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Chapter 4: The Parade
Cameron and Faye talked the whole way to the city square, mostly about Chasers and the training school, though the thought of her first parade took up most of Faye's thoughts.
"I mean, what if Abraham just joins the training school with us to annoy us even more," Cameron was saying. Faye quickly shushed him.
"What?"
"I hear the music now!" she said excitedly. "Let's go!"
Faye bounded off towards the music, her heart beating. But the heels she wore slowed her pace a little. So she took them off and ran on her
tights. She heard Cameron running to keep up with her as she sped up.
And finally she was there.
The square was lit up like a Christmas tree. Thousands and thousands of people crowded the streets wearing costumes they either made or bought. Large balloons lined the streets, each one had an animal face on it. These balloons represented the most common Beasts in northwestern part of Anoteros: wolves, bears, foxes, hares, mountain lions, deer, snakes, etc.
Faye marveled at all these wonderful sights. Her heart felt light, like a child's. Cameron ran to her side and said, "What's the matter with you?"
Silly Cameron, Faye thought, he doesn't understand how amazing this all is. But all she said was, "It's so amazing!"
"Yeah," said Cameron. "Hey, do you want to find Mickey?"
Mickey Karp, their only other friend. he was actually Cameron's friend, but was okay with Faye. Faye nodded and she and Cameron walked into the crowd. All around Faye were the happy shouts of adults and teenagers shouting their praise to the government that kept them all so safe.
Faye couldn't see Cameron because she was too short. So she put back on her heels and spotted Cameron with a brown haired boy near one of the parade stands. She pushed towards them and Cameron saw her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the crowd.
"Wow, there are a lot of people here," Faye said. "Oh, hey Mickey."
Mickey nodded. He was dressed as a Chaser as well, and Faye had to admit that his outfit was a bit better than Camerons, probably because it was store-bought.
"So, when does the Mayor come out to speak?" Faye asked.
"He will be out soon," said Cameron. "I keep forgetting you haven't been to one of these before."
"Yeah, well I-"
Faye was interrupted by a loud wave of applause. They all looked up toward Mayor Tower and saw that Mayor Leroy Braster himself had come onto the balcony. He was a tall, thin man with well-groomed gray hair and squinty gray eyes that were quite sharp.
"Welcome everyone to the Parade of Anoteros!" he said into his mike.
There was another round of applause as the Mayor continued, "I want to welcome the children and teens that are joining us for the first time in this historic celebration."
"Now, I know what most of you have come here to see. This year we have been lucky to capture a real Beast. It will be brought out soon, but before that, I want to thank the man who caught it. Mr. Thanteros, please come out here."
A young man with golden hair came out and waved to the crowd. The Mayor pulled out a shiny medal of honor and placed it over his head. Then the Mayor turned to the crowd and said, "This young man is not an official Chaser. But he showed up on my doorstep one day with a Beast in it's animal form, unconscious. He has proved two very important things today. First: there are still Beasts out there, which means that there is still danger of people dying. And second: the young people of New Skielie City and all over Anoteros are capable of doing great things."
Another cheer erupted and Faye clapped along with them this time. That's me, she thought. I will soon be up on that stage, receiving an award. Because I am not like those who sympathise with the Beasts. I am a true Anoterian!
"And now, I present the Beast Mr. Thanteros captured. It was a little wild once it woke up, so we had to put it in a cage just for your safety. And while we were testing it, we even got it to say it's name. Ladies and gentlemen, I present Denarius!"
The doors to Mayor Tower opened and a large platform rolled out. It bore a metal cage which held the Beast. Faye jumped onto a table to see the Beast better, Mickey and Cameron followed her.
"We've never had a live Beast at one of the parades before," Mickey
said, standing up on his toes to see the cage,
Faye heard a roar and the cage came into sight. In it was a black wolf, his legs bound by chains. He slashed ferociously at the chains as the audience cheered. Faye's breath was taken away. She made a note about everything she saw.
"He looks like a werewolf," Cameron said. "But I guess that's what he is. I wonder if he'll turn back into a man for us?"
Faye didn't say anything. The wolf had stopped thrashing and his eyes tore over the crowd. Then they landed on her, the girl in the flower dress standing on a table, standing out from the crowd. Faye's breath caught in her throat as she noticed how human-like his sky-blue eyes were. They reminded her of Cameron's eyes, kind, but scared.
Faye stumbled off the table and fell onto her back. Cameron quickly hopped down to help her up. "Are you okay?" he asked. "What's the matter? Why are you shaking?"
