Born of Fire: A Magic Story

Caysie was like any other girl in most ways. She dreamt about boys, hated tests, and did not like to do her homework. She would much rather have been playing one of her massive multi-players online role-playing games. Also known as an mmorpg. You see Caysie was a nerd, she liked fantasy and science fiction, and she certainly did not like her life. That is because she was born with a debilitating illness known as Charcot Marie Tooth type 2. Categorized with muscular dystrophy Caysie was bound to a wheelchair and could not do half the things she had been able or would like to be doing now.

Caysie had played the violin, and been a beautiful singer, but this horrible illness had stolen those things from her. Hands curled from the loss of muscle use in her hands, she could however play World of Magic, a popular role-playing game which many people liked. It was not just nerds and stuff which enjoyed this game, many people from many walks of like enjoyed it. It was Caysie’s escape from the world when the pressures of being a disabled teen became too much.

On this morning Caysie woke like normal, not knowing strangeness was a foot, she slowly rolled from bed and hobbled to her wheelchair. Sitting for a few moments to catch her breath, she looked in the mirror at herself. She never resented herself so much as when she looked in the mirror and saw her wheelchair. That was what she was known for, her chair, most people only knew her as the girl in the wheelchair. She longed to be known for something she had done, or something she was doing. She did not want to be known as the girl in the wheelchair, she wanted to be seen for who she was. A knock came at the front door. Lacy, Caysie’s mom, answered the door.

“Good morning Billy, how are you today?”

“I am doing great mama, but this cold weather is crap.”

“Oh, I know, well come inside before you catch the death.”

Billy was Caysie’s best friend who lived down the road. They had grown up together and were inseparable save for when Billy was spending time with his boyfriend Davey. He would come over every morning and walk with Caysie to school. They were juniors this year and had to take the graduation test this year. Both thought this was stupid. Why take a test to see if you graduate if you already have the grades to pass? Simple, the state wanted to make money off the test results. Higher results meant more money.

Caysie slipped on her clothes and rolled into the living room.

“Ello gorgeous!”

“Hey girl, how’s it going, I love that shirt!”

She wore a fun tree of life themes shirt which was green tie dye with a tree of life in the middle. It was awesome and it really brought out her eyes. The two are breakfast in silence as Caysie continued to stare off into nothingness forgetting even to eat as she sat there. Billy could tell there was something on her mind, and so he decided to probe deeper.

“What’s wrong girl? You are not even eating.”

“I’m just tired of being me. Who’s going to take me to junior prom looking like this. I am frumpy, and all anyone sees is my wheelchair.”

“Girl, someday the right guy will come along, and he will not care less what sort of chair you are in. Now stop being so serious, we have one more week before finals, and we need to get ready for this stupid graduation test.”

She lowered her eyes. Billy would never understand what it was like to have a label for something out of his control. He would never know what it was like to be labeled the ugly girl because of a wheelchair. Caysie otherwise was very pretty. Granted she was not a super model, but perfection is not what beauty is made of anyone. Billy and his group of friends tried to pretend they were above the issues with their looks, but the truth was it was hard for all of them.

Billy was not a small guy. His love affair with doughnuts had landed him squarely in the fat category. What Davey saw in him Billy would never know. That was because Billy came from a background of being called names and told he was not good enough. How a senior could want anything to do with him was beyond him in every way. He felt lucky, and he worried always that it was some sick joke. Like how could anyone love him? Caysie had no idea that they felt the same way very much, but about very different things.

Then came Lorns, their other friend. He was a tad bit slow, and he had to attend special education classes as a result. People picked on him for not being the quickest study. They made sure he knew he was the dumbest one there, and they had no problem making jokes at his expense. Billy and Caysie would stand up for him, and now Davey, which really put a needle in a lot of people’s craw. You see Davey was the captain of the football team, handsome, strong, and sexy as could be for someone his age, and he was about to graduate right after turning 18. He broke the mold by A going out with a guy, and B going out with someone from a lower rung on the social scale.

