You wouldn't believe me if I told you my best friend was the king of an alternate dimension. You'd probably laugh and ask what I was high on if I told you I saw him, standing there in all his majesty's glory, black wings spread, sword raised, his crown resting firmly on his head. You'd tell me that I was sleep walking or having a dream if I told you about what kind of monster I watched him fight.
No one would believe me, so no one has to know.
At least, no one in this dimension.
...
I don't care if you don't believe me. I'm going to tell you my story anyway. Someone has to know his legacy before we fade.
It begins with an average high school party, stupid kids, and a fire. Ryan dragged me along to his friends' house that Friday night, saying that "it'll be fun." Let me tell you, it was not fun. If fun involves nearly exploding in an imploding house, fighting a demon, and watching your friend almost die, then yeah, I guess it was fun and I'm just a pessimist. I also have a bad habit of getting ahead of myself.
I remember this night like I remember my own name. I remember each word spoken like I'm in that room again, listening to them talk.
We ran into the party house and I was greeted by a physical blast of music and the smell of beer and smoke. "Are you sure about this?" I asked nervously. I'd never been to a party like this before. My idea of partying was usually a Lord of the Rings marathon, or maybe a sixteen-ish hour Star Wars marathon at my house, by myself, with lots of fish crackers. I was not a social person. Scratch that - I am still not a social person.
"Oh, come on, Alex. It'll be fun!" Ryan dragged me into the middle of that chaos and began to introduce me to all of his other friends. I forgot most of their names two seconds later, but no one talked to me after that anyway, so I didn't really care.
Soon after the intros, Ryan ran off to play some crazy games, after giving me one piece of advice:
"Whatever you do, don't go in the basement."
"Why not?"
"Just ... don't."
After promising that I wouldn't, he gave me a grin and left me alone. "Some friend you are!" I shouted after him, but he couldn't hear me. I grumbled lots of things under my breath and wandered to the table to get some pizza. Of course, he was my best friend, and a great guy, but he really bothered me sometimes.
It was rumored that I might've eaten an entire box of pizza, but I'm not entirely ready to confirm that yet. I tried a sip of beer, but it was the strangest tasting thing and I felt guilty afterward, so I started dumping as much as I could down the sink, stealing cans and cups and being as subtle as I could be. I felt uncomfortable here, but I couldn't leave without Ryan, and I knew he wasn't going to leave for another couple hours.
At this point, I had no idea that he was a king. I just thought he was an annoying jerk who happened to be my friend. I hung out in the corner, snacking on pizza and playing on my phone until I heard someone scream, "FIRE! FIRE!"
"What idiot thought it was a good idea to smoke in the house?" I muttered, and sure enough, I could smell smoke, coming from the basement. Why the basement? I thought that the basement was a place for couples to go make out - or worse, but maybe I was wrong.
The fire grew until the floor became hot, and trying to get drunk kids to evacuate is harder than herding cats. Still, the heat and smoke grew larger and larger, spreading faster than I thought was possible. At last, after a terrifyingly long time, I think we all get out of the burning house.
I looked up at it, my heart thudding in my chest, and realized the flames were blue. Not yellow or orange. I blinked over and over again, wondering if I'd been roofed or something when I wasn't looking, but I felt fine and could see everything clearly. Those flames were definitely blue.
A thought struck me, and I turned to scan the dumbstruck group of kids. My breath caught in my throat and my heart rate increased as I searched. "Where's Ryan?" I shouted in panic.
A couple kids shuffled awkwardly or mumbled, "I don't know," under their breath.
"Where is he?" I shouted again, my voice cracking.
"I think he's still in there!" a girl cried. "Him and Lance and Natalie!"
Ryan was still in the burning house. I stared as the flames kept on rising higher, and I felt something spark - pun not intended - inside me. I broke into a run, toward the house, even though I could hear sirens coming toward us. They might not make it in time.
"What are you doing?!" someone yelled. I ignored them and burst through the burning door.
I was met by beautiful, memorizing blue flames, licking at everything in the house. But it wasn't just blue fire. It was bright, light blue fire, a completely unnatural blue. I could feel the heat consume me, but though it was searing hot, it wasn't uncomfortable. I kind of liked it. I walked slowly through the house, into the kitchen, completely at ease, and then heard a massive thump and an inhuman screech. It was coming from the basement.
"Whatever you do, don't go in the basement."
"Why not?"
"Just ... don't."
Well, sorry Ryan. I was going down to the basement.
I opened the door and it seemed like the flames were tighter, thicker down here than they were upstairs. I tried to call down, because I was nervous, but I was choked with weird tasting smoke. There was another shriek, and then a very human scream.
Without thinking, I ran down the stairs and came face to face with a demon from another world, its light-sucking eyes the portals to hell. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. The creature opened its massive jaws, flashing shadowy teeth that looked sharp enough to cut just by looking at them. It moved toward me as if in slow motion, saliva flying from its teeth as it screeched. Looking down its throat was like looking into a vortex, a black hole. As it came closer to devouring me, I didn't actually see my life flash before my eyes, which was kind of disappointing, but I did see a flash of shimmering black metal above me.
