Legacy Of Altherion

Nathan and Bradley stood at one of the bars near the edge of BU stadium, rating the various costumes parading around the field.

“Why didn’t you dress up? It’s the biggest party of the year you know.” Nathan said.

“You’re one to talk.” Logan said. “Champions Festa or not, costume parties aren’t my thing. Besides, I’m working.”

Nathan chuckled. “Fair enough.”

“He doesn’t know how to have fun.” Bradley said.

“I don’t want to hear that from you.” Logan said. “Who are you supposed to be anyway? The monopoly man?”

"Hey, what about that one?" Nathan said, pointing to an angel with black wings.

“A six. The costume is tacky, but the woman is cute." Logan said.

“That’s way too low, your standards are far too high.” Bradley said, shaking his head.

"You know it's rude to point, just by the way."

Nathan chuckled. "I know, but there’s so many people here I doubt anyone would notice.”

"I see, is that why dark angel is coming over this way?" Logan said.

“Maybe she’s coming for a drink?”

“Sure.” Logan said, then walked away.

“Yeah, you’re on your own with this one.” Bradley said, turning towards the counter.

“Well, crap.”

‘There’s no way right?’

Unfortunately, his scepticism, went unrewarded. The woman dressed as a dark angel headed directly to him.

"Hey." the dark angel said.

"Hi." Nathan said. “I like your costume.”

Her cheeks flushed. “You do?”

He nodded, grateful that his attempt at diffusing the situation worked.

“I’m not a vampire... What does that mean?” she said, staring at his black T-shirt.

“Oh, it’s a bad joke, don’t worry about it.”

She nodded.

“Is there something I can help you with miss?”

“Carla, my name is Carla.”

“That’s a nice name.”

“What's your name?” she said, leaning in.

Nathan leaned back, however, the bar prevented any further retreat.

The dark angel placed her hand on his chest.

A vibrant silhouette in his peripheral view caught his attention.

‘You’re kidding right? Isn’t this too cliché? No, I refuse to be part of this.’

“Sam, you made it.” he said.

He glanced at Sam standing a few meters away. She wore a long blonde wig, a white T-shirt and yellow waist coat, with a yellow checkered blazer and a matching pleated mini skirt.

She stared at him with both hands on her hips, and a visible frown on her face.

“Excuse me.” he said, removing the dark angel's hand. He lifted her gently by her elbows and moved her to the side.

He approached Sam with light steps.

“I’m happy that you’re here.”

“Is that right? You seem to be having a great night regardless.”

He grinned. “Is that what it looked like to you?”

“Yes. And I don’t appreciate being toyed with.” she said, turning around.

“Sam wait! It’s not what it looks like.”

"Yeah, I'm sure." she said over her shoulder.

Nathan sighed. “And I nearly avoided that movie cliché too.”

Sam turned around giggling.

“You think I’d let you?”

Nathan shrugged. “It was worth a shot.”

Sam clapped. “Nice try though."

Nathan grinned. “You’re costume, it’s Clueless right?"

"I'm impressed, only a handful of people have been correct thus far.”

"Yours is a rather lazy attempt at a disguise."

“Yes I admit, but that’s precisely why it works.”

Sam glanced over Nathan's shoulder and smiled.

“Your girlfriend is sweet.”

"Pardon?”

“Your girlfriend in the top hat.”

“Oh, him.” Nathan said, turning around.

He chuckled.

His expression changed when he noticed Bradley’s strange head movement.

As he occupied the dark angel’s attention, he repeatedly tilted his head to the right.

Nathan understood Bradley's intention. He turned back to Sam and closed the distance between them.

"Hey, do you want to dance?"

Sam glanced to her left.

"Those people are doing more jumping than anything, I wouldn't call that dancing.”

“Perhaps you should show them how it's done then.”

"Nathan, be honest, you just want to see me jump around in this mini skirt.”

He grinned. “Was that not obvious?”

“To be clear though, I won’t peak more than four, six times.”

Sam glared at him, pressing her lips together tight.

She rolled her eyes. "So barbaric."

"Well come on then!" she grasped his hand and led him to the dance floor.

After several minutes, Sam and Nathan headed towards the bar area, forcing their way through the crowd.

"That was so much fun." Sam said, catching her breath.

“Yes it was, but it's too hot in there."

They approached the bar and sat on two bar stools. Fortunately, the air conditioning unit behind the bar had enough power to reach them, providing much needed relief.

"Feels great, doesn't it?" Logan said in response to the look of bliss on their faces.

He grinned. "It never fails to bring in business."

