Spirit

The Dragon

As I made my way towards the red door, I imagined every possibility of what would lie behind there. I could already see the Dragon glaring at me with disapproval, sitting on a red carpet legs crossed in a weird way, with candles lit everywhere and smoke and perfume filling the air.

I was practically shaking when Roy put his hand on the doornob. He looked at me weirdly, then entered. Mariko had to push me so I could enter, since my feet were planted in the ground.

What? Was my first thought. I blinked hard, just to accept the fact that I was looking right at what's in front of me.

The Dragon was a thin lady, horribly thin, with something that looked like a cigarette, until the smell of the smoke hit my nose, and it turned out to be pot. She was staring at a computer, and the moaning noises coming off it weren't bringing me such pleasure to stay in the room. The only thing that was true from my fantasy was the many candles filling the room.

"Yeah! Go at it! Hit that!" She cackled. She didn't seem to notice that we just entered. "Mariko, dear, come loo-"

She faltered. Her eyes widened she almost looked American. She immediatly turned off the porn and started stuttering.

"Yeah, good evening to you too, Mom." Roy said dryly. I looked at him, surprised.

"Umm, Dragon..." I stammered in a 'nice to meet you' way.

Her jaw was still bately on the ground at the sight of her son.

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any worst." Roy started again bitterly, "You know, I don't regret calling you and Dad assholes who just ruin-"

"Careful, Roy." Mariko warned.

"You have nothing to do with that sis. You can leave."

"I will leave when I want-"

"Leave, Mariko." The old woman said in a small voice. Mariko eyed her brother carefully, as if wanting to tell him something else, but then thought better of it and left.

"I knew something was going to happen." The woman muttered in a weird accent. "Something wrong. The spirits warned me. I asked Mariko a thoudand times to really focus on the future, but she didn't see anything."

Roy chuckled. "You didn't torture her? Wow. So surprised."

"You know I was doing that to help you-"

"You were torturing us because of pleasure!" Roy cut in, slightly raising his voice.

"Aren't you stronger?" She asked, in the same tone. "Didn't this method help you at all?"

"NO IT DIDN'T!" Roy yelled, and I could feel little sparks of electricity hitting my left side.

"Roy-" I tried to calm him down.

"No Luke! You don't understand half of the story. Let me tell you the short version. Little six year old Mariko once made a prediction. The world was going to fall in chaos. Of course we all believed it, since her eyes turned dangerously blue and she entered a trance. My 'mom', like you, was able to go the spirit world."

"You can go to the spirit world too?" The woman asked, but Roy glanced at her and she unwillingly closed her mouth.

"She asked the spirits for help. They gave her a parchment, extra powers casters have forgotten written on it. So she and my dad turned Chinatown into a military school. But since I was her kid, she wanted me stronger than the rest, and when I failed to do something, she would torture me. Imagine an eight year old with needles sticking down his fingernails, hanging in the air by chains. Yeah, your face just gave away part of the horror I and many of the kids had to suffer. So, to get out of the pain, I went to that (he jerked his haid to the joint she still had in her hand.) And you know the rest of it. Leena finding me and the warehouse."

There was a moment of silence, where Roy was furiously shaking, staring at his mother, and I felt the most awkward I could ever feel. My life felt like heaven comparing it to Roy's now.

"Roy, I'm sorry but-"

"Oh you're sorry! She's sorry Luke! Oh good I feel much better. Thanks!" He mocked.

"Okay fine," she said urgently, finally putting out her joint. "Tell me how can I make this up for you."

Roy laughed, a scary laugh that scared me as much as it scared his mom. "As if you could EVER make ten years of hell up for me!" His face got stony, and his tone was so low it was barely heard. "Know that I will always hate you."

"Roy please-"

"You will never be my mother."

"Roy..." Tears were streaming down the Dragon's face, a person who was supposed to be strong.

"Now, give me the parchment and pretend like you don't have a son."

I wish I hadn't just mentioned the Dragon's strengh, because I thought I was starting to see it. Her eyes seemed to have dried all of a sudden, and her expression was blank, almost menacing.

"No." She answered sternly.

"Give-me-the-parchment." Roy replied in the same tone.

"I said no." She answered clamly, and the fire candles went berserk, burning wildly.

Roy turned to me and we smiled to each other, as if reading each other's minds. With very small concentration, I blew out all the candles, making the place a lot darker.

"You..." She looked at me. She spoke some chinese words, but of course, I caught the word 'Húndún' between them. "I see I am in the presence of the Fox."

"Yes you are." I calmly replied. "And please, we need to hurry with this parchment."

"I insist on declining." She raised her voice a bit. But the quiver in her voice made me feel even more confident.

"Look, if you want your little diner and the whole Chinatown in real chaos, just-"

"No no!" She yelled, her eyes full of terror now. "Don't unleash them!"

Was she on pot effect, I didn't know, because I had no idea who 'them' were. But I decided to play the act.

"Then give me the parchment!" I said too loudly.

She stumbled on her feet, yanked a picture frame off the wall and pressed her hand again the brick wall. A small part of it turned blue and vanished, and behind it was the so called parchment. As she gave it to me, her hand shook. "Please, be careful. If it falls in the wrong hands..."

"It won't, don't worry." I said calmly. "Everything will go smoothly."

That's where I felt the universe had something against me or something. As soon as I finished my sentence, a loud scream reached the room, and glass was broken. Then, an explosion.

"What the-" Roy muttered.

We hurried out of the room to find the whole front wall was torn down.

Many people were seeking shelter, while other were getting into fighting stances.

Chinatown was being under attack.