From the Dust

From the Dust - Part 4

I couldn't focus at school the next day. I usually loved college - all the fun people, the music, the challenges - but today, I had something huge on my mind.

I was finally going to make Father proud.

That's what I'd wanted ever since I learned who he was, ever since I learned the story behind my birth. I'd wanted to prove to him that me and my mother were just as good as everyone else. I wanted to finally show these stuck up land dwellers that I could be just as good as they were.

Now I finally had my chance.

My practicing took longer than normal - about four hours, instead of three, but I felt like I didn't make hardly any progress. I showed up at work twenty minutes late and could barely stand, and by the time I got back to the house late that night, I had to shower and pretend to go to sleep. I didn't sleep that night, either.

The next morning, I didn't have class until noon, so I sprang out of bed crashed into the kitchen. Leo was already there, sitting at the table solving a sudoku puzzle as if he was expecting me.

"Hey, Braken," he said.

"Hey," I answered slowly.

"Sit down."

Cautiously, I did what he asked. My hand went up to touch the bandage on my face, covering the scratches from Fractal.

He glanced up at me from the book and sighed. "Look, I'm not going to hide it anymore. I know you already know what I am. Don't worry, I can't read your mind. I can see it in your expression."

"What - what are you talking about?" I stuttered.

"You're a horrible liar." Leo yawned, wide like a cat, the dim light glinting off of his fangs - they were covered in blood. I looked closer and noticed two puncture wounds in his wrist, near his artery. "But - I also know I'm not the only one keeping secrets."

Suddenly, the mood grew a lot darker. I scooted back a little as he leaned forward, on his elbows. "Leo -" I started to say.

"Give me your hand," he said, cutting me off.

Instinctively, I held both hands against my chest, my heart fluttering nervously. "I don't think -"

He reached over the table and grabbed my right hand, holding it gently, even though he took it by force. "It's been four days, Braken. You don't fit in. It's pretty obvious you're not human." I tried to pull my hand back, but he held it firmly, turning it over in his palm. He laced his fingers in between mine, making me uncomfortable, but quickly pulled them away after sensing my discomfort. "Scales," he said almost immediately after, giving me my hand back. "You have scales, and I bet if you took your scarf off, I'd find them."

"No," I said quickly, bringing my shoulders up. How did he know that? How did he figure it out so fast? My heart was thumping like a drum now, and I could feel the sweat trickling down the back of my neck.

"No as in I wouldn't find them, or no as in you don't want me to see?" Leo raised an eyebrow.

"No," I repeated, glancing over my shoulder as if I was searching for an escape. Maybe I was. I don't know.

"Go run your hand under the sink," Leo said, sounding more like an invitation than an order. That was new. Most people who figured out what I was demanded I show them, and once I did, they got me out of there as fast as they could.

"You're not ... going to kick me out?" I asked softly.

Leo laughed. "That wouldn't be fair, would it? A monster like me kicking out a monster like you?"