"Two waters please." Nathan said.

Logan chuckled. "Sure. Hey, you might want to look to your left."

Nathan swivelled his stool and surveyed the area.

He chuckled. "When did that happen?"

Logan placed the water bottles on the counter. "Just after you left, it seems that our dark angel has no standards at all.”

"I don't know if I should be offended by that remark.”

“Take it however you like. ”

"Well, good for him."

He turned to Sam. "Did you see that coming?" To his surprise, she no longer sat beside him.

He noticed her water bottle on the counter, then glanced at Logan.

He shrugged. “I don't know man, she got up and left before I put the water down.”

"Maybe she went to the restroom?" he said before leaving to help another customer.

Nathan took a large gulp of water as he searched the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of yellow.

He sighed. ‘What the hell am I doing?’

He turned back to the bar. When he reached about half way, he noticed Sam standing near an exit, talking to a man he did not recognise.

His heart sunk, though he did not understand the reason for the feeling. He had no right to feel that way, however, for some strange reason, he could not take his eyes off the two of them.

The conversation between Sam and the strange man soon became heated, filling Nathan with more unease. Suddenly the man stormed off through the exit, leaving Sam with a demoralised look on her face.

‘What should I do? It would be awkward if she knew I watched her interaction.’

At that very moment, Sam glanced towards the bar. As soon as she did, she noticed Nathan's bewildered expression aimed at her. His bewilderment turned into a look of horror as he made contact with her widened eyes.

He turned back towards the counter.

"Crap!” he said under his breath as blood rushed to his face.

‘No, don’t be a coward!”

He glanced at the exit. To his dismay, however, Sam disappeared. He plucked the two water bottles off the counter and headed for the exit.

Nathan moved with purpose, brushing past the crowd until he reached the exit. He searched the parking lot to no avail. In a last ditched attempt, he walked to the boundary of the parking lot, hoping to see a glimpse of her.

He sighed in relief.

A few meters away just beyond a small picket fence, Sam sat on a large painted log in the middle of a small clearing lit by a tall lamppost.

He hopped over the tiny fence and announced his presence.

“Don’t be alarmed, it’s me, Nathan.”

Her body jerked, however, she maintained her position.

“May I?” he said, pointing to the open space beside her.

She nodded, curling her bottom lip behind her teeth.

Nathan smiled and sat down.

“Here, you forgot this.”

“Oh...yes, thank you” she said, placing the water bottle beside her.

Nathan tilted his head back, following Sam’s gaze.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sam said.

“Yes, it is.”

“You know, I’ve lived in quite a few places throughout my life, and as you can imagine, I’ve seen many beautiful sights.” he said, glancing at her. “I can say without a doubt, that nothing compares to this.”

As though she felt his gaze on her cheek, she glanced at him in surprise.

He grinned.

“That was so cheesy, jeez... I’ll rate you three out of ten for the effort though.”

“Your face doesn’t agree with you.”

“Shut up.” she said, turning her face to the side.

“Why did you move around so much?”

Nathan chuckled.

“My dad’s work requires him to travel quite often, and since his trips usually last a few months to a year at a time, we moved as a family.”

“That must have been rough, never staying in one place for long.”

“When I was younger, yeah. Not so much now.”

“Is that so?” she said. “When did you move to Bracken?”

“Late last year.”

“You’re joking right?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been at BU for less than a year and you’re already a final year student, how is that possible?”

“It’s complicated. I’ve accumulated what you’d call special credit, and it’s due to this that I am able to skip most modules and courses.”

Sam stared at him with narrowed eyes, then harrumphed.

“What?”

“Here I thought I was the only one with special credit, way to burst my bubble!”

Nathan laughed then shrugged. “It had to be done, sorry.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“How long have you lived in Bracken?”

“Including today? It would be about… forever.”

“You’ve been here you’re whole life?”

“It certainly feels that way.”

She sighed. “I can’t wait to leave this place.”

“You don’t like it here?”

Sam bit her lip. She stared at him with a dazed expression before lowering her head.

‘You just had to ask...Idiot.’

Due to their relatively close proximity to the stadium, the faint sound of music could be heard. An uncharacteristically slow and dramatic song echoed in the clearing, prompting Nathan to take action.

He got off the log and stood in front of Sam with an outstretched hand.

“Dance with me.”

She stared at his hand. “What?”

“Here?... Now?”

“Yes, we have this entire space to ourselves." he said, grasping her hand.

“O...okay.”

