Blazing Soul (Part II): Creeping Shade

Chapter I

Note: names of people and locales may or may not be borrowed from people I've met or places I've gone to. These names are the only things that I am borrowing from them. I think you know what an homage is. Don't read too deeply into it.

San Luis. A small and quiet town that had an unseen crisis around 7 months ago. An unknown group awakened an ancient being bent on destroying anything in its path and was subdued thanks to the efforts of a small group of people awakened to their soul's power. Since then, however, no major event like it had happened again which the town's Anima users were thankful for. Especially after nearly losing the life of one of their members in the struggle. It was now the middle of June, and the summer heat was coming on strong. Despite this, a pair of high school students were hanging around on the outskirts of town. Alex and Anali had been standing by the side of the road for what felt like hours (about 2 hours, really) in the afternoon sun. With summer break going on, the group had decided to increase their patrols.

Alex: Why are we here again?

He said in a tired voice. He was crouching right next to her as he raised his shirt to wipe off the sweat, a half-melted paleta still in his mouth. Anali turned to him as she put down her iced water bottle next to his, airing out her shirt to help keep cool.

Anali: Seriously?

She said; a bewildered look on her face.

Alex: Not really. This heat is making this plan feel really dumb. I mean, look!

He pointed to the street.

Alex: A tumbleweed literally just... tumbled right past us. It's like right out of a Western

.

Anali gave him a light smack across the head.

Anali: Geez, just be patient. It shouldn't be much longer. You still got the slips?

Alex stood up and reached into his pocket. He practically towered over her; she appreciated the shade he made though. He pulled out a couple of paper slips with odd patterns written on them in black ink.

These slips contained pre-made Runes, which functioned in a way like magic spells.

Alex: Yup, here they are.

Anali: Good, be sure you don't lose them to the wind. We're going to need them.

Alex: Yeah, I know.

Though he said it was dumb, he was only really complaining about standing around in the heat. The plan itself wasn't really that bad. Luis, another friend, and member, encountered a Geist a few weeks ago. It resembled a coyote, but its tail and legs almost looked like moving paintings. Upon seeing Luis, the Geist bolted from the scene. Thanks to his time as a soccer player, Luis was probably the fastest in the group. Unfortunately, his stamina could not keep up with this Geist and it soon ran away from sight. Since then, this same Geist has eluded the group for at least 3 weeks now. Annoyed at this, Luis devised a plan to deal with it. As it seems to run away the instant it recognizes one of them, they set up a sort of relay race. With each person taking a turn to chase after it and herd it, this would give them time to catch their breath and eventually stop it somewhere in its tracks. The plan also allowed them to use their physical bodies, as using their spirit form makes them weaker the farther they get from their limit.

Anali: Look! Here it comes!

Anali pointed down the road. Elliot could be seen running after the Geist at high speed.

Alex: Guess I'm up.

He began to stretch and tied a bandana to keep his scruffy hair from getting in his eyes. Maybe a haircut was in order.