• Prologue

    Calli stood at his mother’s side, her wedding band searing into his soft skin. The flames rose around them as his mother, Annaleise, pulled him closer. She smiled, her strangely beautiful face tear-stained and smudged with soot. She crouched down, shielding Calli’s small body from the flames. Her tears fell into his raven hair, her slender fingers twined in his locks and clutching desperately at his shirt. He stared at her, her face buried in his hair. She whimpered softly, sniffling at the tears falling from her smoke-stinging eyes.

    Calli’s mother lifted her face, her lightly tanned face nearly black. She stared wide-eyed at the bright, towering flames that eagerly devoured the humble wood building. Lying in the dank basement, Calli remembered his father. Dead before he could get to know him. Calli looked around, the smoky haze clouding around the ceiling. He couldn’t remember why they were in the basement, why not outside, watching the firefighters douse the flames? He tugged at his mother’s dress, her swollen belly offering comfort to Calli. His baby sister was there, living and…no, maybe she was dying.

    Anna’s thin fingers grasped his, the sweltering ring melting her skin. She cried out in agony when she tried to remove the silver band. Then, as one does a band-aid, she tore it off, the skin on her finger blistering and peeling away from the molten ring. She yanked at Calli’s hand, asking him to help her up. He stood, struggling to bring her to her feet. When she had stood up, her raven hair was nearly lost amidst the smoke. She ran as best as she could with forty extra pounds her body was not yet used to. She swung Calli up into her arms, his too-thin body easy to hold. Her bare feet screamed in pain as she hurried up the cracked, burning steps of their two-story house.

    She ran down the burning corridor, tripping as she made her way to the door. If only… her dreams were demolished as the burning Christmas tree from the foyer crashed in front of the door, ablaze with a thousand lights, sparkling bulbs and tendrils of flame dancing from needle to dry, dry needle. Tears once again found their way into her red-ringed eyes, falling onto Calli’s pale face. She stared into her child’s emerald eyes, her love for him swelling in her heart at his mature features, so odd in a four-year-olds face. She lifted her sky blue eyes from his, catching on the foyer window. The glass was splayed out in the room, glistening on the dewy grass outside.

    Anna did not heed the glass, instead made a mad-dash for the wonderfully broken window. The glass bit into her soft skin, bloody footprints messily smeared about the path of her run. She hugged Calli hard, pulling at his wrists. She smiled a little, remembering the way her husband had spun the little boy by his wrists before his demise. Calli would laugh, the world spinning by in bright colors and deformed shapes. He would become so dizzy he wouldn’t be able to stand and would collapse on the floor, his laughter swelling and dying as the world spun about him.

    Anna tossed the little boy, his thin body easily going through the window. He hit the grass at a roll, his body tossing repeatedly until he put his hands out to stop. His mother was slowly climbing out the window, her dress snagged on a tall, splintering glass shard. She screamed out, her hopes falling again.

    “Calli!” she yelled, her face glowing in the bright flames. He ran to her side, his hands fumbling around the glass. The glass pierced his hand, sliding easily into his flesh. Blood tickled down the glass, his bloody hand moving around it, trying to free his mother’s dress. When the dark fabric was torn free from the splintering glass, Anna picked up Calli and ran. She didn’t know where they were going. She didn’t know how they’d get there. She couldn’t fathom when they would get there. She just ran.

    †

    Anna was lying in the emergency room, a cesarean about to be preformed. She cried desperately for her baby boy to be brought to her. When he was brought into the room by a soft, kind young man who was in the children’s ward, he was sleeping in the staff’s arms. When Anna held him, the boy’s dark eyelids opened slowly, his piercing green eyes staring up at his mother knowingly. He cradled her neck in his arms, knowing this was his real goodbye. She would be lost after this.

    “Melody…will be your sister’s name. Do you like it?” she asked quietly. Calli shook his head.

    “What should it be, then?” Anna inquired softly. The boy stared at her, his green eyes replaying scenes from the fire. “Hua. It means fire,” he whispered, pressing a finger to his lips.


    Chapter 1
    The Beginning


    Calli stared down at his sleeping sister. His long black hair fell over his eyes. He angrily brushed it away, checking his black jeans for money. He quietly placed the money under Hua, writing lightly on her hand. ‘Be back soon.’ He did not need to sign it, she would know. He pressed two fingers to his lips, leaning them down to Hua’s forehead.

    He could hardly believe it. It had been nearly twelve years since the fire and he still could not get over the girl’s likeness of her mother. Their mother long dead, Calli had raised Hua best he could. He had been on his own for four years now. Things had changed. Calli was strong now, far stronger than anyone in his class was, he was faster, he was serious, and very determined. He pushed himself so far, never giving up. Even though his sixteen-year-old muscles were deteriorating from the extra use, he was fine.

