What's Science Fiction and What's Fantasy?

Chapter One:

What’s Science Fiction and What’s Fantasy?

 

                There were a few things in life that I never really thought about: death, superpowers, blue cats, and what is really in a hot dog.  Anyhow, time can be a funny thing that changes the way you look upon life or change your beliefs.  There are moments where I wish it moved backwards.  The seconds hand ticking away letting us become younger.  I feel as if I’m getting too old and now that I’m in middle school, I have to walk home everyday.  It’s worse than having to walk there everyday because at least my brother, Zachary, is there with me.  Also nobody is ever home in the afternoon.  At least, if it’s a rainy day, my dad will drive us to school, if needed.

                One day, when I was walking back from school the most peculiar event happened.  As I cut across one neighborhood to head toward my home…I saw something moving in the bushes.  My heart skipped a beat at the thought of a little chipmunk running around even though it was too late in the year for such a creature to run free.  I dropped to one knee looking into the bushes of Mrs. DeForest’s home to see the little creature only for like the shock of a lifetime to happen.  Before my eyes was blue fur that seemed to shimmer whenever a scattered ray of light hit the animal.  Emerald eyes soon stared back at me.  I smiled back at whatever it was.  The almond shaped eyes glimmered in the shadows of the bush before they started to move toward me.  Soon blue pointed ears came into view with little thin silver whiskers.  A kitty.  I couldn’t help but smile.  My hand shot out so I could pretend I had a treat.

                “Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” I said to the adorable cat.  The kitty came closer and he was sure beautiful.  Well…she was sure beautiful; I had no idea whether it was a boy or a girl.  Her nose was a darker blue than her fur, which made me think of the deep royal seas.  The strangest part about her/him was that they had green splotches across her/his fur that appeared in the shapes of sea green fish that made me think of the color of seaweed.  All the fish appeared to swim merrily along her furry flanks.  “Hello kitty.  You sure are pretty.”  I was about to pet her/him when there were abrupt footsteps behind me.  It sounded like thunder as somebody ran toward me.

                “DON’T TOUCH THAT CAT!” screamed a voice behind me.  I turned around to see some boy who raced toward me.  He stumbled to a halt trying to catch his breath.  “That’s my cat.  Don’t touch her.”  He pushed me to the side before he grabbed onto the kitty to scoop her into his arms.  “We’re on an extremely important mission and you’re distracting her from our main goal.  Please go away and please never try to touch my cat again.”

                “Well you don’t have to be mean about it,” I pouted unsure what to do.  I tried to glare at the boy but he seemed almost as interesting as the cat.  Maybe if he had blue skin to match the cat’s fur it would be interesting.  But everything that I’ve watched that involved somebody the color blue was extremely boring.  Instead, he looked extremely pale a lot like the dead or maybe as pale as the moon.  Maybe he was as lonely as the man on the moon.  His blue eyes were a deep royal color such as the sea except there was something somber about his eyes.  As if he were close to tears.  They were as moist as the sea was long.  His arms clutched the cat and I wondered what his kitty was thinking about with his tight embrace.  I was curious to what he meant about a mission, it seemed a little obscene.  There was an empty house down the street from me for sale.  Possibly, he moved into it and was playing a game.  That or maybe�"just maybe�"he was an alien visiting from outer space.  This could be something straight out of Star Trek.

                “What are you looking at?” the boy barked at me.

                “How old are you?” I asked him.  Actually, I meant to ask for his name but guess that would do.

                “Thirteen and it’s none of your beeswax.”

                “Oh really?  I’ve never seen you around before and it looks like you painted that poor cat in art class today.  Where are you from?  Texas?”

                “No!” shouted the boy.  He seemed to try to back away from me allowing his dark hair to fall into his face as if that could hide him.  Maybe he was like part ostrich or something along those lines.  “I’m not from Texas.  Not even close.”

                “Iowa?” I asked.

                “…Yeah…” he said.

                “Awesome!” I exclaimed.  “What’s your name?  Did you just move into that house down the street from where I live?”

                “I have no idea where you even live.  So how can I answer that question?”

                “Oh.”