"I'm fine. I just lost my balance," Faye said. She got up and dusted off her dress. Then, there was a scream from the crowd and Mickey jumped off the table yelling, "RUN!"
"What happened?" Cameron asked.
"He's escaped. Run for your lives!" Mickey yelled, fleeing.
Cameron grabbed Faye's hand, but she was frozen. There he was, standing in front of her, staring at her. His back legs bent as he switched to a pouncing position. Faye couldn't move.
The wolf was going to kill her.
Chapter 5: A Traumatic Experience
Cameron finally managed to pull Faye away just as the wolf jumped. Instead, the wolf smashed into a table and was then surrounded by Chasers, their electric rods at the ready.
Faye held onto Cameron, her eyes wide. The wolf was cornered and kept looking at her like he was asking her to help him. Faye just stared.
Then, the wolf gave a mighty leap and jumped over the Chasers. He ran across the now abandoned city square, the Chasers running after him.
Once they were out of sight, Faye fell to the ground with a thud, holding her face. Cameron bent down beside her and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I don't know," was all Faye could say. She hoped she could get the whole experience out of her head. But every time she closed her eyes she saw the wolf fighting to free himself from the chains.
Cameron helped her up. But she couldn't even look at him. Because his eyes were so much like the wolf's, questioning and pleading. "I'm just gonna go home, okay," Faye said, looking down.
"OK. Can I call you a little later?" Cameron asked.
Faye nodded, then walked away back towards her home. The sun had disappeared, as had her light-heart. How could this day have gone so terribly wrong? The wind blew strong and cold, and all Faye could think about was the trapped wolf in the cage.
"What's the matter with you?" she asked herself. "I hate the Beasts!
Why would I ever care about one?"
She soon reached her home and slumped inside, not saying anything to her father who was busy taking Ian and Jay out of their costumes. She threw her backpack on the floor of her room, kicked off her heels, and fell onto her bed. She covered her eyes and gave a muffled scream.
"What's the matter with you!" she asked herself in her head. "Why can't you just forget about it? Forget about the wolf! Forget about . . . him. So that's why. I can't forget about it because that wolf was an actual person. His eyes were human eyes. His emotions, human. It wasn't just the dumb, ferocious Beasts I have learned about in History. He was real, and a human. He looked smart and intelligent. But he's still a Beast!"
Faye turned over and screamed into her pillow. There was a knock at
her door and someone entered. Faye could tell it was one of her brothers because they were the only ones who entered without her consent.
"So, quite the parade," said the voice she had not been expecting to hear, and honestly didn't want to hear.
"Go away Abraham!" Faye yelled.
"What? I actually came in here to ask if you were okay. But if you don't want that then I'll just leave," Abraham said, sounding offended.
"Why would you care?" Faye asked. "You have been acting full jerk on me and Cameron this whole day and now you feel bad for me?"
"Well, the Beast did sort of corner you out. Do you know why?"
"No! I have no idea what happened! All I did was look him in the eyes!"
"Him? Faye, you're treating it like it's human."
"Well, aren't they at least a little human?"
"No. They are aliens compared to us!"
"Whatever. All I did was look at it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. And then I got this weird feeling because I saw how human-like his eyes were."
"Ahhh. And that's why he attacked you?"
"I have NO IDEA! Now leave me alone!"
Abraham left.
Faye just lay there, her face in her pillow, hoping that she would wake up and realize that this whole day had just been a bad dream. But then the phone began ringing, proving her wrong.
Faye grabbed her backpack and pulled out her phone. It was Cameron. "But he said he would call me later," Faye said to herself. Then she checked the clock and saw that it had been almost two hours since she had gotten home from the parade.
She sighed and picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey," came Cameron's voice. "You sound tired."
"I sort of am."
"Oh, do you want me to call you back or-"
"No." No matter how tired she was, Faye felt comforted by Cameron's voice. "What do you want to talk about."
"Well, I was going to ask if you were okay. But then I realized that that's all I've been asking. So . . . Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Uhh, I mean . . . I was just trying to figure out what happened to me by myself. But maybe another viewpoint would be helpful."
"Okay. So what happened."
"I looked into the wolf's eyes and they startled me so I fell off the table. And then he broke out and I am still trying to figure out why he came after me."
"Well, he was also looking at me. Maybe he just doesn't like humans, and we were the only ones left to terrorize."
Faye smiled. "Yeah, maybe. But, can I tell you something else?"
"Sure."
"Whenever I looked at his eyes, they reminded me of yours."
