GET YOUR GET BACK 4; PYROMANCERS

  “–what the?!”

  It was mother, who had stumbled upon me in full view of my nakedness. I scrambled to cover myself in the same motion she slammed the door. I looked around the bathroom, still stunned from the encounter. That is when I noticed something crucial:

  I did not have a towel.

  I rose from the tub, spilling even more water onto the floor. My first step nearly became my last, as I nearly slipped and hit the sink. Every step felt uncoordinated and far from graceful.

  I opened the door slightly.

  “Mother, it seems I have forgotten a towel! Could you oblige me!”

  Silence.

  Moments later, she came from around the corner. She faced away as I took the towel.

  “Many thanks.”

  “Lock the damn door, please.”

  I close and locked the door. As I dried off I once again took the time to examine myself in the mirror. Though it showed the reflection of this current body, in my mind I could still see my face.

  Long blonde locks.

  Pale green eyes.

  Regally pointed ears.

  The image soon faded away as the mirror enforced my current situation.

  Curly black hair.

  Bland brown eyes.

  Regular…human…ears.

  The day went by so fast I had almost forgotten I was one of them. Just like Darius–

  That name.

  For all the loot in the Great Tomb of Tatakhan I could not remember my own. But his? Why does his name still ring in my head? He was there at the time Arch Dragon Retrius unleashed his fury upon me, that much is certain. I remember fragments of a fragment in the conversations we had.

  This only arose because I was talking to Maurice about cowardice and hesitation.

  If that were the case, then he must have been a human.

  Typical.

  I wrapped the towel around my waist and reached for the knob when I remembered to check one more thing. I leaned over the sink and inspected my teeth.

  They were less pointy than I would have wanted them to be.

  Damn it.

  I went to my room and scoured around for any night garments. After placing them on, I decided to retire entirely, and seek rest. As I lay in the dark, I was startled by my phone making a sudden chime.

  It was Maurice.

  “Hello?”

  “Listen. I’m coming to get you tomorrow morning. This should be very simple, even for someone that just got out of the hospital. DD is going to tell us the plan, I’m bringing him tomorrow. You’re the lookout. I’ll handle the rest.”

  Finally, an actual quest.

  “Alright. Lookout. Does that include being the person who leads the steel dragon back–”

  “Absolutely–”

  A smile stretched across my face.

  “–the fuck not.”

  In that same moment, it was gone.

  “You just got out of the hospital,” he remarked, “And your ass don’t know how to drive. And if we’re being real, you shouldn’t be doing this. If something happens to you, your mom will kill my ass.”

  “I will be fine. Though we should reconsider who will guide the dragon back.”

  I heard a sigh come through the phone.

  “Just be ready at ten. Bye.”

  [REMINDER SET: MEET MAURICE AT YOUR HOUSE AT TEN AM]

  I set the phone back onto the night table and turned over in my bed. I laid in darkness, unable to sleep as I schemed for tomorrow. My thoughts raced of the pyromancers my cousin spoke of. That and their guns, which seemed more powerful than any bow I’ve fired. In the flashes of the encounter I could remember, all I saw were bright flashes of light. The damage on my body spoke for itself.

  My door opened.

  I turned to see mother in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

  “So…how was your day?”

  The thought of her being a spy for the Arch Dragon ran through my head again, keeping tabs on me. However, she seemed sincere in her words. I would not tell her everything, but if she was to be trusted then breadcrumbs would work for now.

  “Maurice and I visited the tavern known as Popeyes. Their food was…filling.”

  “That’s…good.”

  “Afterwards he discouraged me from seeking vengeance on the men who wounded me.”

  “And you’re taking his advice?”

  After a pause I responded.

  “I’ve considered it.”

  She sighed and started to close the door.

  “Don’t play with these fools out here,” she warned, “They’ll pull you down to their level.”

  She shut the door softly.

  I shook my head and turned back over. I remained this way until I eventually succumbed to slumber.

  ~

  “____ ___ ______ _____!!”

  “What?”

  “_____ _____ ____!! _____ ____ _____ ____!”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Nonsense. The map says this is the way we need to go.. All of the loot is–.”

  “_____. _____ _____ ____ _____.”

  “Danger? Since when did you get so craven, Darius? I’d like to see them handle my shot against their blades.”

  ~

  I jolted awake.

  That was how I remembered sounding.

  Those were my fingers on the map.

  That was my bow.

  I could not remember the voice of the other man–Darius–for it was muffled. But I knew how to respond to him.

  What had spurred this sudden burst of memory.

  A chime from my phone played.

  [TUTORIAL QUEST: GET YOUR GET BACK: PART 2]

  [CURRENT OBJECTIVE: SUCCEED ON THE PRACTICE RUN]

  Through the window I could see that morning had already come. I checked my phone for the current time–

  [9:53 AM]

  Nine-hundred and fifty-four AM.

  Nine and fifty-four of…whatever that was.

  When that fifty-four turns one hundred, it should be ten.

  Yeah.

  I never asked how time in this world worked, but that had to be the answer.

  A familiar smell distracted me from the time.

  Sausage.

  Eggs.

  Toasted bread.

  Even in another world, I could always identify the scent of breakfast. I changed into day clothes and walked into the kitchen to see mother preparing a dish.

  “Good morning,” she yawned, “How did you sleep?”

  “I–”

  “_____ _____ ____ _____! ______.”

  I leaned against the countertop. The scar above my eyebrow started to tingle as ringing formed in my ears.