                “I’m only passing through town.  I’m not living anywhere at the moment.  I’m staying with…my mom…at a hotel.  Now please go away.  I’m on a very important mission, which I’m already behind schedule on all thanks to you.”

                “Maybe you should put a leash on your cat so you don’t loose her.”

                “That would defeat the purpose of what I’m trying to do,” he growled before he turned to leave me alone.  Instead of walking in the same direction as me; he walked in the opposite, which made me happy.  I didn’t want some mean like him living down the street from me.

                For some reason, while he walked away I couldn’t help but watched him as I backed away.  My one foot accidently got caught in a crack between the curb and the road.  It threw me off balance and I collapsed in the middle of the road.  Ouch.  I laid there grabbing onto my arm for fear that it was broken.  Pain throbbed through my entire body.  Carefully, I moved it to look down at blood that seeped through a tiny scratch thanks to the little stones in the road.  At least it didn’t look devastating.  Maybe I was over reacting when I thought that it was broken.

                “WATCH OUT!” screamed that boy.  He had decent lungs and a strong throat to be able to shout like that all the time.  I looked over my shoulder to see that there were worst things in this world to worry about.  A high schooler plowed through the street in their car, which was headed straight for me.  It moved way behind the speed limit heading straight toward me.  I stumbled to my feet but it was already too late.  This car was going to hit me.  In a flash though, I realized that I wasn’t alone.  That boy had a secret and I don’t think he was from outer space or anything like that.  He had to be the son of The Flash, the fastest man alive.

                Within milliseconds, that boy stood before me no longer holding onto his precious kitty.  Both of his hands lashed out while he stood there.  The car continued all because the high schooler or drove it looked down grabbing onto a cell phone.  I wanted to yell to tell him to move but everything happened too fast.  My voice never left my throat.  The car crashed into him but his knees bent making sure he wasn’t thrown into me while his two hands tried to shove the car backward.   The front of the car crippled around him.  Metal bent and twisted out of shape while both of his hands hung there.

                I stood there unsure what to do while I looked around.  Parents ran out of houses to see what was going on.  The boy released the twisted metal and backed away.  He turned to face me only for his gaze to fall away to his kitty, which came back to me.  She purred while she rubbed against my legs.  It was too tempting to reach down to run my hand through her fur.  It looked so soft and smooth.  Too well groomed.  But, I resisted.  For a moment, this boy was more interesting than any animal that walked this world.  That was saying a lot since I had a strong appreciation for cats, sharks, penguins and scorpions.  No matter what, they were a lot cooler than any other human.

                “What’s your name?” he asked me.  But all I did was stare at him unsure what to say.  Obviously, the right answer was my name but still.  “WHAT IS YOUR NAME?”

                “You like to yell a lot…” I commented before I shook my head.  “Andi Rainn.”

                “…Andi Rainn…” he whispered before he shook his head and mumbled something in a different language. 

                “What’s going on here?  What happened?” panicked a mother.

                I forgot to pay attention for the rest of the world for that whole moment.  Quickly, I scanned the area realizing that parents everywhere scattered the street along with kids from school.  Somebody was talking to the guy who had been driving the car.  One of the mothers came toward us.  I knew for a fact that she had one little kid who was like five and obnoxious.

                But the boy pulled me away from her while the cat weaved between my legs.  Both of his hands gripped my shoulders while he looked me straight in the eye.  “Be careful Andi Rainn.  We will need to meet again soon,” he whispered to me before he took off backing away.  People stared at him.  I think they wanted to stop him.  His kitty followed him before suddenly, his bones cracked and became deformed.  His body seemed to fall apart and he fell onto all fours morphing into a cute little black cat.  It seemed a little far fetched.  A boy who could shapeshift into a cat.  I could take the super fast speed.  And I could take the super strength.  Shapeshifting?  Some reason that was where I had to draw the line.  I never liked stories about werewolves or vampires.  Only stories about aliens, space and superheroes.  Although, at this point, I wasn’t sure, which was more realistic.  Which was more science fiction.  And what was complete utterly fantasy.  There are a few things in life that I never really thought about: death, superpowers, blue cats, and what is really in a hot dog.