The banners raised were raised high and the trumpets blared. A procession came through the streets, men dressed in the finest attire marched along, to the wide eyed gaze of adoring onlookers. Little kids ran through, poking their heads through adults to catch a glimpse of the men. Khiem was one of these boys, the smallest of the bunch. He was amazed at the men, they were all so tall and strong. They were equipped with the finest armor, and it glistened from the rays of the afternoon sun. Their deep crimson red uniforms looked as if they were drenched in silky blood.

"Get out of my way shorty!" A bigger kid grabbed Khiem and pushed him down. He then assumed Khiem's position, giving a halting stare back at Khiem who just lay there on the floor.

By the time Khiem got up the procession was already long past, the crowd and children with them. He looked down the hill, and the procession had just disappeared. He turned around to go when the same big kid who pushed him over, gave him a hard punch in the nose.

"That's for stealing my place!" The big kid roared.

Khiem knew who that was, it was Elisham, not the biggest bully, but the meanest one.

"Now apologize!" Elisham screamed, jumping atop Khiem landing punches on his face.

Struggling beneath Elisham's weight, Khiem managed to mutter, "S... o.. r. ry." To his surprise the blows kept coming.

"Say it like you mean it!" Elisham screamed, his face red with anger.

Khiem could hardly hear Elisham, he could hardly hear the world around him. A thick gooey substance was making its way down his forehead and onto the ground. Khiem tried to speak, but it felt as if a huge elephant were stuck in his throat. Powerless, he raised his finger and prayed.

Please destroy this man, God, please. Please destroy this man, God, please. Please destroy this man, God, please. Please destroy this man, God, please. Please destroy this man, God, please. Please destroy this man, God, please. Please destroy this man, God, please. Please destroy this man, God, please. Please destroy this man, God, please.

A blast came firing from his finger, and Khiem looked up to see Elisham's brain explode upon impact. A couple of Elisham's goons were standing around and ran immediately to tell the grown-ups what happened.

Khiem got up and put his finger to his head, he was losing a lot of blood. He thought for a second:

Please don't let me die. Please don't let me die. Please don't let me die.

A warm light surrounded his finger, and the blood seemed to flow in reverse, as his wound closed up sealing his head.

A bunch of grown-ups were already running back, and stopped at once when they saw this. They turned around and ran in fear screaming, "A demon, A DEMON HAS GOTTEN INTO KHIEM!"

Khiem watched as they ran, and looked down at his hands. A demon? Khiem wasn't a demon. His eyes glanced to Elisham's dead body. Or maybe Khiem was a demon. After all, he had killed a boy. But wasn't it out of self defense? Wasn't he merely protecting himself. His answer was quick: No. People would think he was a demon, people would kill him, people wouldn't understand.

He turned his head, and saw that men were running after him, big men, town guards. Khiem had never had to run away from town guards before, he never stole, he never caused problems, he tried to be good. He knew that all that wouldn't matter. He had a special power, he was different, they would forget the sweet boy and see a demon. Khiem willed with all his might that he would be in a different place. He closed his eyes tight, and willed.. and willed.. and. He opened his eyes and the guards were a pace or two from him. It hadn't worked.

Instinctively Khiem's legs were moving faster then Khiem's mind was thinking. In fact Khiem's mind wasn't thinking at all, his body was screaming, move, move, move.

Khiem awoke to the pitter patter of rain. He looked up to find himself in a cave. Guess I outran those town guards, he thought to himself. He looked back to see 5 dead bodies. Guess not. The guards, Elisham.. all their deaths weren't Khiem's fault. They started the violence, they wished to fight him, he just wanted to protect himself. The more he rationalized with himself the bolder he felt. In fact Elisham deserved to die, that rotten pig.

Khiem turned his head around again, the bodies were gone. Something inside of him... no something outside of him was calling.

"Khiem.. come to me." The voice boomed through the cave.. and it sounded like.. like.. Elisham? No, Khiem had killed Elisham.

"Khiem I have called you." Another voice this time.. sounded like his mother. Impossible, Khiem's mother had died in childbirth with him. His father forever blamed Khiem for her death, and through him out into the street. Khiem wasn't a demon.. he killed Elisham and the guards out of self defense.. but his mother? No time to dwell on that.. someone is calling me, and I need to go.

The cave was pitch black, but it didn't matter to Khiem. Khiem had been here before he knew this place. He moved deftly through the maze of the tunnel. He knew every piece of this tunnel, as if he'd travelled this same road, through this same tunnel, through these same passages millions of times. But he hadn't.. had he? His mind wandered, but his body didn't.. it felt as if he wasn't even controlling his own body.

Light. Khiem stared at the end of the cave, at a cavern. Light filled the area, yet Khiem was afraid to step him. Where could light come from in this dark place. Yet within him, he knew he must go forward. Filled with doubt he peered in. There he saw a tiny creature, sprawled across a rock.

"Khiem, come to me." This voice was different, it came from the creature itself. "I have called you Khiem, I need your help."

Khiem moved forward, and knelt at the side of the creature.

"What's wrong?" Khiem whispered, staring into the creatures eyes.

"I am dying Khiem." The creature gazed into Khiem's eyes. What sort is this, Khiem wondered. The dark gray of the creatures eyes mesmorized Khiem.

"What can I do?" Khiem whispered, looking for wounds in the creature.

"You can.. you must heal me." The creature pointed downward, and for the first time Khiem realized it wasn't a rock that the creature was on. He saw two huge eyes staring up at him. "It is sucking the life out of me.. I am powerless.. you must.."

The creature went slack, and the rock parasite swung a tentacle at Khiem. Khiem's mind reacted fast, and a small flare sputtered out at the rock parasite. The rock parasite laughed, and through the strange creature off. It then fully revealed itself. It looked like a giant octipus-crab. 2 huge tentacles, supported by 6 scrawny legs, all covered by a thick shell.

I hafto get the legs, Khiem thought. All 8 tentacles began swinging at Khiem, one hit and lay him sprawling feet away from where he was standing. He got up, and fired a small missle at its legs. The parasite was hit, and fell. Almost immediately Khiem sprang upon it, and touched his hands to its eyes. He screamed, "En Vari Es Tumi!" And patterns of light, fire, darkness, water, and nature emerged on the parasite, and it was killed instantly.

The strange creature was up, and no longer looked sick and weakly, but strong.

"Well done Khiem, I'm strak." The creature called. "The last of my race."

Khiem looked down at the atog wonderingly. Strak.. still alive? How could this be.