I sat across from him drinking my smoothie.

"You doing Hellfire tonight Callie?" Dustin asks looking up from his coffee he was so engrossed in. To this day he's still shocked that I've stuck with D&D for so long.

"Yeah Uncle Dusty. Just like every Friday night. Like clockwork" I chuckle. He takes my hand and holds it for a minute.

"I'm still happy you've stuck with it for so long.. and to be the youngest Dungeon Master Hellfire has had." He happily sighs with tears in his eyes. I feel him place something in my hands that feels like tiny little rocks. He lets go of my hand and I look. It's a new pair of dice. Black and red with white numbers painted.

"Holy shit Unc, these are fucking awesome. Did you make these at the shop?" I cheer. Because they were. He always enjoyed seeing me excited for D&D and dice.

"Of course I stayed at the shop a little late last night so I could finish some orders and I made these." He yawns as he takes a big stretch.

"Please tell me you at least got some sleep and graded assignments last night." I gave him a look of concern.
He just shrugged at me and kissed my head. That was his way of saying not to worry.

After college, Dustin got a job at Hawkins High teaching a tech class. After school he runs a shop for the rest of the afternoon. He makes custom dice and sells trading cards and things like that. His most popular product is the dice making mainly. He made dice for me when he started teaching me D&D, when I joined Hellfire and became Dungeon Master, and now. I always worried he was overworking himself raising and taking care of me. I offered to get a job when I was 16 to help with bills and stuff but he told me he wanted me to focus on school and that I can get a job when I graduate. I always worried about him. Ever since his wife Suzie passed away things had been tough. I know him doing the "Single dad" thing wasn't always easy. Working 2 jobs to provide for a child that wasn't even his blood.

My parents used to work for him at the shop and they had become really close friends. They died in a really bad accident one night coming home from the shop. When they never went back to the store for work after 3 days he got worried and came to the home we were living in and when he asked me where they were I was crying and filthy and all I could say was "my mommy and daddy never came home and Im hungry". I was 5 years old. He took me home and bathed me, clothed me and fed me. They found my parents dead a week later and ever since then Dustin has raised me. I don't remember alot about my parents. I don't remember that day. I always remember it was just Dustin and I and Suzie. Suzie passed away last year from disease. She was a very loving woman. I remember she would call Dustin "Dusty Buns" and she was his "Suzie-poo". I thought it was cute. I remember when I'd, get sad they would always cheer me up by singing "The Never Ending Story"