Pen To Paper

Chapter 26: Freezer Burn

"Look, boot tracks," Molten told Neo, swooping him down to the ground. Neo bent down in the mud and examined the prints. "These aren't his. His boots have a zigzag pattern, these ones have spots." Molten sighed. "Maybe we should follow 'em," he suggested. They both took off, repeatedly calling his name. "He couldn't have gotten far, could he?" Molten asked. Neo sighed. "Skeli's pretty fast, I'll tell you that." The wind rushed against their backs, sending Neo into shivers. "Jeez, someone could get really sick out here!" Molten strode by him. "Too bad y'aint made ah hot firey lava rock!" he jeered, pounding his chest. "Shut it, kiddo," he replied grunting.

They followed the tracks for five minutes before they came to a fork in the road. The boot tracks were gone. "Now what?" Neo asked. Molten rose up and scanned the treeline. "There's smoke coming out from over there," he said, pointing East. He flew above the line and was followed by Neo. They came to a clearing in the woods where a small cabin sat in the middle. There were flower boxes on the windows and white curtains shielding the inside. "Should we knock?" Neo asked. Molten walked in front of him and pounded on the door. "FBI, open up!" he called, sending Neo over to him. "Don't say that, man! There's probably some old man living the-"

Crystal opened the door and looked at Neo. "Can I help you?" Neo nodded. "Yes, we were looking for our friend, Skeli. He's a whitish skeleton with red headphones. Crystal looked to the side and saw Molten leaned against a tree, setting fire to another tree a few yards away. Her eyes went wide and she stared at him for a moment. She turned to Neo, now frowning. "Sorry, but I haven't seen him, you could try going west of here, there's a campsite." Neo lowered his ears. "Oh, okay. Thanks anyway." Soo, the tree in the distance was no more, and Molten turned to Neo to show how proud he was. In doing that, he caught sight of Crystal. 

"Oh, hell no!" He hooted, floating over to her. "Man, I never thought I'd run into yer spotted ugly face!" Crystal rolled her eyes. "Get out of here, Igneo." Molten straightened up and moved closer to her. "Why don't you run away, it seems to be the only thing you're good at." Crystal shoved her hands in his face and soon they were fighting on the ground. Neo could only watch in amazement of how strong Crystal was. She grabbed Molten's ears and pulled them behind his head. "Let's make a bow for your little girly face!" she told him, tying them together. "Alright, alright!" he screamed, and Crystal let him go. 

Molten looked to Neo. 'I'm going home," he said, walking away. From inside Crystal's house, a voice could be heard. "What the hell was that?" Neo leaned and looked in the doorway. "Skeli? Oh my God, you're alive!" he cheered, embracing him. Skeli was a cold, heavy mess, but he was nonetheless happy to see him. "I'm so glad you're okay!" he sighed. He turned to Crystal, who was staring at the floor with her head down. "I'm sorry I lied, I just wanted the company," she grumbled. Neo put his hand on her shoulder. If you ever want to hang out, come visit Isolate Island anytime." Crystal's eyes lit up and she smiled. "Thanks." With that, Neo and Skeli walked home, with Crystal waving goodbye.