Blaze (The High-Born Epic) (7 page)

             
It was about forty yards away. 

             
At that spot, he could see that several of the trees were blackened and a small fire burned in one of the lower branches.  He looked back at Scott who helped Ollie onto the log, and began pushing her back to the shore. Harold still couldn’t figure out why the river around him was so choppy. 

             
Then he saw steam.

             
The water in his immediate vicinity was boiling.  Harold looked down.  Furious flames were billowing from his entire body.  The flames nearest his skin were blue and those farthest from his body were bright red.  He could even see the light beaming from underneath the bubbling water.  His overalls were completely gone, and he stood there in the chest-deep water, naked and on fire, wondering what had just happened.

             
“This is the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen!” Scott yelled as he helped Ollie onto the bank.  Then he began running circles around the others, roaring and swinging his stick back and forth.  He was so completely enraptured in excitement that Sarah, Cooper, and Ollie came out of their trance, diving onto the ground and into the river, and Scape ran up a tree just to avoid his stick and mad fit.  Scott slid to a halt, slinging sand in all directions, then he shouted and began hooping and hollering.  The others had turned their attention from Harold, because he was clearly not as dangerous as the insane, wild pygmie that had just stormed the riverbank.  Scott whipped his stick around several times like a lasso, thrust it into the air above his head, and struck a pose like a victorious warrior.

             
“Harold is Fire-Man!!!” echoed through the woods.

Chapter 5

              “It’s a good thing you had that towel, Sarah!  Fire-Man would be walking home butt naked if you hadn’t brought it!” Scott said as he swung his stick at a bug.  “Fire-Man, you were there one second! And gone the next!  It was like, BAM! And then, BAM! And then, BAM again!  Then you were on that dirty snake, showing that dirty snake what Fire-Man does to dirty snakes!  And Ollie was all flyin’ through the air!  And I was swimmin’ to get her!  And the water was on fire! And there was all this light in the water! And the dirty snake was burnin’ up!  And the water was boiling! And you were like this!”

             
Scott arched over backwards, and roared.  He was surprisingly loud.  Then, he ran off, hollering, as he darted through the woods.  He stopped in front of a tree, and began beating it with his stick.  After several good whacks, his makeshift sword broke.  Unfazed, Scott looked from side-to-side, and quickly found another limb.  He sprinted to it, picked it up, and roared as he resumed his attack on a small oak.

             
Scape ran up the nearest tree, and put the lowest branch in between himself and Scott.  He peeked around it, wide-eyed, as he stared at Scott with his strange ears standing straight up on his head.

             
“I told you that young ‘un was loose-headed,” Harold said to Sarah.

             
“The whole village is gonna’ think we’re all loose-headed if we tell them about this,” Sarah replied.

             
“Harold ain’t loose-headed!” Ollie said.  Harold was holding her and she was sitting on his hip with her head resting on his shoulder. 

             
After the pytheel had burned, the flames covering Harold had stayed for about a minute, and then slowly extinguished.  Though Sarah had already checked Ollie, Harold looked at her himself.  She only had a small cut on her arm and some red marks on her hips and upper legs that probably wouldn’t even bruise.

             
They were standing at the spot where they all said that Harold had disappeared.  Or rather the last spot he had been before he disappeared for the third time.  There were two smaller black marks down the trail behind them, but this was the largest one.  This blackened spot spread out almost like an explosion had occurred there.  The trees around it were scorched, and Cooper was standing in the center of it poking the ground with his stick.

             
“So, tell me what happened again,” Harold said.

             
“I don’t know,” Sarah replied.  “We started running after Ollie, and you got ahead of me.  You turned up the bank, and I thought my eyes had gone bad, but your overalls were on fire.  Then, there was a loud bang, and I saw fire spread out from where you were, and then it all just came back together and you were farther down the trail.”

             
“Yeah,” Cooper said.  “And I turned around, and I saw a Fire-Man with glowing eyes running at me.  I didn’t even know it was you.  But you ran by me and then you passed Scott too, and then BOOM!  I saw fire go everywhere, and you were way down the trail.”

             
Scott crashed through the leaves toward them and tree bark fell all around them as Scape nervously clambered higher up the tree as Scott slid to a stop in front of them.

             
“Then BOOOOOMMMMM!” Scott arched over backwards flinging out his arms.  “Fire went all over the place! And it all flew through the air!  Then WOOOOSHHHH!” Scott brought his arms back together.  “The fire landed right in front of that dirty snake! And then you were like this!”

             
Scott started pounding the ground with his stick and giving his best Tiger-Man roar.

             
The others just watched his most recent spell with stunned amusement.

             
“Son,” Harold said, trying to hide his smile.  “You have
got
to calm down.”

             
He was actually strangely thankful for Scott’s near lunacy because Ollie was giggling at him.  He would’ve expected her to be withdrawn and crying if Scott were not running around completely unhinged.  Harold didn’t think the outbursts could last much longer, because the little boy was streaked with sweat, and panting furiously, but his eyes were still wide and full of excitement.  His demeanor reminded Harold of Jim’s dog that was always tied to a tree.  When he let it off its leash, it acted a lot like Scott was acting now.

