Pandemonium [original]

Chapter Eight: I Sense a Great Hunger in You.

"Woah!" Zaria's eyes were filled with wonder. There was so much to sense. She was glad she had snuck out of Cas's apartment. People passed by in giant waves, hurtling to and fro. Strange machines that spit smoke and harsh shouts rumbled by in the center of the huge stone paths. She could sense energy buzzing all around her: lights and strange, tiny handheld machines that glowed.

It was too much to take in. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and she laughed out loud. Zaria shuddering, She sensed all the power.

Suddenly the girl was startled by a deafening roar. Low and guttural, a machine skidded up to a stop feet from her on the black stone. She yelped, and leapt away from it.

"Heh. Easy there, sweetheart." A rough voice taunted her. There was a person mounted on the machine.

Several more mechanical beasts followed, just as loud and bone-jarring as the first.

Zaria ignored the chuckling and crude jokes, believing they were directed elsewhere. Why would strangers be talking to her?

She stepped up to the machine. It hummed with power, and was warm to the touch.

"Hey there babe, you like motorcycles? We could always give you a ride. Maybe a little more."

Zaria didn't see any children around. She ran her hands over the surface of the machine. It was smooth and sleek.

Tapping the various pipes and protruding pieces, "Weird metal. An alloy?" She murmured under her breath.

The man swung his leg over the machine and stepped off. He was uncomfortably close. He tilted her chin up.

"Come on babe, let me show you what I've got. I can show you more too," he smirked and put a hand on her lower hip.

She pushes away from him, "What are you doing?"

"Hitting on you."

She frowns, and hits him back.

He held his nose which had started to bleed. "Hey you little punk! You'll pay for that!"

The man went to slap her and she grabbed his arm, bringing her knee powerfully into his stomach. He collapsed.

By now, men from other machines had formed a ring around her. "Hey, who's the bitch?" "Dunno, probably some brat from the inner-city." "Bet she got some fight in her." "I like 'em fiery."

"Hah. Stay and play a while. Where you from, shortie?"

"Hell." Zaria replied. The industrial section of the Fire Realm.
Zaria didn't like these men. They were too close, she felt threatened. So she did what she did best.

"Awe, no need to pretend. Did it hurt when you fell from Heav-"

All it needed was a spark. The machine she had inspected before exploded.

She ran, before any of the men recovered from the powerful shock.

***

Caspian and Sephiram walked towards the nearest grocery store. Seph pushed through the crowd, not caring if he had to knock a few people out of the way. Caspian kept close behind him, taking advantage of the tall man's crowd-clearing skills.

"Do you do this a lot?"

"What?" Sephiram snapped.

"Ah, uh. Navigating crowds. You seem like you know your way around the city."

They passed a club, neon lights illuminating the semi-lit street. Music with heavy bass pulsed in the air.

"I know my way around a lot of things," He smirked, and glanced at the redhead, "If you know what I mean."

It sunk in. Caspian's face turned a bright shade of red. Luckily, Sephiram had returned his attention to knocking people out of his path.

It wasn't long before they had reached the store. "They have everything here." Caspian informed Sephiram, as the man held open the door.

The two started walking up and down the isles. Sephiram was the designated cart pusher, and Caspian raced ahead to grab multiple items and drop them inside.

Sephiram indignantly eyed the ever-growing pile. "Do we really need this much?"

Caspian dropped five boxes of Mac n Cheese into the cart. "Of course." They were space themed.

Sephiram rolled his eyes. "I hope you can pay for all of this."

"Naturally. Don't underestimate the Dark Realm's resources."

Sephiram let out a bark of laughter. So that was how the Dark Realm handled all their external affairs. In the dark.

The two managed to find enough food, clothes, and various other items that the group needed. Caspian also grabbed some movies. "We might be waiting a while." He explained.

Cas also made a much-needed trip to the toy section.

For Zaria, of course.

He picked out a super complicated Star Wars Lego © set with moving and gears and wheels. He figured it'd help keep her away from all the expensive technology in his apartment.

Dropping it into the cart, Caspian hummed the series' main theme.

Sephiram glanced over at Caspian. "Star Wars? You are an even bigger geek than I thought."

"Life would be better if instead of arguing, people light saber battled each other."

He laughed. "You're certainly not helping your case." But he thought: 'I'd love to light saber battle with you.'

"Shut up, you scruffy-looking nerf herder." The redhead snapped.

Caspian didn't understand why Sephiram was teasing him so much. The man always seemed to give off the "talk-to-me-and-I-will-end-you" kind of vibe. But for some reason, the man just wouldn't shut up.