Nathan led her to the centre of the clearing, then placed his hand on her waist. Sam’s body jolted at his sudden and warm touch, which amused him. Sam responded by placing her left hand on his broad shoulder. He rested his free hand on her lower back, and shortened the distance between them. She placed her free hand over his right shoulder, and gently brushed her finger nails against his T-shirt, curling them upwards.

They moved slowly, backwards, forwards and side to side. Their movement simple yet elegant, flowing with the rhythm of the music, gliding across the clearing.

It is unclear when it happened, or if they even noticed. At some point during their dance, their movement slowed to a crawl. Watching from a distance, it would appear as though they simply stood in each other’s embrace.

Sam’s face pressed against Nathan’s chest, her head supporting his chin. Nathan felt a strange sensation on his torso, he decided not to linger on it, until he felt it again. Warm moisture that turned cold after a few seconds, dripping down his T-shirt. Sam’s heavy, yet silent exhale confirmed his suspicions, he held her tighter and caressed her back.

As though she held herself back for the longest time, as soon as Nathan tightened his embrace, she let go, releasing a stream of tears.

After several minutes, Sam released herself from Nathan, taking a step back with her head lowered.

“Are you feeling better?”

She nodded.

He smiled. That’s good, I’m glad.”

“Thank you.” she said, her voice barely audible.

“There’s no need. It’s not my place to ask, so I won’t, you don’t have to worry.”

“I appreciate that.”

“I’m sorry about your T-shirt.”

“Don’t worry about it, at least now it will smell more like you...Wait, that didn’t come out right, forget I said anything!”

Sam snorted then covered her mouth.

“What did it sound like in your head?”

He lifted her chin. “It doesn’t matter, that smile is all I’m after.”

Sam’s cheeks flushed and she averted her eyes, however, she could not control the corners of her lips.

“I...I should go.”

Nathan noticed her body trembling, all be it faint, he noticed it.

He smiled. “If you must.” he gently pinched her chin before letting go.

Sam smiled. ‘Good night Nathan.”

“Good night Sam.”

She turned around and walked towards the parking lot and eventually disappeared from his sight.

In the early hours following the Festa, Nathan volunteered to take Bradley home.

The long and winding road trailed along a cliff that overlooked the city. Nathan's thoughts wondered recklessly, reliving the events of the Festa. He felt uneasy about seeing Sam and the strange man argue, but he decided not to over think it.

"Nathan, I need to pee!" Bradley yelled from the back seat.

"Are you serious, we just stopped a few minutes ago." Nathan said.

"I can't help it, I'm going to wet the back seat if we don't stop now.”

Nathan slammed on the breaks immediately, causing Bradley to roll forward and hit the back of the front seat.

"Ouch, are you trying to kill me Nathan!" he said, rubbing his head.

"Get out, right now!"

"Jeez, you don't have to be so mean, I'm going."

Bradley hurried out of the car, nearly falling onto the gravel littering the side of the road. He stumbled a few meters away from the vehicle and sighed in enormous relief.

"Aaaaah, that feels so good."

Nathan exited the vehicle.

"Don't get too close to the rail, you might tumble over.” he said.

Bradley waving haphazardly, said "Yeah, yeah" and continued to relieve himself while looking off into the distance.

"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier, it was uncalled for.”

"No worries, I'm just glad I got to pee." Bradley said. "Where are we anyway?"

"We're on the cliff that overlooks the high school, see the flood lights down there, that's Bracken High." Nathan said, pointing over the rail.

"Oh yeah, I see it." Bradley said. "So if I aim just right, my pee will reach the school right?"

Nathan laughed. "Sure, give it a shot.”

"Did you hear that?" Nathan said. "It sounded like someone -"

At that moment, an enormous explosion erupted at the school below them. The thunderous boom knocked the ill-footed Bradley backwards, sending him stumbling towards the car. Nathan managed to catch him, creating a brace for his back to regain what little balance he had left.

"What the hell was that?" Bradley said.

"An explosion at the school."

"What?"

When Nathan looked over the cliff at the devastation, he observed the northern part of the school completely engulfed in flames. He felt the need to go down there in the event that there were casualties, however, he also had the awareness that he could not desert his inebriated friend on the cliff.

'Could it be related to that?'

He stared at Bradley with a determined expression, however, Bradley shook his head and waved his hands in a disapproving manner.

"The fire department will handle it, besides, it will take too long to get there, unless you jump straight down." Bradley said as though he read Nathan's mind.

Nathan glanced at the crumbling building and clenched his fist.

'I need to report this to Father.'

He sighed. "You're right, let's get you home.”