             
As Scott ran off roaring and terrorizing trees, Harold looked at Sarah.  She had a look on her face that he’d never seen.  In fact, she was barely even paying attention to her little brother.  If she had been herself, she would’ve already calmed him down, but something very important was on her mind.  Something troubled Harold about her look.

             
“Cooper, are you sure all the fires have been put out,” Harold said.

             
“I don’t see anymore,” Cooper said.

             
“Well, let’s get back to the house,” Harold said.  “I’m bad sleepy.”

             
Ollie was still sitting on his hip, and hugging his neck.  She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

             
“You came after me, Harold,” she said as she looked at him in adoration.  “I love you.”

             
“Nobody, and nothing gets my girl,” Harold said as he kissed her forehead.  “I love you too.”

             
“See,” Ollie said to Sarah.  “I told you Wolf-Man and Tiger-Man weren’t strong as Harold!”

             
Sarah regarded Harold and seemed as if she was about to cry, but not because she was sad.  Her face betrayed her confusion.

             
“Okay, everyone, come here,” Harold said.

             
Scott sprinted up, and stood at attention like a soldier.  Cooper mimicked his stance.  Sarah just stared blankly.

             
“We can’t talk about this, guys,” Harold said while looking at Scott.

             
“Yes, sir, Fire-Man!” Scott replied.

             
Cooper nodded.

             
“Colonel Foxx would punish us for killing his pytheel, and probably take all of us away,” Harold said and eyed them very closely.  “I’m serious about this, guys.  We would be taken away.”

             
The two little boys nodded their heads.

             
“Remember, tiger-men and wolf-men know how to be silent, because they are soldiers.” Harold said and eyed Scott again.

             
“Yes, sir, Fire-Man!” Scott replied.  “We won’t say nothin’!”

             
“Also,” Harold said.  “If anyone asks about why I come home with nothin’ but a towel, tell them that I took off my overalls to let them dry, and someone stole them.  Okay?”

             
Everyone nodded in understanding.  Harold rubbed Ollie’s head and she just smiled.  Harold looked at Sarah who still had that strange look on her face.

             
Harold sighed as he began walking toward town and the others followed in behind him.  After going down the trail for a few minutes, Harold was satisfied that the children were composed enough for him to leave them.  Harold gave Ollie to Sarah, but Ollie decided that she would just walk and hold Sarah’s hand. 

             
He decided to take the long way, so people wouldn’t see him with only a towel wrapped around himself.  He jogged most of the way, and he beat the others home.  Thankfully, Aunt Nean wasn’t home either, and he managed to slip into the house unnoticed by his neighbors.  He went to his bedroom and opened his closet. 

             
There was one pair of overalls hanging in it.

             
He’d hoped to hold on to them until he could make a good trade for them, but that was gone now.  He swiftly changed into them.  Harold shook his head as he pulled and tugged at them.  He hadn’t worn them in almost two years.  He managed to get them on, but the bottoms were just below his knees, and the sides were ready to tear.

             
“They’ll have to do until Aunt Nean can make me some more or until I can trade for another pair.  I’ll never hear the end of this.”

             
He didn’t have a clue as to what he was going to tell her had happened to his other overalls.  While he was waiting on the others, he lay down on his mattress and looked at the picture of his parents.  He wondered who they were, and whether or not they would be proud of him and what he had just done. 
How did I do that?
Harold wondered.  He closed his eyes and laid there for a moment.

             
The next thing he knew Ollie was shaking him awake.

             
“Sarah and Scott already left, but she told me to tell you she said ‘bye.’”

             
“I needed to talk to her before she left,” he said.

             
“Don’t worry about it,” Cooper replied as he walked into the room.  “Her and Scott will be at Colonel Foxx’s speech tonight.”

             
“Oh, I forgot that was tonight,” Harold replied as he yawned.  “Y’all wake me up when it’s time for supper.”

             
He turned away from them and closed his eyes.

             
Just as Harold started to dream, he heard Aunt Nean calling him.  He hadn’t been asleep for very long, but he felt somewhat refreshed.  He walked into the kitchen to the smell of baking cornbread and boiling turnips.  He thought he smelled ham too.

             
“Scott Smithee is the most loose-headed young ‘un I’ve ever seen in my life, Harold,” Aunt Nean said. 

             
“Why?” Harold asked while his heart beat fast.  “What did he do?”

             
“That young ‘un was running around like a lunatic, blabberin’ on about tiger-men and fire-men,” she shook her head.  “He was swingin’ that infernal stick of his like they weren’t nobody around, and makin’ all kind of fire noises.  He nearly hit me and a half-dozen other town folk with it while he was running down the street hollerin’.  I’m so glad that he didn’t hit poor old Judy, ‘cause he nearly did.  He’d have killed that old woman.  And his poor sister, Sarah, she was just a’ cryin’ comin’ down that road.  I felt so sorry for her.  I reckon she was cryin’ ‘cause she knew her fool brother was a pure idiot.  I reckon that somebody went and told Willie that his boy had done lost his mind, because he showed up, and busted the seat of Scott’s britches, just like that crazy young ‘un needed.”