Don't Play With Flames

Kyra and Lea go to Greenville Park to confront Frenemy and retrieve the Gossamer Pen. Once in the park, they discover another of Kyra's drawings.

Kyra thrashed about in bed for hours attempting to sleep. Her mind wouldn’t stop swirling. She could she Frenemy’s face. She could hear Frenemy laughing at her. Those yellow eyes glowing intensely as Frenemy held the pen high in the air victoriously.

Why did Frenemy steal the Gossamer Pen? Kyra wondered. Frenemy had just given it to her.

Kyra rolled onto her back and stared wide-eyed at the ceiling. She exhaled deeply attempting to release all the worry bound up inside her.

Kyra now believed that her creation had some awful plan to use the Gossamer Pen. She had to find a way to get it back. Kyra feared that Frenemy would turn all her drawings against her and Greenville. There were still four other creations roaming around the town that had yet to show themselves.

Kyra shot up out of bed and dashed to her sister’s room. She shook Lea awake.

“Lea. Lea, we have to find them!” Kyra was frantic.

Lea startled awake.

Kyra screamed. Lea’s face was green.

“You’re a monster!” Kyra believed her sister had been turned into some hideous and evil monster by Frenemy.

“Stop it, Kyra. It’s face cream. What do you want?” Lea barked.

“What’s going on in here?” Dad shouted from the door. He was not happy. “What in the world are you girls doing?”

“It was Kyra, Dad. I think she had a night-terror again,” Lea explained. Kyra had been known to wake up in the night screaming and crying. It would take Mom and Dad forever to calm her down and in the morning Kyra wouldn’t remember any of it.

Dad rubbed Kyra’s back and began asking her the standard questions from those night-terror experiences. “Who am I? What’s your name? Where are you?” He yawned. His eyes closed for a moment, then shot back open. Kyra answered, but with a frustrated tone. Dad may have been sleepy, but Kyra was wide awake. She wasn’t experiencing a night-terror and hadn’t in a few years, but Lea knew that Dad wouldn’t question it, like he would if he knew that Kyra was going crazy because a red-skinned monster that she created was running around Greenville with a magical pen.

Dad yawned widely, “Alright, Ki-ki, back to bed, baby. Let your sister sleep.”

“Dad, can I sleep in here with Lea?” Kyra needed to talk to her sister immediately, not in the morning. This couldn’t wait any longer.

Dad left the choice to Lea. She hesitated knowing full well that if her sister remained in her room there would be little chance for her to go back to sleep. Finally, she agreed…with a little prodding from Kyra.

The two girls talked for the next couple hours. Lea tried to ease Kyra’s guilt. Together, they decided on a plan of action. They would head out after breakfast in search of Frenemy and any other of the drawings on the loose.

The next morning, it was cloudy and Kyra felt as though her mood hung over Greenville. The sky was grey and murky. The air was thick and damp. Rain was coming. The girls weren’t certain if that was good or not, but it did mean less people would be out in town and that meant less people to stumble across Kyra’s mistake.

 

Frenemy scrapped her razor sharp finger tips along a tree stripping it free of its bark. Her yellow eyes narrowed in thought. She now wore human clothes in an attempt to blend in…or at least not stand out as anyone with red skin and horns would in a town like Greenville. When she finished carving away the bark of the tree a name remained, “Waxie”. It was the name of another of Kyra’s creations that had vanished from the pages of her notebook. It was also her next target. Frenemy did have a plan, as Kyra suspected, but it wasn’t so heinous…it was survival. Now that she had been granted life by the Gossamer Pen, Frenemy was desperate to keep it. She would do anything to insure that she didn’t end up like Purple Dinosaur. She had no intention of being ‘inked’. The other creations would either join her or be inked by her…that was it. Now, she just had to discover where they were all hiding; Waxie, Manti, Spinja and Frumpkin.

Voices fluttered into the woods, Frenemy’s temporary shelter. She approached the edge of the woods slowly and peered into Greenville Park. Rain had begun to fall in the form of a mist. Fog rose from the warm wet grass. She could faintly see two shadows moving in the distance. Their voices sounded unthreatening…and familiar.