Becky Endercot was not pleased. She had been throwing herself at Davey mercilessly for two years. She made no secret of what she wanted to do to him if she ever got him alone, and she flirted with him relentlessly. He on the other hand merely smiled and nodded, not returning any of the gestures, but not totally throwing her under the proverbial bus of rejection. He was not leading her on, he at that time had just not figured out how to come out to everyone. So here he was doing it, he did it by kissing a boy at a church function. That boy was Billy, and both were kicked out of the church.

The little town of Dayton was not ready for such a display of same sex love at a church function for sure. Most normal everyday functions would have been surprised and unhappy with what had happened. Now the church was furious, and they were the talk of the town. Of course, now Davey was being made fun of for being gay. Something Billy had dealt with for years. He was a fag, and everyone knew it. They were going to make sure he knew it too, which was stupid since he knew full well, he was a gay guy. He never understood people being so uptight about something that did not involve them, but then people were always sticking their nose into other people’s business.

The locker room was the worst. Now guys were afraid to shower with him. They would move as far away from him as possible afraid they might catch the gay. More than this, if he happened to be even slightly aroused, they all assumed it was because he wanted to have sex with every single one of them, all of them forgetting that with raging hormones came such events. The coach was also not treating him well, but they needed him because he was a fast-moving brick that could make the other team tremble when it moved. Hard to take down and agile, he was only popular now when the people of the school wanted him to win games. What was most fun about this situation is that he did not care one bit. He was free for a change, and he had someone to walk through all this dumb stuff with.

Billy and Davey shared a peck as he was met by Davey at the school. Davey hugged Caysie and the three rolled on. Thunder could be heard in the distance and rain was the last thing any of them wanted to face. Walking into the cafeteria the shadows seemed to be shadowed, and the darkness of the room seemed to not be affected by the light. Billy shook it off as being the dark storm coming, but he could not shake off the feeling something more was going on. The air had tangible anxiety to it. He shrugged; it must have been all the testing going on.

Caysie seemed to have noticed it too.

“Wow, it seems so dark in here.”

“Yeah, it's only because of the storm brewing outside.”

“Probably, I wonder why we are getting a thunderstorm in the winter.”

“Probably because the government has been playing with CERN or something.”

Caysie giggled and rolled her eyes.

“You and your conspiracy theories. That thing is so expensive to run, no one just plays with it.”

“Oh, they do other things there besides the collider. You can bet your tootsies on that one.”

Davey laughed and waved as he headed to class. Billy walked Caysie to her class and then high tailed it as fast as he could to his. Everyone knew he would walk Caysie to class, so if he were a few minutes late none of the teachers really cared. He was a good student with good grades, and he took part in the student council and the FCCLA, so they felt it was worth it for him to be a few minutes late and help his fellow man less fortunate than himself. This really made him mad. She was not less fortunate, she had a different life, and people needed to stop treating her like an ugly broken china doll.

The first crash of lightning and thunder was not very loud, but within minutes it seemed like it was all around. The tornado alarm sounded, and students piled into the hallways to take cover. Davey and Billy both ran to where Caysie was. They pulled her from her chair and covered her head. Moments later everything was black. How could a tornado have formed so quick, and what was it doing forming in winter? That was all Billy could think as the dust and rubble settled around him. He was still holding Caysie’s hand as she came to.

“Holy! @$^! Did we just get hit with a bomb?”

“No! More like a series of freight trains.”

Davey sat up and looked about. The school had been demolished in seconds. The sound of the train like tornado still buzzing in his ears he was trapped in a small corner by a huge piece of debris. He could not see Caysie or Billy anywhere, and he began to panic. What if they were under the debris? He struggled to make sense of everything. No one else was around. Not a soul and the only noise was the creaking of unsafe rafters and debris settling. How could there be no one? Were they all dead?

“Billy! Caysie! Where are you!”

“Here! We are here!”

Davey began to follow the sound of their voices and following it he found a small hole through which he could fit his arm. Billy saw his arm and took his hand.

“Davey, are you hurt?”

“No, but there is no way I can move this piece of the ceiling.”

“Me either, we need to go get help. You stay here while I do that. Caysie is fine, but she is on the ground. I have no idea what happened to her chair.”

“Billy. Something weird is going on. Have you seen or heard anyone else?”