The demonic thing screamed again as its head was completely severed. It fell to the ground, thrashing, and then vanished in a cloud of black dust.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Ryan screamed at me.
I jumped in fear and looked up at him, and then I found my voice and screamed. I remember seeing him and thinking, THERE IS NO WAY THIS THING IS HUMAN.
He had wings. Big, black, beautiful and terrifying wings. They seemed to fill the entire basement, but didn't cover or dampen the flames.
He also had a sword, gripped tightly in his left hand. Its blade was as black as his wings, long and razor sharp, and the hilt had a single ruby encrusted in the metal.
He was wearing a crown, too, but not like those king and princess or medieval crowns. His was also black, with the points sharp and jagged like a dark and ominous mountain. The band had silver weaved in between the black metal, and there was another ruby in the middle. It was huge and probably worth a fortune.
He looked like a king.
"Your Majesty!" a girl yelled - it must've been Natalie.
"There's two more down here," the other kid, Lance, warned.
Ryan stared at me and then said, "You two hold them off long enough for me to get Alex out of here. Can you do that?"
"Yes, but - "
"If you call me 'Majesty', you'll obey my orders. I won't be long."
"Ryan, what - " I started to say, but he grabbed me and yanked me upstairs, through the blue flames.
"You have to get out of here, Alex," he said. "You'll only get hurt."
"But the fire doesn't burn me."
"I'm not talking about the fire. That thing - the Shadow - it was this close to ripping you apart and stealing your soul. And if that - wait, what do you mean, it doesn't burn you?"
"It just doesn't." I shrugged, feeling the heat wash over me in waves. "Is that ... a problem?"
"It means that you're not human, Alex."
"Of course I'm huma - "
I was cut off by a strangled scream - the scream of a boy getting ripped to shreds and having his soul stolen.
Ryan's face paled, though I'm not sure how I could tell with the blue fire illuminating everything. He shoved me out of the way and screamed, "LANCE!" catapulting himself down the stairs, back to the basement.
I knew I needed to get out of this place, but I couldn't bring myself to leave my best friend, even as freaky as he suddenly was. But first, I needed a weapon.
I ran to the burning kitchen, grabbed the sharpest knife I could find, and also a frying pan, and then ran back to the basement, jumping down the stairs in time to see Natalie break - literally. She seemed to snap in half, not even crying out. I yelled in surprise and fear and Ryan whipped around to look at me and Natalie. His face fell when he saw her, definitely dead, and another Shadow rose up behind him.
"Watch out!" I yelped, pointing with my knife.
He spun again, swinging his black sword, but the Shadow vanished into, well ... shadow. Another Shadow peeled itself off the wall and crept through the blue fire, and then launched itself at him.
I yelled again, but Ryan was already around, slashing, but the monster didn't dissolve. It just hissed and backed up.
"I don't need your help, Alex!" he shouted.
It sure looked like he did. Even though he had what seemed like four arms - two wings, an actual arm, and a sword - the two Shadows threw their solidified bodies at him, and when he tried to swipe at them, they'd melt into the real shadows and dodge around him.
I watched for another minute before Ryan shouted again. "Alex, get out of here!" One of the Shadows sprang on his back and he staggered forward, making a little sound of pain as its claws gripped into his shoulders. He beat his wings and managed to throw it off, but the other one slammed into him before he could regain his balance, and he fell to the floor.
"Ryan!" I tried to run to him, but the blue flames were starting to burn, pulsing hotter and hotter until the heat was a visible thing in the air.
"Alex!" I heard him cry, though I could no longer see him.
Something clattered to the floor, rolling toward me. I noticed it when it bumped my foot, so I bent over and picked it up. It was Ryan's strange black crown. Just as I touched it, he screamed and I could hear the two demons tearing into him. Maybe I was just a human, but I had to do something.
"THE ONLY PERSON ALLOWED TO MURDER RYAN IS ME!" I yelled in fury, jamming the crown on my head to wield my two weapons. I charged toward them, relying on my hearing to find my way, and managed to trip over one of the Shadows. It shrieked and melted into the floor, and the other leapt off of Ryan and right at me. Before it reached me, however, Ryan stabbed through it with his sword, and it dissolved all over me. I tried to say something, but he grabbed and pulled on my arm, and I bent over with a yelp. He grabbed his crown and put it on, and then the jewel began to glow brighter.
"Hold on," Ryan said through gritted teeth, and then suddenly we were painfully ripped away from all things familiar, or not-so-familiar, and thrown in a dark room.
The room was washed in red instead of blue, but there wasn't any fire. It was the sunset spilling in through the large rectangle windows, pooling on the black stone floor like blood. The thought of blood made me look down at Ryan in concern. His wings were drooped, flopped on the floor lazily, his sword was slipping out of his grip, and his crown was askew, nearly falling down his forehead. His shoulder, however, took the worst damage. It was ripped into, the muscles torn at and the flesh bloody, as if the Shadow had been trying to eat him. I took one look at it and almost passed out. Instead, I redirected my eyes, noting all sorts off gashes and teeth marks covering his body. He slowly sat up, his face pale and his eyes exhausted, and then glared at me.
"Alexander," he said, breathing hard. "You are in so much trouble."