literature

Fire Blood and Remorse Ch1

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Ch.1: Fire

November 8th, 2008.  Three days away from the dvd release of Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and possibly, some extra scenes with Prince Nuada. At 7:30 p.m. Tam looked at her watch,  pleased to know that her shift at Borders was over.  Packing up her things and grabbing her coat, she said goodbye to her boss and went to the entrance.  It had become very cold very fast in the last three days, same as every year.  Shortly after Halloween night in the state of Arizona the temperature would usually drop a good 15 to 20 degrees, just enough to wear a sweeter or a light jacket which was necessary before heading outside.

This year had been tough.  Tam couldn’t really explain it, but something, maybe everything seemed to be weighing in on her and she wasn’t sure how much longer it was going to last.  Or how long she could endure it.

After a short walk to the parking lot, Tam grabbed the keys from her purse and  unlocked the door to her 1960’s purple bug.  It was an old car with the paint rusted off on the top, but it was in working order, had air conditioning, and music.  Although she didn’t need the air-conditioning right now, being 64 degrees outside, she was glad to have the radio.  Starting the car and buckling herself in, she tuned the radio to her favorite station: 103.9. The X.  Inwardly she screamed YES! One of her most favorite songs just began to play as she backed out of her space.  It was ‘disterbia’ by Rihanna.  In her opinion, it was excellent driving music, especially now that she was about to get on Hayden road which had a speed limit of 45.  Plus it was one of the few roads in the Valley that had curves to it, making sure the drive wasn’t a boring straight-shot.

Tam pressed the gas, turning into the intersection she cruised north, not even going above the speed limit so she could enjoy the song longer.  It wasn’t a long drive to her house, maybe ten minutes away once you got onto Hayden.  Tam wondered what else there would be on the dvd of Hellboy II besides the movie itself.  The summer had gone by fast, and because ticket prices cost so much now she had to make a choice between The Dark Knight and Hellboy.  She loved Heath Ledger in the movie A Knight’s Tale, so she went to see Batman with her friends.  It was worth it so she didn’t regret it, but by the time she could see Hellboy it was already out of theaters.  Meaning she had to wait until it was uploaded by someone onto the internet.

It was on Surfthechannel.com that she finally found, watched, and loved it.  Tam adored the relationship between Abe and Princess Nuala, thinking that the pair of them was a perfect match.  She couldn’t remember the name of the gas man in the suite but he was a great addition to the cast, especially after watching him beat up Red in the locker room.  But by far the one who left the biggest impression on her was the Elven Prince, Nuada Silverlance.

He was a thing from a dark dream, not unpleasant, beautiful, but very dangerous.  She felt for him, a rare thing for movies to do now days or their actors.  At the end when he said “We die, and the world will be poorer for it” that was when she  knew that she had more than a fleeting crush on a movie character, it was far more than that.

Tam half looked at the light in the upcoming intersection, noting that as she got close enough to stop it turned green.  She pressed the gas again and went through it, seeing out of the corner of her eye something coming toward her from the left.  She hit the breaks as hard as she could, her heart pounding harder than a race horse.  But it wasn’t enough.  She found the world spinning as her car was hit at the tip of the bug’s nose, the metal there being crushed.  She didn’t even have time to scream.

After a long moment of silence and hyperventilation she finally found her composure, subconsciously aware that her radio was still playing, just now switching to the next song of a pure well-played guitar solo.

Taking in a deep, shuddering breath Tam lifted her head and looked around.  Her car was no longer in the intersection, more to the side and... the person’s car who hit her was no where to be seen.  He hit her and kept going!  What a jackass! she thought.  Tam heard a knock on her window.

“Excuse me, are you alright?” Came a worried voice.  Tam rolled down the window, lowering the music at the same time.  An older man with a helmet and beard bent down to see her better.  Judging from his cloths he probably had a Harley Davidson nearby.

“Yah,” She replied, looking around her car to see if anything else was broken.  Thank goodness she didn’t have a sore neck from whiplash, or else it would have been a stinging pain to look at the biker.  “I think... I think I’m fine.”