 

“Lea, wait!” Kyra screamed when her sister moved too quickly. The fog was thick, so much so that Kyra couldn’t see her feet or where they landed. She relied upon her sister’s guidance through the park…a place Lea knew extremely well. Lea always said she could move through this park with her eyes closed and today she basically got her chance to prove it.

“Kyra, hurry up!” Lea squinted to see through the fog. It didn’t help in the slightest. “We are never going to find anything like this.” She announced in frustration throwing her arms in the air. A hand landed on her back causing her to yelp.

“It’s me!” Kyra called. Her arm the only thing visible at first. Kyra’s body eerily emerged from the fog. It was becoming thicker by the second. The girls stood only a few feet apart and could see nothing beyond the small circle that they stood within.

“This is ridiculous,” Lea huffed.

“What’s that?” Kyra pointed to a bright orange ball glowing in the distance. It began to grow larger as it appeared to move toward them.

 

Frenemy had pulled a branch free from ‘Waxie’s’ tree. She held the Gossamer Pen firmly within her other hand and clicked the end, then began drawing flames at the branches tip. When she finished drawing she clicked the pen again and tapped the center of the flames, which instantly burst to life. The flames danced before her. She smiled widely; proud of her accomplishment…she had just created a torch with the magic of the Gossamer Pen…her first magical feat.

The light from her torch cut through the fog aiding her attempt to discover who wandered in the park. She moved carefully although she had a strong suspicion who was out there. She believed Lea and Kyra had come to reclaim the Gossamer Pen.

The faint shadows began to form distinct shapes with each step. Frenemy clutched the Gossamer Pen tighter than ever before. She would not relinquish it to anyone…not even her creator. Silhouettes of human figures emerged, and Frenemy was positive it was the girls.

Frenemy stopped torch in hand held up high in the air, her face blazing against the light. Cowering before her where Kyra and Lea. The girls screamed and ran away disappearing quickly into the fog. Frenemy cackled before proceeding after them.

Lea grabbed Kyra’s hand leading them away. “Where are we going?” Kyra cried.

“You’ll see. I have an idea.” Lea lead them to the edge of the park.

Frenemy followed. She had a keen sense of smell, and used it to follow the girls trail through the fog. She used the flaming torch as a beacon to frighten them of her approach.

 The blazing flames burned through the fog. Kyra whimpered at its sight gaining behind them. “Here,” Lea whispered. “Duck down.” She led them under the swing set knowing that they could hide in the woods just beyond. The girls fumbled through the brush and moved to hide behind a tree. Kyra craned her neck to look for the torch. It was coming for them.

Frenemy moved quicker now. She could smell them close. She enjoyed the hunt, but was unprepared for Lea’s cunning. Frenemy was unable to avoid the swings that stood in her path to the children. She tripped and became tangled, falling to the wet grass, dropping her torch and the Gossamer Pen. Frenemy screamed with anger as she thrashed about attempting to free herself…it only made it worse. Her ‘human’ clothes tore away revealing her true form. The chains broken free from above and wrapped themselves around her waist and legs.

Kyra and Lea remained hidden listening to Frenemy call to them. “I know you are out there, Creator! I will find you. You won’t ‘Ink’ me!”

Frenemy could see the Gossamer Pen glistening in the damp grass as the flames reflected off it. The torch, however, still burned, yet the grass was unaffected. The magic may have brought the fire to life, but it didn’t affect the real world the way Frenemy had hoped.

“The pen, Lea. We need to get the Gossamer Pen!” Kyra pleaded, but she was too terrified to go alone. “Come with me!”

Lea nodded, and then took a deep breath.

“I will help you!” an unfamiliar voice emerged from the fog.

Lea’s heart leapt into her throat. Kyra farted. Emerging from the dense white mist was ‘Waxie’, another of Kyra’s drawings, and Frenemy’s target. Kyra shuttered at the sight of him; his face squared like a candle, but his body much like a man. Lea gasped, “Now there are two of them!”

“I am not your enemy!’ He proclaimed.

“Yeah, well neither was Swampy!” Lea crassly remarked.

“She is a very misguided soul. She has lost her way,” Waxie declared. “I promise that I am here to help you. It is the only reason I have shown myself today…Otherwise, I would have remained in hiding. I am here because you need my help.”

