With One Touch [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 8

A tall man with black hair marched towards Joseph. He pushed Echo off his chest and grabbed his collar, pulling him up and squishing up to Joseph's face. "What is your name, boy?" He boomed, shaking Joseph in fury. "Answer me, or so help me I'll make sure you never get back to where you came from!"

Just before Joseph felt like breaking into tears a hand appeared between him and the man, "Mauro, leave the boy alone and speak to him." Mauro looked at the other man and scowled, releasing his grip on Joseph.

He sat on the hard marble that made up the floor of a large, round room. He looked up as a blonde haired man, the man whom had asked Mauro to leave him, walked over to him, and smiled reassuringly. "Hello boy," he began, struggling to crouch down to Joseph's level. "My name is Kildar Shane; I administrate the citadel you are in now. What is your name?"

Joseph looked into Kildar's blue eyes and sighed slowly, "m...my name is Joseph" he cleared his throat when Kildar moved his head slightly so he could hear him better. "My name is Joseph Tailor."

Kildar nodded "nice to meet you, Joseph." He patted Joseph's back and looked at the other three men, "see, that's how to talk to someone." He helped to lift Joseph off the floor, brushing him down with a steady hand.

A brown haired man pointed behind Joseph and Kildar, "what is your creature?"

Joseph looked back to see Echo crouching beside a giant, white crystal, which was glowing and being supported by golden poles that curled around it. "He is a cat, his name is Echo. Well, that's what I call him anyway."

"Echo..." Mauro chuckled, "what kind of name is that? And what is a cat?" He folded his arms and tapped his foot in irritation.

Joseph lifted an eyebrow in scepticism and began to relax a little, "a cat is...well..." he couldn't figure out how to describe what a cat was without presenting them with Echo. "A cat is a carnivorous mammal; they are evolutions of tamed lions and tigers."

The brown haired man glanced at Kildar with a confused expression, "lions, and tigers?"

"You don't know what lions and tigers are?" Joseph questioned, feeling stumped for words. "You have otters but don't have cats?"

Mauro smirked menacingly, "we never spoke of otters, what makes you think we have them?" Joseph's heart sank as he realised he should have been unconscious when they found him, so he should not have known about their otters.

"Mauro, calm down," the previously confused man warned, "he was unconscious, not asleep, and he might have only heard th-"

"Silence, Daren!" Mauro ordered while lifting a hand, bending his fingers and thumb to form a spacious cup. "Answer me now: were you awake the whole time?" a small ball of light appeared above his palm; it was red and yellow and grew slightly every time he took a breath. Joseph stared at his hand and did not say a word; he was fixated on the light that lit up the man's face from below, showing a heartless creature behind his brown eyes.

A hooded figure in a black cloak stood in front of Joseph while Kildar moved him away from the scene. "You know you can't use your gift on humans;" said the man, calmly, "it's against the rules."

"Tell me, Raban: what's the point in having these gifts if we can't even use them!" Mauro complained, the ball of what now looked like fire was big enough to fill his whole hand, and flames danced between his fingers. "We're born special, but the only way we can celebrate our success in being the powerful species is by limiting ourselves to stupid rules!"

Raban did not move a muscle when Mauro started to move the ball of fire in front of his face, instead he continued to stare at him and speak mildly. "We limit ourselves to protect the people – we are the governors of Lementa Village so we must show the people that they can trust us." He hesitantly lifted one hand, which started to turn light blue, "if you hurt a human we will have no choice but to take your position away, to choose someone else more dedicated to the people and their gift. So put your hand down and put out the fire or I will put you out for good."

Mauro's grin faded and he lowered his hand, the ball of fire slowly shrinking back into empty space. His fingers relaxed and he stormed away, pushing giant brown doors to leave the citadel. For a moment, Joseph saw the outside world of this new place: blue trees, yellow grass, and purple rain. Was he in his own world? On the other hand, was this a dream?

Kildar had an arm around Joseph and rubbed his shoulder with his thumb. "I would suggest not approaching him while you're here," Joseph looked up at him for reassurance. "Don't worry, he's not usually like that, he just doesn't like strangers."

Daren stood next to Kildar while facing Joseph, "speaking of strangers, we need to know where you came from, and how you got here." He pointed to the white crystal, which had now stopped glowing, "you came out of there; how?"

Joseph stumbled at the question, "I...I don't kno-"

"What do you mean you don't know?" Raban turned to Joseph with fists at his hips and he seemed agitated, reminding him of his father. "I may have helped you there but it doesn't mean I don't get angry. You haven't been very informative and if you want to get back to where you came from you need to tell us everything."

Joseph looked at his feet, reluctant to tell them where he came from. What if they try to follow me back? He wondered for a moment, before seeing green eyes and dirty blonde hair appear before him. "I can see you know," the man smiled, pulling the black hood off his head. "Just tell us what happened and we can help you get back."

"I..." Joseph took a deep breath and looked at Raban, "I entered through pages of a book after a butterfly came out of it." He knew they would not believe a story like this, but who knows; if they don't know what a feline is then anything can be possible. "The butterfly told me to follow it, so I stepped into the pages with Echo, and then I found myself here."

Daren chuckled and Joseph could already sense the accusations of a liar they would be throwing his way; "so you met the pest that interfered with the crystal when we were setting it up, aye? Horrid little things." He muttered, folding his arms and frowning to one side.

Kildar ignored Daren and instead seemed to be interested in Joseph's story: "what was in the book?" He asked, bending down to his eye level.

"The pages were covered in my creations of my own world," Joseph explained, sensing no meaning behind it. "I filled it with yellow fields, blue trees, and purple lakes. I didn't intend for life to begin inside it, I just wanted make something of my own." Joseph began to feel a little homesick and intimidated by the towering men; he wanted to go home and see his dad, whether he wanted to see him or not.

Kildar held Joseph's shoulders and looked at him with eagerness, "so, are you the creator of our world?"

That idea had not even crossed Joseph's mind, so after hearing that question he could not give a proper answer, "I don't know – what would it mean if I did?"

Daren pulled Kildar away from Joseph, "let's not scare the boy – he's only young, he can't be the Creator. A boy can't create a world as magnificent as ours." He turned to Joseph and offered a hand, "why don't we introduce you to our home land, we can get you cleaned up and give you some proper clothes then."

Joseph cautiously took the man's hand and looked back to Echo, who was still cowering from the shock. "Are you coming, Echo?"

"Don't worry" Raban told him, walking over to the cat, "I'll sort him out."

Joseph nodded, walking with Daren over to the large doors. They screeched as two men, laden with armour and carrying spears, pushed them open. "Welcome to Lementa Village."

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