“Good, you gave me quite a scare for a moment there.” He said, just from the vibe Tam got from him he seemed like a rough but friendly guy.  “Your bug doesn’t look too bad from out here, just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“Thank you.” She said, still a little dazed from the sudden spin.  It was like riding the Tea Cups at a State Fair times ten.  Strangely her stomach wasn’t too upset, maybe it was because there was nothing left in her stomach from lunch?  It was a small lunch after all, just a quick PB and J before rushing from home to work.

“Would you like me to call some help?” Asked the biker.

“No... no I’m fine.  I think I’ll just head home, its just a couple streets away anyway.”

“Ok, but take it slow.  Be careful.” Said the biker as he tapped the top of her car.  He headed back over to his Harley, a very cool one in fact, and revved it up to leave.  Following his lead Tam slowly reentered the road, hands firmly on the wheel to keep them from shaking.  Five minutes and her heart was still racing!

As if it was sent by God himself, a song now played on the radio that couldn’t be more perfect for what she had just gone through.  She listened to the lyrics, the voice of Carrie Underwood singing about a mother and child driving to her parents house on a Christmas Eve, her car had slid on the ice and was very close to claiming both of their lives.  The mother, once she stopped at a stop sign later on had bent her head to pray.  Something she hadn’t done in a long time, and Tam realized, neither had she.  She cried.

This song, the accident, and the weight she had been feeling this past year.  She now understood.  Tam had been trying to do everything herself.  Help her parents with the bills because of the bad economy, even staying at home so she didn’t have to pay room and board at ASU.  All the while still trying to get a good grade point average with fifteen credit classes in one semester.  It was too much.

“Take the wheel.” She said through her aching throat. Take it, she prayed.

She wished that she could do more.  It was just like watching the screen play out the movie of her life and the life of Nuada and his sister.  There was the illusion that she was in control, being able to press the pause button and ignore the world, to stop the movie.  She could let it play again and live it out, to watch it go by.  But just like any movie she had no control over how the end would play out.  She had no more control over her life than stopping Nuada’s death.

I wish I could be there to stop it, she thought.  I wish I could meet Nuada and keep him from dying.  

And so her wish was granted, but not in a way you would expect.  Tam’s car was more damaged than it appeared and before the street that would take her home she realized the breaks would not respond.  She tried to turn, but the car skid across the pavement, just like the mother did on the ice during the song.  But this time she wasn’t as fortunate.  Tam took in one quick intake of breath before her bug careened off the street and directly into a large tree.

*****

It was finally getting dark out in New York city, the streets were quiet now spare the random buzzing of near broken street lamps.  A tall figure crept in the shadows, walking confidently in the night yet still wary of any potential threat, such as human eyes.  The elf did not like walking above, but it was necessary to get back to his sanctuary from the Troll Market.  Nuada had placed an order for two boxes with special contents within them.  He did not need them for another three months, but it was better to be early than on time, or else the shipment may be late.

There was a bright glow down the street, close to the entrance he would take to the sublevels.  What on earth had happened?  He could smell the fire, he smelled it a while back but it only now registered as he saw what kind of fire it was.  Nearing the dying flames he could clearly see it was a car that had crashed and thus exploded.  Good, he thought, thats one less pollutant in the world.  Nuada frowned, it was one less car in the world, but could also mean one less tree.  Looking closely he could see there were a few burn marks on the bark, otherwise the tree would be fine.  Nature always wins in the end.

The elf walked towards the entrance to the sublevels, taking little interest in the license plate of the car: Phoenix Arizona it read.
Ch2: [link]


Author’s note: The story takes place about five months before Prince Nuada reclaims the missing piece of the crown of Beathmora. But first, this tale begins in our world, just a few days before the DVD release of Hellboy 2.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hellboy II or its characters. But Tam is mine.

Rated T for blood.





What began as this fanfiction's first chapter initially became an original short story of mine. After posting the original short about a week ago, I then added in a few extra paragraphs to make it a fanfic. If you want to read the original here it is: [link]
© 2008 - 2024 CheshFire
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EricaXchan's avatar
Hey chesh....do you live in Phoenix or does that just fit the story. Cuz my sister goes to ASU in Phoenix, we are from Indiana, so i thought it was quite a coincidence.