The Untamed

Chapter 6: The Legend of the White Cloak

“What the –?”

   But Clyde was cut short because a moment later, Kane accelerated the car and came to a halt a dozen feet away.

   “We gotta call 911,” Clyde gasped.

   Kane grunted and shook his head. Carefully, he stepped out of the car and Clyde screamed out to him.

   “Are you nuts? This whole neighborhood is gonna come crashing down if we don’t do something about this!”

   “No,” he breathed back. Suddenly, the red cloaked Kin named Ignatious appeared at Kane’s side. The man rubbed his beard thoughtfully and his face suddenly turned very grave. “I’ve seen something like this before… Ignatious!”

   “I understand,” the Kin replied. It had a deep and demanding voice. As it spoke, Clyde felt his insides tremble in fear.

   Without another word, Ignatious disappeared. Kane continued to stare at the building as the flames continued to erupt. Clyde was still having trouble with what was going on. Of course, there was obviously something very fishy about the sudden burst of flame, but that didn’t mean 911 shouldn’t have been dialed by now.

   “It won’t work,” Kane spat back after Clyde screamed out his thoughts. “It’ll just get more people killed.”

   The boy was taken aback. He wasn’t sure if he followed Kane exactly.

   “I just hope I’m wrong,” he added in a painful whisper.

   “What’re you talking about?” Clyde bellowed. “People are in there! We need to rescue them!”

   Kane ignored every word. His face was strained into deep thought, as if he was trying to figure out the cause of the fire. After about thirty seconds, he grunted again, his hands curled into fists and for a change, he didn’t look so calm.

   “Stay here,” he ordered. “If I’m right, we’re in serious trouble…”

   Without another word, he took off in the direction of the fire. Completely thrown off guard, Clyde tried to scream back out to him, but it was in vain. The fire screamed loudly in the night as things inside the house began to burst left and right. The boy bit his lower lip and his fists were curled. He couldn’t stand the fact that there were probably people still in there – but he also hated the fact that if Kane didn’t come back quickly, he was probably also going to bathe in that flame too…

   Suddenly, he noticed the silhouette of someone running from the house. It had gone several feet before falling over. Realizing that that was probably the arsonist, Clyde’s heart skipped a beat and he made an immediate decision.

   He bolted out of the vehicle and lunged toward the fallen figure. In his head, he knew exactly what to do to the guy the moment he neared him: Give him one of those knuckle bruising punches in the nose…

   However, once the figure came into full focus, Clyde was even more caught off guard than before. It was a girl in her pajamas and she was crying loudly. But the thing that made Clyde’s jaw drop was the fact that this girl was Anya Almendariz.

   For a moment, he gazed at the girl in wonder, but then he came back into focus and sprinted toward her.

   “You?” Clyde gasped.

   Anya was still moaning and crying. She hadn’t yet realized who was talking to her.

   “M-my dad,” she sobbed. “H-he’s still in there! Someone, please!”

   “Just calm down,” Clyde yelled, “I’m sure your dad will be –”

   Just then, the entire house blew into smithereens with bits flying in all directions. Reacting on impulse, Clyde dropped himself on to the floor and covered Anya from the incoming debris.