Red Pheonix

"You will help me, gentlemen, or you will not be happy," Phoenix said, walking with his fingers clasped behind his back.

The sun was starting to go down, but hadn't yet changed the color of the sky. Phoenix’s polished shoes clopped against the concrete in the sidewalk. Melvin gulped. He studied his brother Mark's reaction and knew he had to speak first if they would be able to reason their way out of this. An autumn wind shoved his hair in front of his face and he brushed it back with one hand.

"You can't do this to us," Mark said, cutting Melvin off before he could speak. "We..."

"You've seen what I can do," Phoenix said.

Phoenix paused, glancing up at the sun. A flash of worry passed through his face and hints of yellow emanated from his cheeks. Melvin noticed the color drifting from Phoenix's skin, but he wasn't sure if it was another power the man possessed, or if it was sunlight reflecting off the oils in his skin.

Mark narrowed his eyes and the vein on the side of his head bulged. Melvin could tell his anger was growing. He felt helpless. Neither of them knew how powerful this man was. They'd only seen the powers he wanted them to see.

"I'm done," Mark said, turning and walking down an alley that was half blocked by wooden stands from the farmers market.

Melvin followed his brother, looking over his shoulder at Phoenix. The sun struck Phoenix straight in the face, making his eyes two sapphires. Wind caught his curly blond hair, and he smiled. His straight teeth were white, but seconds after the smile he vanished.

"Now wait a minute, Mark," said Melvin, catching his brother and squeezing his forearm. "We don't know what this man is capable of."

"At this point I don't care. So he knows witchcraft that makes it seem like he's invisible. So what. We don't have to be his flunkies."

Melvin sighed, glaring into his brother's brown eyes. The wind picked up pace and the smell of produce from the farmers market filled the air. He knew his brother was right, but something about Phoenix defied logic.

"Gentleman."

Melvin and Mark whipped around and stared at Phoenix. He was loosely holding a woman by the wrist. She struggled against his grip, despite his apparent ease at restraining her. A shawl covered the top of her head, and the long blue dress hinted she was Amish. As she continued to struggle, she opened her mouth and Melvin expected her to scream. Her face darkened and the veins in her neck swelled against the skin, but no sound came out.

Melvin's heart pounded in his chest and he felt the urge to punch Phoenix, but he couldn't move. He didn't know if it was fear or uncertainty, but he simply couldn't move. Mark was frozen from the same fate. Phoenix reached out and slid the shawl from the woman's head and let it fall to the ground.

"You will help me," Phoenix said, holding up a hand in the air.

Curling his fingers one by one, he reached over to the woman. He latched onto her exposed arm, giving it a firm squeeze. Melvin's eyes widened as he watched. Phoenix pulled, but without effort, and a chunk of the woman's arm slid off. No blood, but the woman's bone could be seen. Her lips twisted and his face transmogrified into agony. She spread her mouth wide as if screaming, but again no sound was produced.

The flesh in his hand glowed yellow and orange as if a fire had been lit, and he slapped his palm to his stomach. When he brought his hand away from his belly the flesh was gone. He reached out and slid more flesh from the woman's body, following the same ritual as the first.

Melvin's mouth went dry and he tried to swallow but failed. He felt like sand had been dumped into his throat and cinderblocks had been tied to his feet. Sweat seeped from his back and armpits and he wished his brother would do something.

"You will help me, gentlemen," continued Phoenix, easing off the remainder of the woman's arm and heaving it into his stomach. "Or I will find your mother."

They both stared in horror. Melvin felt bile coat his throat and he wanted to vomit, but was unable to move. He watched with his brother until the woman was gone. After her skeleton was shoved into Phonix’s stomach, a grey silhouette remained. The shadow looked three-dimensional, still struggling against that uncanny grip.

