CREED, The Fiery Storm

El décimo día

"I could be a bird or a dragon. I could a tree, a forest or a falling leaf. I could be an angel. I could be a hero. But I think I am just a man...and I am what I think I am."-Constino

CHAPTER SEVEN: The Dusky Dungeon

   There was a light drizzle in Eustus. The mood in the city was generally festive. A pale teenage boy was walking through the streets barefooted draped in rugged clothes. It was Christmas for everyone in the city but this boy and a few others as unfortunate as him. As he passed by a dustbin, he suddenly began to feel hungry. He assured himself that the day was going to be awesome and ignored the hunger but then his stomach started grumbling. This day was going to be like any other after all! He backtracked and searched through the bin for something edible or nonpoisonous. In the time they had spent on the streets, the kids had learnt to eat anything just to stay alive. Luckily for this boy, he found a semi rotten loaf of bread. A full loaf! It must really be Christmas-he thought to himself with excitement. That's all he hoped to get for Christmas; some edible rubbish he could share with his friends. Of course he wanted more; a decent warm meal would have been nice but what he hoped for was the bare minimum-something...anything to eat. But joyous moments rarely last very long! As the boy was jumping with joy (literally) he knocked over the dustbin just as two police officers appeared around the corner. From the officers' point of view, it looked like vandalism! And when the boy saw them, he reacted instinctively and ran away...

"Hey kid! Come back here!!" One of the officers yelled as they pursued the kid. The truth is; they probably wouldn't have minded him much but just as him, they too followed their instinct. The boy ran as fast and far as he could but eventually came to a dead-end. And the officers caught up pretty soon. When they saw the boy's scared face, they couldn't recognize him! That was strange because they knew all the troublesome kids on those streets!!

"Who are you?!" an officer asked amidst panting. The boy was really confused-he didn't know the answer to that question! But when he gave it some thought, it all began to return to him...

"I am...James." He mumbled, "James Creed"

As more memories came back to him, he was able to divulge more information to the officers who were very willing to help him (it was a festive season after all!). He told them about his aunt Joy in Eustus and his family back in Ekitone. The officers offered to take him home and they tried...

The Quilo mansion was very easy to find and that's where they went first.

"Kid, are you certain attorney Quilo is your aunt?!" one officer asked nervously as he rang the doorbell.

"Yeah, I think." Jim responded. That's not the kind of answer the officer was hoping to get! The doorbell had already been rung and as such couldn't be un-rung.

"You think!!" the officer growled angrily at Jim.

"Man, I told you this wasn't a very good idea." The second officer stated to his colleague. On one hand, he was seeing the point raised by his colleague but on the other a kid who wouldn't last through the month on the streets- they rarely did.

"Good afternoon officers, how may I help you?!" Jonathan asked when he opened the door. Jim remembered Jonathan but the converse didn't seem to be true.

"Good afternoon, this kid claims to be the attorney's nephew. Is she at home?!" one officer spoke.

"Mrs. Quilo isn't  home but I can assure you she has no nephew." Jonathan responded. Jim was shocked by the response-heartbroken even.