Sparks to Dust

Ch 1: The Appearance of the Alien Hershey's Kiss

"Go on, Ryan. You're doing it, mate!" The man Graham called encouragingly to his grandson clapping his hands only for the teen to fall roughly to his side a few seconds later. Clarity winced as he hit the ground. That had to have hurt.

"Nearly." His nan told him as she, Clarity and Graham rushed over to the teen who got up with a huff dusting himself off trying to free the dirt from his clothing.

"No, not nearly. I'm sick of coming up here, I'm sick of falling, and I'm sick of this stupid bike." The boy huffed, folding his arms over his chest childishly.

"Hey, I'm sure you'll get it down soon. You got way farther than last time Ry." Clarity took his hand in hers smiling at him.

"Further isn't good enough, damnit. I can't even do something that you could do since you were seven, Clari" He glared at the bike ripping his hand out of Clarity's hold roughly picking the scratched red bike up caught up in his anger.

"Ryan Sinclair, don't you dare!" His nan called disapprovingly only for him to chuck the bike off the side of the cliff. The metal contraption plummeting down below out of their lines of sight. Tree branches cracked and snapped, the bikes's little silver bell ringing as it got stuck somewhere below.

"What have I told you bout controlling your temper?" His nan chastised. "Now look what you've done."

Ryan merely groaned sitting down on a rock overlooking the forest below them. "Yeah, I got rid of the object of my frustration. Isn't it grand?"

"I think you put that bike through enough trauma as it is, I doubt the poor thing deserved to be flung away like that." Clarity sat down beside him.

"Trust me, it deserved it." Ryan insisted fed up with not only the bike, but himself as well.

"If you ask me it ain't the bike that's the problem." Graham sat down on Clarity's other side, behind the two teens.

"Graham!" Ryan's Nan chastised.

"No, it's alright Nan. He's right, I'm the problem. I just can't do it, no matter how hard I try I always fail." Ryan frowned.

"That's not true." Clarity denied shaking her head. "You get better with each time. Look!" Clarity pulled out her blue I phone showing him old video clips of him riding the bike. Ryan froze blinking slightly as he gazed at the proof of his progress.

"You've been recording me? Clarity I swear if you've shown this to anyone-" Ryan began his heart racing.

"I haven't!" She insisted pulling her phone close to her chest a bit scared he would chuck the device over the cliff as well. "And I never will. It's just to gauge your progress. Honest, it's just real proof you've been doing better."

"Mate, you rode it for a second." Graham tried to be encouraging, not that he was really any good at it.

"Can you stop calling me 'mate'? Anyway, a second's not enough." Ryan denied. "Whatever progress I've made still isn't enough."

"You'll do it if you keep on trying." his nan promised.

"I just want to make you proud." Ryan sighed.
"And I can't even do that much."

"You make me proud every day." she told him, squeezing his shoulder from where she sat behind him.

"Anyway," Graham spoke breaking up the tender moment, "you're on your own getting that bike because our train leaves in 20 minutes." Graham gestured down where the bike had been thrown. "Come on, love." Graham helped his wife up.

Ryan shook his head. "You've got to be kidding me.." he muttered under his breath.

"Don't worry, I'll help you find it." Clarity told Ryan.