    Calli checked his ankle braces, his shoulder pads. Everything to help him. His permanently sprained ankles would slow him that night, and his fractured collar bone would be aching in the morning. Pulling a slim knife from the rack in he kitchen, he turned and locked the doors from the inside. Pulling up the window, he climbed easily out, his thin body effortlessly slid through the opening.

    Once outside, Calli slid the ultra-thin knife into his pants pocket. Staring at the edges of the window, he remembered the fire. The climbing flames…broken glass...a window...torn fabric… He shook his head. Too much. Not now. He stood outside the window, his tall, thin body merely a shadow in the darkness. The light from the moon glinted off the silver band wrapped around his slender ring finger.

    His eyes slid over the thin ring, the five beautifully shaped stones set in a rose pattern in the middle, where the silver branched out like stems and entwined to spell out Anna. The word was so small nobody noticed. Rarely did anyone look at him, let alone the beautiful ring with slightly charred inscriptions. He hadn’t cleaned the ring since the fire, he never would.

    Calli flipped raven hair from his eyes, turning away from the comforting home. He stared up at the stars as he moved effortlessly through the worn streets. Weeds reached up, desperate to be freed from the blistering concrete. Their browning stems vaguely reminded Calli of fingers reaching up through the ground, grabbing at him to pull him into Hell.

    The tall, thin boy stopped a moment. He looked around, his sensitive ears picking upon every sound. His body tensed, fingers sliding to the thin knife in his pocket. Something…no, someone, was coming. Calli shot a quick look around, his Doc Martens feeling like concrete over his feet. The edges of his vision blurred, as if mist were creeping into his peripheral vision. Static shapes flitted through his vision. The raven-haired boy shifted back, the static shapes flying too fast, blurring his vision and making him dizzy. The knife in his hand clattered to the ground, the sharp noise dull to his dizzied senses.

    The boys head shook, his legs knocking together. His knees gave, his tall body slumping to the ground, arm caught under his boot.

    †

    Calli shot up in his bed, his breathing heavy and ragged. Hua stood over him, worry written in the soft features of her subtle face. He reached up, pulling Hua into his bed. He gently cradled his younger sister, her tiny body warm against his. He held her until she fell asleep.


    Reality

    Calli held out black jeans and a purple Nirvana tee-shirt to Hua. She took them gratefully, burying her face in the familiar-smelling clothes. The would be a little big on her, he knew. But they had to manage, they just had to. Calli wrapped his arm around Hua’s waist, pulling her close. She stared up into his clear green eyes. Her plump lips curled into a smile, her beautiful face glowing with happiness.
    Calli leaned down, nearly sitting, so he could look the small child in the eyes. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, pulling her close. “Your ten and we cant afford new clothes.” Hua looked at her brother, opened her mouth, then closed it.

    “I don’t care,” she said in her strong, clear voice. She walked to her room, pulling on the jeans with ease. They fit perfectly. Slightly worn at the knee, her immediate response to the jeans was love. She took off her silver tank top, the color glistening in the light. Pulling on the small shirt, it slid over her like a glove. It was a little long, just past her bottom, but she liked it.

    Hua pulled on her worn Converse, the soles nearly destroyed. Calli had to admit it. They needed money. “I’m going to look for a job today,” he promised. Hua stared at him in disbelief. “We need a car, new shoes, food, clothes, for God’s sake! Hua, I’ve got to.” She didn’t want her brother to start working, to leave her at home, alone.

    Calli led his younger sister from the house, prodding her towards the shed. She pulled out her blue Cruiser, while he pulled out his black BMX. Calli pushed off, yelling at Hua for a race. She sped up, leaning hard on her handles. Calli jolted the pedals, lifting onto his back tire. Hua giggled, her long raven hair flowing behind her cruiser, nearly getting stuck in the tire.

    Calli rode the three blocks with Hua to the combined Elementary, Middle School, and High School. Their town didn’t see the need to separate the schools. No point. Calli had to agree. Why spend extra money to make three schools, when you could have one big one?

    Calli sighed, his thoughts drifting to the dream last night. What did it mean? He’d been having similar dreams for a while now. He’d been getting worried. Desperately hoping they meant nothing. Calli pulled his bike into rack in front of the school, his nearly perfect face, except the burn mark above his eyebrow, was pale.

    His mother had complained of reoccurring dreams, he remembered. He shook his head sharply, sending raven hair twitching. He slid his emerald gaze from the bike he held to his sister, trying to get her bike into the rack. He slid his in easily, turning to help her. He gave her a tight hug, whispered happy birthday and nudged her toward the elementary school half.