“We don’t have any other choice but to trust him if we are going to get the Gossamer Pen back, Kyra.” Lea wasn’t sure if they could trust Waxie, but she had no time to find out. Frenemy was still tangled, the time was now!

“I’ll distract her while you reclaim the pen, Creator.” Waxie began to move out of the woods when Kyra grabbed his hand. The feel of his skin calmed her. She could tell by his touch that he was telling her the truth…He meant her no harm. He would protect her from Frenemy. Kyra smiled, and Waxie did too.

They approached their frantic enemy. The metal chains rustling noise drew them near. Kyra and Lea held hands as they approached cautiously. When they reached the swing set…the sounds had stopped. Where they expected to see Frenemy struggling to free herself, they discovered torn clothing and a single swing sprawled out in the grass.

“Boo!” Frenemy leapt at them holding the Gossamer Pen pointed directly at Kyra. Waxie tackled Frenemy. They wrestled amongst the wet grass. Fog swirled around them.

“The Pen,” Frenemy screamed in rage! Waxie had knocked it free from her grip. Kyra and Lea began to search the grass for it, but the fog was still too thick. It looked like a sea of white had swallowed up the entire park.

Frenemy broke free with a punch to Waxie’s stomach. She kicked him and dashed toward the blazing torch in the grass beside the swing set. Waxie got to his feet. He wasn’t nearly as quick as his combatant. Waxie moved in a rigid and halted fashion, making him an easy target for the agile Frenemy.  She slashed at him with the torch.

“This may not burn the grass of Greenville, Waxie, but it will certainly melt your skin!” Frenemy hissed. She jabbed at his side using the torch like a sword.

Waxie yelled and dropped to one knee.

Kyra cried out and moved to help, but Lea wrapped her arms around to stop Kyra. “Find the pen. It is the only to save him!”

Waxie did have one advantage…he was far bigger and stronger than Frenemy. When she moved closer to strike again he knocked the torch from Frenemy’s hand. His skin melted down his left side, dripping onto the grass. Black scorches marked his wound. He groaned slightly, which instantly turned to a growl. He lunged at Frenemy sending her backwards. She used his momentum against him flinging him off. Waxie crashed onto his back, seconds later Frenemy pierced his chest with the magical flame.

“So long, Waxman!” She sneered.

“No!” Kyra screamed. The fog had begun to shift as the two creatures fought.

“I found it!” Lea announced as she pointed to the grass at Kyra’s feet. “Kyra grab it!”

Kyra’s eyes filled with tears as she watched Waxie melting into the grass, the flaming torch glowing inside him.  

His head slumped to the side his body now a pile of melted wax. “Take it, Creator,” He muttered with his last breath.

Kyra lifted the Gossamer Pen from the ground. It felt warm within her hand.

Waxie smiled. He had done it. Kyra once again held the magical pen. Frenemy couldn’t hurt her now.

“NOOOOO!” Frenemy screamed causing the fog to rush out of the area.

Kyra shook with fear, but one look at Waxie made her more determined, steadying her hand. She pointed it directly at Frenemy.

“Do it now!” Lea yelled.

Kyra clicked the pen and it shot a thin black line. Frenemy dodged the ink blast and dropped the torch.  She then vanished into the fog. Kyra’s body shook from the adrenaline. She began to cry. Lea hugged her hoping to calm her sister as their mother would, but she too was shaken by tonight’s events.

Kyra pushed free and ran toward Waxie. Lea couldn’t stop staring at the large hole in his chest. Blades of grass and weeds stuck up through it. I think a kick ball would fit through that, Lea believed. Her mind unable to respond normally. Kyra, however, was focused upon Waxie’s face. It held a great smile. It made her feel less saddened.

“You truly were a friend, Waxie,” Kyra smiled through her tears. She touched his melted body with the tip of the Gossamer Pen.

“What are you doing?” Lea scolded.

“He deserves to be with the others. I can’t leave him here like this.” Kyra clicked the pen and Waxie was inked, his body absorbed back into the Gossamer Pen. She did the same with Frenemy’s torch that remained ablaze in the grass beside where Waxie had been. “We have to find them before she does, Lea. We have to find the others, and stop Frenemy!”