  “Jamal?”

  The sound of her voice brought me back. I stood up straight and answered her.

  “Fine. Just fine.”

  Her gaze lingered on me. I gave a nod to assure her of my words. Content with my answer, she turned back to the pan and yawned.

  “Alright well, breakfast is just about ready.”

  She plated the meal and handed it to me. The warmth from the plate emanated onto my hands.

  A sense of comfort.

  My shoulders dropped ever so slightly as I took in the smell. In that moment I swore I could see–

  A name almost appeared.

  [REMINDER: MEET MAURICE AT YOUR HOUSE AT TEN AM]

  I stammered.

  “Mother, how long until ten o’clock?”

  She glanced at her phone.

  “Like, four or five minutes. Why? You got plans?”

  Five minutes?!

  “I’m meeting Maurice, he’s taking me on a test run–”

  “A test run of what?”

  I raced to find an answer.

  “A test run. Running. Testing the body. Recovery.”

  “Oh, ok.”

  [INGENUITY CHECK PASSED]

  Flawless.

  I scarfed down breakfast, blaming any choking on my injuries. In between bites I checked my phone.

  [10:00 AM]

  A chime rang through the house. What an odd sound for a door bell, it sounded nothing like a bell.

  “That’s Maurice,” I said, excusing myself, “I’ll greet him.”

  “Don’t push yourself,” she warned, “If you feel like its too much, just stop.”

  A dry chuckle escaped.

  Nothing was going to stop me from finding who did this to me.

  I opened the door. For someone about to liberate a dragon, he looked unenthusiastic.

  “Hey auntie,” he called, “How’s it going?”

  Mother peered from the corner.

  “Hey Maurice, Jamal says you’re taking him on a test run. A workout or something?”

  Maurice shot me a side eye before responding.

  “Yeah. Just getting the blood moving.”

  “Make sure he doesn’t push himself,” she said, disappearing behind the wall, “I can’t afford to have him visit the hospital again.”

  “Don’t worry auntie,” Maurice sighed, “I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

  With that last phrase, Maurice shot me a look. Walking to his car, I noticed a figure waiting for us in there. Upon climbing it, I saw DD in the backseat, staring at his phone.

  “I got the address,” he said, “Let’s see if you still got it, Maurice.”

  “Whatever,” groaned Maurice, rolling his eyes.

  Within minutes we were traversing a narrow road behind bland buildings. The dragons here were unimpressive, with their colors faded and hide scratched. DD called directions from the backseat. He leaned forward, anticipating our destination.

  “...and then a right here. Yeah. This will show me if you still got it.”

  A line of dragons came into view. We stopped next to one with no scratches on its small black frame. Maurice stepped out with a small bag and began inspecting it.

  “Alright, get to work,” he commanded, “Jamal, you walk back that way and check the corner. How long will this take you, Maurice?”

  “Ten minutes. It’s an older car.”

  I watched Maurice open the bag and pull a small assortment of tools before turning to leave. The place he had told me to stand was a moderate distance away. Once I was there, I listened for any voices.

  Nothing.

  I stuck my face just past, looking down the alleyway for anyone.

  Nothing again.

  This was going easier than I thought.

  Minutes passed by without issue.

  Then, the sound of two men talking.

  I peered to see two men–one older, one younger–walking toward a metal wall. They had little regard for the fact they were going to bump into it. One man held out a small device and pointed it at the wall.

  It started to move up with an ugly screech..

  Oh my gods.

  A secret passage.

  “Вы смотрели вчерашний матч?”

  “Да, эти самопровозванные линчеватели снова нас подвели. Клянусь, команда уже не та, что прежде.”

  A foreign tongue.

  When the men disappeared behind the secret passage, I waited a minute to see if it would close.

  It did not.

  Any novice knows the best loot is often hidden in plain sight. Anything in there would be worth having.

  Slowly, I stepped toward the opening, careful to stick on the walls leading up to it. The younger man spoke first.

  “Когда вы от них избавитесь? Городские власти сказали, что их больше нельзя размещать.”

  “Город может идти куда подальше. Это для самообороны!”

  “Затем приобретите огнестрельное оружие и зарегистрируйте его! Это будет лучше, чем пытаться всё сжечь.”

  “Тогда я бы упустил возможность ими воспользоваться! Ни в коем случае."

  I could not make out a single word, but I knew they were talking about something valuable. The tone from the older man sealed it. I kept creeping closer and closer, hoping I would hear their voices fade.

  Just a little closer and–

  Skrnch!

  “Что это было?”

  I kept still.

  “Наверное, это дворовый кот, отец.”

  “Нет, это звучит крупнее, чем бездомная кошка.”

  [FADE CHECK FAILED]

  This is not the time.

  The two men peered out the garage to see me, crushed metal underfoot, with my back plastered to the wall.

  “Кто ты, блять, такой?!”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t speak that tongue, but–”

  “Коктейли Молотова–”

  I started running back toward Maurice and DD. Other secret passages started to rise, revealing more people speaking the same tongue as the first two men. They continued yelling as I turned the corner, out of breath.

  “Maurice! Secret passage! They found me–!”

  “Отец, не бросай коктейль Молотова!”

  The sounds of a broken glass bottle happened behind me. Heat nipped at my ankles. A puddle of flames spilled behind me. Their voices grew louder and louder behind me.

  “Jamal!” cried Maurice, “What the fuck are you doing?!”

  “I thought you told me they didn’t have pyromancers?!”