A Touch of the Master's Hand

Hungry for Fear

Three foolish boys strutted down the road. Kai and Cole often went far faster than poor Jay could keep up with. Kai even bounced about back and forth between the other two like an elf making Jay more frustrated than when Cole barked for Jay to keep up like some drill instructor. He was so frustrated with keeping up that he almost forgot about the cave.

By the time they reached the mouth of it, Jay was gasping for breath far more than worrying about what lay in the darkness to ensnare him. Huffing and puffing for a few moments as Jay was, Kai rolled his eyes impatiently and moaned.

"Don't be like that," said Cole importantly. "Jay doesn't have the training we've had. He's so soft, he's like a bunny compared to us who are like foxes."

"I am not!" Jay snapped.

"Yeah, maybe you're more like a hedgehog," laughed Kai patting Jay's poof of hair on his head.

"Mmph!" said Jay pathetically beneath.

"Hey, leave him alone," Cole said.

Kai shrugged. "You're the one giving him a hard time not me."

"No," said Cole picking up a stick and pounding it on the ground like a staff. "This is training. Serious training. So let's go."

With that he marched into the cave.

Jay gulped. "Y—you mean... in the dark... without a grownup... without..." he gulped again and finished just barely above a squeak, "without a flashlight?"

Cole's footsteps stopped, and he turned around. "What, are you scared of the dark? If you're gunna be a ninja, you can't be scared of the dark! Ninja are the dark. They can sneak in an out of pitch blackness like a cat without making a sound."

"I thought you said ninja were like foxes," complained Jay.

"Y'know, I agree with the flashlight thing, Cole" said Kai raising a brow.

"A ninja!" said Cole with annoyance. "Can use all his other senses when sightless. One of the first rules of being a ninja is learning how to go without one or more of your senses and using the ones that are left to the best of your ability."

Kai sighed and shrugged again.

"What about all those bugs and monsters?" asked Jay.

"Think of it like a video game, and they're the hazards," said Kai.

There was a short pause as both Kai and Cole waited for Jay to move.

"Are there really monsters in this cave?" asked Jay.

"Oh, sure, kid," said Cole. "Big and ferocious, feeding off your fear..."

"You mean sensing my fear?" asked Jay.

"No, I mean feeding," said Cole.

Jay gasped.

"So, this is your last chance," said Cole. "Are you in or aren't you?"

Jay stared at the blackness of the cave. Even the mouth of it looked like a monster with teeth coming up from the top and a pair of lopsided eyes on either side of the opening, but it was just stone. Jay pulled his lips over his clenched teeth. He flattened his puckered brow and then forced it into a scowl as he held up a hand with determination like a fist. It was a rather silly attempt at looking brave.

In fact Kai could not help but laugh a little. Cole had already been smiling with amusement, but he quickly frowned when he heard Kai. Quickly, he shushed him in his bossy way.