Random book of short little stories! By: Jay Lannings

Blue Fading Red

Remember my old book? Black and White Fading Blue? Well, here it is again, only different. Very different.

I made this when i was bored in class.

Hellfire tapped his foot nervously, his tail swaying anxiously, and his sharp shark-like teeth biting down on his bottom lip. In front of him stood his father, angry. Smoke puffed from the large creature’s nostrils as he towered over his son. He did something wrong, and he knew it. But he didn’t know what, exactly.

“Just like your mother,” the creature growled. “always scared of the outside world.” Hellfire realized what he had done. He had ran away during the hunt once a pack of wolves was in sight. He felt bad for leaving his father to the delinquents, but he was too scared to help fight them off. He was too scared to do most anything his father put him up to. He was even too scared to look at his father. His gaze stayed low whenever his father was near.

Despite his anxiety and nervousness, he liked to sit alone near the village at the edge of the woods. He would watch the humans go about their days. Every now and then, a younger boy just like him would visit him and they would talk or play deeper into the woods. It’s been 3 years since Hellfire had seen the other boy and after the interaction with his father, he knew why. The boy was in the village and was talking and laughing with another boy his age. The third boy had short, green hair that lengthed down to his neck on one side. The other side was a dirty- blond colour and shaved off. He had icy blue eyes that hid behind dirty and cracked prescription lenses.

Hellfire felt a ping of jealousy and hurt, but paid it no mind as he spread his wings and took off flying, looking for another spot to calm his nerves. He landed a few feet away from the edge of DragonBlood Lake, the lake that sat near his home. He knelt down next to the edge of it and cupped his hands dipping them into the water. He then lifted them up quickly, splashing his face. He sighed and stood. He turned and flew back home.

The day that followed, he hovered over the tops of the trees. He heard two voices crying and yelling.

“I didn’t mean it!” screamed a young voice. “I didn’t mean it, it wasn’t me!” Hellfire landed on a branch of a taller tree and spotted the two boys from the day before. The new boy now had green eyes and the sleeves of his hoodie were rolled up to show bloody symbols carved into his arm. Symbols that Hellfire recognised. The Symbols of the Witch Counsel. The boy had turned himself into a witch.

About 10 feet away, Hellfire’s old friend was stumbling back in fear, sobbing. Eventually, his back hit the trunk of a tree, stopping him. The witch boy approached him slowly, also crying, but not as hard as the other.

“Please… Please don’t leave me… I didn’t mean it… Please..” The fear in both boys’ eyes only grew as Hellfire’s old friend spread his baby blue wings and took flight, leaving the witch alone and scared.

Surprise washed over the witch and he collapsed, falling to his knees. He let out a pained shriek that echoed through the quiet woods. A pack of birds nearby took flight away from the area, startled. Just like how the half-bird had left the witch. Hellfire didn’t want to leave the suffering boy. He wanted to be there for him. He jumped from the tree branch he perched on and ran towards the boy who was about to fall unconscious from severe blood loss. He didn’t know why he wanted to help the witch, he just felt it was necessary. Hellfire caught him before he could hit the ground.

The boy didn’t have enough energy to speak as blood began to pool under his arm. All he could do was mouth ‘I’m sorry’ before falling unconscious. Hellfire wanted to heal the boy, but he knew magic couldn’t be used on witches; It would just hurt him more. He couldn’t take him to the village, they both were identified as monsters.

He did what he felt was the only other way to take care of the boy: he took him home. He spread his wings and took off flying, his grip on the boy deadly as to not risk dropping him. After a minute or two, he made it to the large, open mouth of a cave. He called for his father and got no response. He must be hunting, Hellfire thought. He took the boy deeper into the cave and removed a loose piece of rock from the wall, revealing a large collection of first-aid supplies. He took out rubbing alcohol and a roll of gauze before making his way back to the unconscious witch.

It didn’t take long for the boy to wake up with blood-soaked gauze covering his forearm. He was confused at first until he saw a blurred figure kneel next to him.