All the Silent Things

Love

A/N:This is a pretty long chapter and I hope you like it! Let's answer the one last question...

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"Maybe it goes like this..."

I watched Luke fiddle with the little wooden stick in his hands before he threw it down.

His parents had walked outside to talk to the neighbors and Luke had taken this chance to show me his newest toy.

"This stupid thing ain't working like it did when Dad used it!"

I bit my lip and reached over to pick up the stick, turning it around and around in my hands. There was a little red thing on one side. "Maybe it's this way."

I took the little rectangle box from his hands and poked it with the stick.

"Nevermind. It's not working."

Luke grinned, snatching it from me. "Ooh, ooh! I got it. I remember Dad doing this."

He slid open the box and pulled out another little stick, sliding it against the dotted side of the box. The stick lit up, a bright glow of orange for one second before sizzling out. Luke dropped it, surprised.

He grinned up at me as he reached down to pick up the tiny stick. "Look! It worked!"

I smiled at him, taking the box from his hands to try it myself. The little stick burned in my hands as I stared at it, feeling the heat reach my fingertips. "Tch!" The flame got too close and I dropped it, shaking out my hand and sticking my fingers in my mouth. "It's hot."

Fire.

Luke looked at me. "Of course it is, silly. It's fire." He made a throwing motion with his hands. "We'll be like the people from Dragon Ball Z, throwin' fireballs..." He made whooshing motions with his hands.

"Kamehameha!" He screamed, thrusting his hands forward.

I grinned. "Yeah." I glanced at the box I was holding. "Wait, do that again."

I struck the stick against the box, holding it between Luke's hands as he repeated the motion. We laughed and switched places, with Luke holding the matchstick.

After a few more times, Luke frowned. "This is it? This is what grownups like doing? It's lame."

He struck the match one last time and watched it for a second before throwing it behind him into the growing pile of little sticks by the wall. "Let's go play something else."

I nodded. "Yeah. Wait here. I'll go get my ball from outside."

I ran out of the room, looking back one last time to make sure he was staying still. He had a habit of disappearing on me.

I opened the backyard door, spotting my little blue ball beside Luke's playground set. I hurried over to take it before turning back around towards the house. There were thick, black clouds floating across his yard. I watched in wonder before the smell hit me.

The smell.

It smelled wrong.

I jerked my head towards the house again. It was glowing, orange and red flames all over the house, waving in the wind. The black clouds were rising from where the roof of the house should have been.

"Luke!"

I ran back towards the door, forgetting all about my little blue ball. Something was wrong. Something was happening. I didn't understand what it was, but my insides felt cold, like they had turned to ice water. Something was wrong.