Now Billy froze, and Caysie who was also listening froze. Davey was right. There were no people screaming for help or in pain. No one was trying to save them. No one was walking the halls. There were no bodies here and there. What was going on? Had they been out cold for so long everyone else had been rescued but them? How could that even be possible in a small town like Dayton? Even for how unpopular they were they still would have been missed by their parents, and by the adults who knew them in the school. So where was everyone?

“You’re right. What do you think it means?”

“I have no idea, but if you can’t find someone soon, it looks like this thing is going to fall on me.”

“What no!”

“Go get help now, I will be fine, Caysie is with me.”

Billy nodded as he rubbed the tear from his eye. He did not want to leave him there. No offense to Caysie, but she was not exactly helpful in this situation. She would do her best, but there was not really much she could do. Still, he would not be alone. Billy climbed over some rubble when he was met with his first-person since the tornado hit. It was a muscular man, though skinny. He wore shiny armor, and his sword was not only drawn but now at Billy’s throat.

“Halt, who goes there!”

“My…My name is Billy; my friends need help!”

Expecting this to mean something, he figured it was some jerk being cute after a natural disaster, but the blade did not lower. Instead more people walked into the area. Now Billy was certain he had hit his head. They all wore armor or robes or fancy clothes from a medieval theme, or from something like World of Magic. He shook his head slowly.

“Please! My boyfriend and sister need help.”

The blade lowered and the man motioned with his arm. Various armored men moved past Billy. A woman who could only be described as an elf walked forward. She was gentle-looking and bore only a staff and a dagger on her hip.

“Strange clothing, odd accent, talks with odd words... Perhaps a portal sire, they certainly are not from here.”

Billy swallowed hard.

“Are you saying we are no longer on Earth?”

“Earth? Is that the name of your ship, or your kingdom you serve?”

“No, that’s the name of the planet I live on.”

Everyone exchanged looks.

“This planet is known as Chandrak. I think its best we take you and your friends to the castle for more questioning, and to get you bandaged and cleaned up.

Men grabbed Billy by either arm. Moments later Davey and Caysie were being hauled out by their arms, and to Billy’s surprise Caysie’s legs were working and flailing as he had been.

“Caysie! Your legs!”

Caysie froze. Not only could she feel every inch of her body without pain, but she could also move them all. Her voice was strong and pure and not hindered by vocal cord Bparalises. She was covered from head to toe in dirt, but she could move. She began to sob happily. Maybe the tornado had hit her spine or something and somehow fixed her body. She could not imagine anything else had caused her to regain her ability to walk.

“Davey this is the weirdest dream I have ever had.”

“I don’t think this is a dream.”

Shackled and placed in a wagon with thick steel or other metal doors, the ride was bumpy. When they would ask questions, they were met with silence, and when they tried to talk to each other they were told to be silent. Meanwhile at the front of the caravan in the royal cart.

“I did not sense any ill intentions from them. Only fear and lots of confusion.”

“Interesting. I wonder where this Earth is in the stars, and how they would have come from it to here?”

“That is a good question, one I will be working on with the other magicians. The balance of magic cannot be disturbed, and three people from another world are very apt to disturb it.”

“Very well, when we reach the castle, they shall be my private guests. We will clothe and feed them after a bath but try not to get them involved in this war. They have nothing to do with it, great. If they are spies, then not having them near anything important would be best before we cut their heads off.”

Shixia nodded at her king. She gazed into her crystal ball for a moment. Nothing, not even a swirl. Whoever they were, they were not the cause of the storm itself, or how they got there, they were however interesting creatures. They looked like humans, but that could not possibly be true since all the humans had been extinct for centuries now. How in the world could humans be on Chandrak?

Billy, Davey, and Caysie looked at each other over carefully making sure each other was okay as the wagon came to a stop. Moments later they were freed from their bonds, and before them was a huge castle. Caysie gasped and Billy and Davey were not far behind her. Catching her breath, she spoke.

“You two are seeing this right?”

“Well, I don’t think its Kansas.”

Davey rolled his eyes and Caysie facepalmed. Leave it to Billy to joke at a time like this.