    Calli squared his shoulders, and walked confidently up the stairs into the hell-hole they called high school.

    Working Pains

    Calli kept his promise that dad. He dropped Hua off at their house, pedaling towards the local grocery store at break-neck speed. He turned around one corner, too sharply, and his BMX slid out from under him. His leg sped across the asphalt, his elbow skidding on the rough surface. His bike crashed into the telephone pole littered with missing Pet flyers and music lesson numbers.

    Calli’s head knocked against the rough ground. As he reached to feel his head, he felt something sticky and wet. He groaned, struggling to his feet, crawling across the asphalt. People were coming from their cars, offering help, he angrily shooed at them. His friend Skooter came up, trying to lift Calli by his arms. When Skooter noticed the blood, his face paled.

    “Calli…blood…your head…do…need…doctor?” Skooter tried to say, ending up stammering and gulping down air. Calli pushed himself and slapped Skooter, in a friendly way. “Thanks, but naw, I’ll be fine.” Calli shooed Skooter away, looking at his destroyed jeans. Well…they looked kind of cool…

    Calli sighed, mussing his hair to cover the bloodied spot a little. He went to grab his bike, and realized just how much he was hurt. It hurt to breath, his blood making pools where he lay down a wounded limb. Calli almost cried. Not because it hurt. That would cost a lot. A fractured rib, probably a deep, infected cut on both his leg and elbow, not to mention the back of his head. Oh, God, help me, Calli thought.

    Skooter hadn’t left. “Man, you gotta get to the doctor,” he whispered. “Can’t. Gotta get a job.” Calli said nonchalantly. Skooter knew his situation. “At least get a Band-Aid.” Skooter pleaded. Calli was his best friend, he was worried.
    Calli complied to that, a sigh escaping his bloodied lips. A girl Calli knew from school, LillyAnn, he vaguely thought, an old friend, from when I was a kid… Another memory came with that, but the second he saw red, Calli banished the thought. LillyAnn had come up behind Skooter, waving slightly to Calli. She looked ready to start laughing. She put her hands out, almost touching Skooter’s shoulders. Se was going to push him.

    Until she actually noticed Calli. “Oh, my God!” she practically shrieked. She pushes Skooter away, nearly knocking Calli down himself. She pushed him up against the flyer-ridden telephone pole, her gentle finger probing alone Calli’s neck. Was he hurt there, too? Oh, God. Her fingers came away red. He guessed he was nicked up there, too. LillyAnn stared in horror and disbelief. “What did you do?” she demanded. Calli grinned and pointed at the bike, the blood, and Skooter said “The retard can’t ride a bike.”

    Calli laughed, the blood seeping through his white jacket. Or, what was left of it. A gaping hood was torn through the elbow, the fleece on the inside mangled and red. His jeans looked worse. A bloody streak ran up his pant leg, a ragged hole, shaped like lightning, streaking beside it. He gingerly touched the wound, the moved his leg, winced, and tried the other.

    Calli moved every body part, testing for soreness or injury. Halfway down his calf, he felt something sticky and wet. Oh, lord, he hissed in his mind. More blood. LillyAnn turned away for a moment, then leaned down and lifted his leg slightly from the ground. “Calli!” she shrieked at him, slapping him in his chest as she rose. “Get. In. The. Car. Now!” LillyAnn demanded, stabbing a finger towards her mother’s SUV.

    Calli opened his mouth to protest, yet LillyAnn stamped a hand between his shoulder blades, pushing him into the car. She pulled his head down through the door, his spine smacking the edge.He gritted his teeth against the pain as he felt warmth across his back. LillyAnn apologized frantically, placing him on her lap so he wouldn’t touch the rough material of he seats.
    Calli didn’t mind the position. LillyAnn hurriedly explained the situation to her mother, practically yelling that he needed to go to the hospital, all the time her fingers tightened on his back pocket. Calli hated being in this foreign car, speeding to foreign places, racing over rocks and weeds. Truthfully, he was terrified. He hadn’t actually been in a car for a few years. Sure, he’d ridden in a bus plenty of times.
    Not a sleek, fast car, speeding down the highway. Calli made a small sound, a sound of fear. Though he wished she hadn’t, LillyAnn heard. She knew about his past. Her slender hand found it’s way into his slightly larger one, griping it firmly. Even through the reassuring touch, Calli was still scared. What if they did something to him? Poked him with a needle? Cut him open? What if…
    LillyAnn started to sing with the radio, her careful voice carrying the Carrie Underwood song perfectly. The definitive country lyrics fit just right in the girl’s mouth. The sharp, low tones struck his ears, filling the air with silver lightning. With LillyAnn’s hand in his own, he fell asleep, head resting against the frost glass of the SUV.