*Thud

  Mark awoke suddenly and painfully as he skidded across the crete sidewalk. He could see taillights pulling out of sight as his body came to a rest on the sidewalk. Pain nced across his body from the fall, his whht side was covered in skidmarks, and he’d even cracked a few scales in the fall.

  Rain down around him as his vision swam while he looked around in fear. Where was he? He remembered his Dad saying during breakfast that they were going to see Mom, but he couldn’t remember anything after that. The only thing that he remembered was that he felt really tired while eating the odd fvoured breakfast his dad had made for him.

  Mark could feel the tears welling up in his eyes as he tried to hold his emotions in check. Rain tio pound the crete as the wind whipped about. Mark couldn’t help but shiver from the cold.

  Looking around, he could see older houses and prairies stretg for miles. Miles of unfamiliar territory. Lightning cracked in the sky as mark’s thoughts turo the worst. Where was he? Why did his dad leave him here? Why had he been abandoned? What had he done wrong?

  That one lingered far lohan the rest. He must have done some thing wrong. Something to displease his father in such a way as to throw him out of the car and drive off. He had been doing good though, his father hadn’t beat him in months. Why? Why now did his father throw him away?

  Tears poured down his face. He couldn’t hold it in anymore. Everything was hitting him all at once. How useless he felt. He just didn’t uand why his dad wouldn’t love him, why no one loved him. Looking towards the house, Mark slowly got to his feet, stumbling as pain nced up his leg from his right ahe porch featured some tall wooden pilrs and faded green paint. The wooden pilrs looked imposing in the dim light of the rain-soaked evening.

  Each step hurt as he stumbled climbing the stairs onto the porch, but Mark finally mao kno the door. It was only a few minutes before a beautiful woman with brilliant amethyst scales opehe door with a kind smile.

  ***____***

  Mark sat bolt upright iears p down his face as he struggled to breathe. It happened again. That same dream he had to relive what fealt like almost every week. The night his dad had abandoned him. Why was he so weak? Why couldn’t he just get over it like his dad always told him to do?

  Mark slowly got out of bed and walked over to his dresser. During the first few weeks that Mark had e to live with Victoria, she had taken him shopping multiple times as the only things Mark had owned were the clothes on his bad those had been ripped and torn the day he had arrived.

  Victoria had caught him staring at a small purple dragon plushie and had insisted on buying it for him despite Mark’s protests. Mark now grabbed it from the top of his dresser before ying back down. He hadn’t wahe plushie that mud yet Victoria had bought it for him anyway. Mark was always scared of damaging it so he left it on his dresser but tonight. Tonight mark held it close as he fell back asleep.

  This time, there were no dreams.

  ***____***

  The wind whipped at Mark’s face as the cool Autumn wind blew across the field. It was recess, and once again, Mark was fio the ground as the other students flew about. Mark gave an iual flutter of his wings before he sighed and turned away and made his way over to his den. Mark was just settling in when he heard them, their voices eg across the field.

  “Ooooh Mark. I know you’re around here somewhere!”

  Mark froze. He quickly packed his book bato his bag and tucked it further into the den, hiding the bag behind the roots. Mark tried to remain still as he huddled as deep into the hollow as he could fit and waited. Time seemed to stretch as the calls and insults tinued.

  “e on out, you useless mud-drake.”

  Mud-drakes were a new species of lizard that had shown up sihe Advent and were known for living in mud puddles and bogs. Mark had looked it up after the st time they called him that. Mark tio wait as the voices drifted off before they faded. Mark let out a quiet sigh as he remained huddled there.

  Slowly, Mark climbed out of his little den to take a look around, not catg sight of Tim and his ies.

  “Told you, the little shit ’t fly. Check from above.” Tim’s voice rang out loud and clear

  Mark nervously panned his gaze upwards to see the three of them h about seveers off the ground. Tim and his two friends, John and Joe, were waiting for him.

  Mark bolted. With the three of them having found his den, he had no choice but to run. Mark quickly tore across the field while ughs and jeers followed. It wasn’t long before he felt the first impact as a rock the size of his fist gnced off his one good wing. Mark couldn’t help but cry out in pain as he tio run, but he wasn’t fast enough. Soon, the three had him surrounded, and they begaing him with rocks. Mark tried to cover himself with his arms and his one good wing to try and protect himself but the rocks tio fly.

  At first Mark tried to manipute the rocks to turn them into sand but Mark had never been good with trollih and this time was no different. Again and again the rocks pounded against his body, breaking against his scales. Each time, Mark felt the pain ng through his body until, it stopped. Slowly, Mark peaked out at his attackers only to see that his sleeves had slid down and there exposed to the world were his glistening Amethyst scales.

  No, nononon. This couldn’t be happening. This was the worst possible oute. Mark looked and saw shod disgust on the boys’ faces. Fear. all he felt was fear as a low tingling started in his navel and worked its his back along his spine.

  “Huh, so you are more of a pathetic freak than any of us could have imagined.” Todd grinned as the ro his hand caught fire.

  “Wuh… what are you doing Todd? Magic’s banned outside the gym,” one of his ies spoke up

  Mark twisted to look at the boy with a small glimmer of hope. Only for it to be crushed a moment ter. As the tingling intensified.

  “Meh, he’s a mud-drake. Probably won’t have any burn marks. Afterwards you just give him a rih some water to get rid of any ash. Besides have you seen this little fuckers element trol? It’s pathetic.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  Mark tried stepping back as the ro Todd’s hands began to ge colour from the heat only to bump into the boy behind him.

  “Where do you think yoing mud-drake?”

  No, nononono. This was bad. Mark needed out. He needed some space but the boys just kept getting nearer and nearer. Mark tried to curl into a defensive ball. He tried to shape the earth to cover himself but again and again he felt the impacts as the now empowered kicks, rocks, and fists nded on him. He wao scream, he wao cry. He wanted out. The tingliion that was running up and down his spine grew intense, painfully so but all he could do was scream in agony as what felt like liquid fire poured through his veins as the world turned white with an almighty Boom.

  TheLilyinBloom5963