Tara's FlashBack

The incident had taken place a few summers ago, and I remembered that summer pretty well almost too vividly. Most of everyone had gone away on vacations so the only people still around were me, Tyler, and Paxton. Whenever Paxton was around, we would be vigorously training; but then it was just me and Tyler we would have hours of fun. we’d spend hours running through the woods, chillin’ at the pool, and walking around the neighborhood. there was only one time I could recall training with just me and Tyler. we’d spent that day hanging out in the mind space. when he had just suggested a quick sparring session

“Remember how you always talk about how you could beat the snot out of me? Well, how about we spar and prove that you’re not all talk.”

“Nah, I wouldn’t wanna hurt you,” I answered.

“Hmm, well I guess you’re too scared then.” he taunted. a smirk spread across his face, he knew exactly what he was doing.

I heaved a sigh

“Fine, I guess I’ll have to kick your ass then,” I stood up and took a few steps away. I quickly turned and held up my fists as hellfire ignited around them.

“Hell yeah,” He replied as he pulled out his khopesh and rushed towards me. I quickly launched the flames at him as he dodged out of the way. “Trying to kill me already?” he asked.

“Just keeping you at bay,” I responded. I fired another blast and Tyler slid underneath it and continued to advance towards me. I realized I’d need a different approach to win the match.

“Cmnhoylc mp xynn, xyil ea qinn. Cyvh i silloml ctivhovg tinn. ” I called out.

a small portal opened up in front of me, and a demon about the size of a newborn child flew out. It was small and red, had some wild hair and sharp claws. No legs, but wings large enough to carry it off the ground. That was not what I’d asked for at all, but it was better than nothing. Tyler stopped after seeing the demon.

“Get him!” I ordered. The demon flew with rapid speed towards Tyler. He panicked and started swinging franticly at it. It flew right by his blade and bit down hard on his right shoulder. He screamed with pain and fell to his knees.

He yanked the demon off his shoulder, but the demon’s bite was tight. he ended up ripping off a chunk of his shoulder, he screamed even louder. He squeezed the little demon like a stress ball, causing it to explode into dust. I rushed towards him to help him, but he quickly got back up to his feet. He was dripping in sweat and grunted in pain. his hand was clasped tightly against his wound.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m still standing aren’t I?” he responded as he took off towards me. I could tell he was very angry and was no longer gonna go easy. I just stood there, I didn’t move or try to stop him in any way. He was far more powerful than I expected and I wouldn’t stand a chance against him. I felt tears well up in my eyes. I knew that I had screwed up big time.

“Fight’s not over Tara, come on,” he yelled out. He was about ten feet away by this point. I pulled out my whip nervously. I didn’t want to hurt him worse. “Come on!” he called out again. he was directly in front of me by this point. I reared back and slung my whip, trying to wrap around his ankles. He lunged over it and landed next to me. He grabbed me from behind and held the khopesh in front of me, but still a safe distance away from my neck. He’d beaten me. he started breathing heavily and slumped to the ground, dropping his khopesh. his bite wound was bleeding profusely. so much, that the grey shirt he was wearing was turning a reddish brown. I rushed down to him as quickly as I could.

“Tyler, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean for that to happen. I just wanted to summon a demon to hold you and render you captured…. I guess I lost control… I’m not strong enough.” I sobbed. I felt terrible and I didn’t know what to do.

“I… forgive you…. but I am in dire need of medical attention right now….. Get the big red box out of my building… please” he breathed. I wiped my eyes and ran back towards his building as fast as I could. The sounds of Tyler’s winces and screams of pain rang in my ears from outside. I tore through the door and frantically began searching for this red box he was talking about. I managed to find it relatively quickly, sitting on top of a small workbench. I grabbed it and sprinted out the door directly back to Tyler. All I could think about was helping him. He was hurting and it was my fault, I was worried he was going to bleed out. I ended up tripping over my own feet trying to get to him. The red box few from my hand, and hit the ground with a crash. everything was going too fast… I couldn’t keep up. My best friend was dying and I was being too clumsy to help him. I looked up to see Paxton picking up the box and running towards Tyler.

“I’ll take it from here.” He spoke coldly. I pushed myself to my feet and limped towards them. Paxton slid on his knees as he made it to Tyler. He ripped open the box and started pulling out first aid supplies. I made it over to them as fast as my legs could carry me. By this point, Tyler was laying in a pool of his own blood. “Explain to me what happened,” Paxton commanded.

“I summoned a demon during our sparring match, but I wasn’t able to control it… it bit off a chunk of his shoulder. I-”

“did the demon’s bite have any other effects? I’ve read and heard from Casey that contact with some demons can cause pretty terrible effects to the human body,” Paxton cut me off. I couldn’t think for a moment.

“I-i don’t know…. I meant to summon a big one that could just hold and capture him… instead I got a tiny flying one.” I answered.

“This is why you guys don’t spar without me around. you don’t know the limits of your own powers yet and people get hurt.” Paxton explained as he ripped off Tyler’s shirt. His upper torso was completely stained with blood and sweat. the smell was getting really bad. Tyler was breathing rapidly and he wasn’t getting any better. Paxton quickly started to wrap the wound.

“Tara, I need you to focus and get me a few things; Some water, a pillow, a blanket, and the metal shoulder pad off Tyler’s workbench. All those things should be in Tyler’s building,” he ordered. I nodded my head and stood up shakily. I got back over to Tyler’s building as quickly as possible. As I found each of the items Paxton had requested, thoughts started flowing through my head. What if Tyler died from this… what if I killed him.

I didn’t know what I would do if he had died that day. I remember how Paxton had to treat Tyler for shock, and how he had to spend a few days recovering in the Mind Space. That was the day I realized how dangerous my powers were, and how much my friends really meant to me. I mean I still bullied and teased them, but it was out of love. looking back though, I should have treated them better sooner on. I have since learned that I would have fallen apart without any of my friends. I wouldn’t be here without them, especially Tyer. I could never put into words how lucky I was he hadn’t died.