"Oh, how so?"
"They were blue and looked like you do when you don't understand something, or once you need help. It was kind of creepy, I guess."
"Oh, that sounds creepy. Actually though, I read a book on Beasts in the library. It said that old Chasers claim that they can read minds once they're in their animal form. And that they sometimes change their eyes to match the eyes of the people the Chasers care about."
"So the wolf read my mind and changed his eyes to match yours because I care about you?"
"I'm surprised you didn't see your Dad's eyes or something, because the book says that they only take the eyes of the people you care about . . . most."
"Oh, uhh, well, maybe I was just thinking about you in that second, not
Papa. I mean, no offense, but I don't know if I care about you more than him, or my younger brothers."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure that's what happened."
"Okay, bye Cameron." And before he could say anything else, Faye hung up and placed her phone down beside her. That was the most awkwardest conversation she had ever had with Cameron before.
"Hah," she laughed aloud. "I don't care about Cameron that much, there's no way." But the more she thought about it, she realized all the times she had blushed once Papa had reminded her how handsome Cameron was. And how she used to spy on Abraham and Cameron as they played video games once she was smaller, just to see Cameron.
"Okay, this day has been officially the strangest day ever," she said
falling back onto her pillow. "I can't like Cameron. We're just friends!"
She turned her head to stare at her phone, sitting beside her, and found herself wondering if Cameron was still waiting for her to call again, on the other end.
Maybe he'd call her.
Then, just as she thought that, the phone began vibrating, displaying the name, Cameron, on it. Her hand reached for it automatically and she answered it.
"Faye? Why did you hang up?" came Cameron's voice. Cameron's lovely voice, thought Faye.
"Oh, I had to quick run downstairs and get something. I'm so sorry."
"OK. So, are you okay now?"
"Yeah, I think I am. After all, it was just one Beast, and it probably won't happen again."
"Right. So everything is good?"
"Yep."
"Okay, see you tomorrow," said Cameron, and he was about to hang up once Faye said,
"Wait. I-I . . ."
"Yeah?'
"I want to thank you for being my best friend and for trying to help me through this. So, thank you so much Cameron."
"Oh, well, your welcome. Bye."
"Bye."
Faye sighed as she placed down the phone. Little did she know that an uninvited guest was waiting right outside her door, listening to everything.
Abraham knocked and entered, smiling the biggest smile ever.
"Hey." he said.
Faye looked up and frowned, "What is it now?"
"Was that Cameron?"
"Why would you care?'
"It was, wasn't it. Well, I can see by the face you have now, and the face you were making a few hours ago, that he helped you, didn't he."
"Yeah, he did. What's your problem?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering what the school would think about a conversation between the cutest couple ever."
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Chapter 4: The Parade
Cameron and Faye talked the whole way to the city square, mostly about Chasers and the training school, though the thought of her first parade took up most of Faye's thoughts.
"I mean, what if Abraham just joins the training school with us to annoy us even more," Cameron was saying. Faye quickly shushed him.
"What?"
"I hear the music now!" she said excitedly. "Let's go!"
Faye bounded off towards the music, her heart beating. But the heels she wore slowed her pace a little. So she took them off and ran on her
tights. She heard Cameron running to keep up with her as she sped up.
And finally she was there.
The square was lit up like a Christmas tree. Thousands and thousands of people crowded the streets wearing costumes they either made or bought. Large balloons lined the streets, each one had an animal face on it. These balloons represented the most common Beasts in northwestern part of Anoteros: wolves, bears, foxes, hares, mountain lions, deer, snakes, etc.
Faye marveled at all these wonderful sights. Her heart felt light, like a child's. Cameron ran to her side and said, "What's the matter with you?"
Silly Cameron, Faye thought, he doesn't understand how amazing this all is. But all she said was, "It's so amazing!"
"Yeah," said Cameron. "Hey, do you want to find Mickey?"
Mickey Karp, their only other friend. he was actually Cameron's friend, but was okay with Faye. Faye nodded and she and Cameron walked into the crowd. All around Faye were the happy shouts of adults and teenagers shouting their praise to the government that kept them all so safe.
Faye couldn't see Cameron because she was too short. So she put back on her heels and spotted Cameron with a brown haired boy near one of the parade stands. She pushed towards them and Cameron saw her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the crowd.
"Wow, there are a lot of people here," Faye said. "Oh, hey Mickey."
Mickey nodded. He was dressed as a Chaser as well, and Faye had to admit that his outfit was a bit better than Camerons, probably because it was store-bought.
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