Releasing a sound that started as a chuckle before evolving into a whooping laugh, Phoenix bent the silhouette into his tummy. An explosion of wind erupted through the alley and knocked Melvin and Mark onto their backs. A hollow crack echoed in Melvin's head and he groaned. His heart still thumped and he could feel it in his head. He looked up and could see the sun's rays. Everything was blurry except for the light, which had separated into the seven distinct colors.

The clip clop of Phoenix's shoes reverberated slowly through the alley, and Melvin groaned with each footfall. The light from the sun was blocked as Phoenix bent over and looked between the two brothers.

"You will help."

As Phoenix finished his sentence, the last word lingered and resonated. Groggy, Melvin could still see the separated light against the alley wall. As Phoenix erected himself, his head caught the light and smoke wafted off his cheek. His eyebrows pinched together and pain changed his features. Without a sound he vanished, and the light separated onto the brick wall again.

Confused, Melvin blinked a few times and rubbed his head. He sat up, moving his hands to massage his neck and looking over at his brother.

"You okay?"

"Did you see that?" Mark said, holding out a shaking hand to where Phoenix once was. "He ate her! He ate a human being!"

"Calm down." Melvin looked around, hoping no one was listening. He understood his brother's reaction, but he didn't want anyone to ask them questions that wouldn't make sense to answer. "I saw."

His head dropped between his shoulders and he saw a browning piece of paper on the ground in front of him. A puddle that formed in a crack in the pavement had soaked the paper, but he snagged it and studied it. It was a brochure for Lost River Caverns. Melvin recalled visiting the site when he and Mark where little. They'd gotten lost when they decided to stray away from the guide. They'd stumbled into a weird chamber but Melvin couldn't remember what happened inside.

"Look," said Melvin, holding out the brochure for Mark.

Taking it and scanning it over quickly, Mark sighed before handing it back.

"He wants to meet us here, but why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Remember going there as kids?"

Melvin nodded. "Remember getting lost?" he said, almost allowing himself to smile as he reflected on the memory. "What happened that day? I can't remember."

"We found that room. The one that made our lights funky."

Melvin let the smirk take over his face this time. They'd still had their flashlights, but when they entered the chamber everything changed. Melvin remembered wearing a red pair of Nike's, and Mark was wearing a red jacket, but when they exited the room the red was replaced with shades of yellow and blue.

"You think that's why he wants us to help him?"

"Why else? Got to be something with that place. I don't think he likes us because we're scientists."

Melvin stared at the brochure for a few more seconds. Phoenix had written a time on the sheet. There wasn't a date so tonight must have been the night. Gritting his teeth, Melvin balled up the paper and stuffed it into his pocket.

***

The wind hadn't died down from earlier, and the darkness made it hard to see. Lost River Caverns had closed hours before they arrived, but Melvin was still nervous. Memories of his childhood bubbled up in his memory banks and he wished they'd arrived on happier circumstances.

"Do you think we'll need the microscopes?" Mark said, tightening his grip on the backpack they'd filled with supplies.

"Who knows. Better safe than sorry."

Melvin checked his flashlight and scanned the area for Phoenix. Seeing no sign, he turned to his brother.

"I have a theory. I think that wizard is allergic to light when it's separated."

"I think male witches are still called witches, but why would you think that?"

Melvin looked around and leaned closer, as if he could sense Phoenix was close. "In the alley, he reacted to some when it touched his skin. It's just a theory, but I grabbed a prism on the way out. Going to test it when the time's right."

"Are you crazy? He'll eat you like he did that woman."

"He needs us, or he would be doing whatever it is we're doing himself."

"Gentleman."

The two jerked around, gazing into Phoenix's eyes. They were Amethysts in the moonlight, and made Melvin's heart flutter.

Did he hear us? Can he read thoughts? Melvin thought, gulping hard as Phoenix smiled.

"You must find me the chamber." They shared looks but they didn't have to ask. "Gather what you find there and bring it to me."

Melvin glanced at his brother and could tell he wanted to say something, but he remained quiet. Melvin played with the prism in his pocket and debated if now was the time. Shrugging, he pulled out the glass and flipped his light on, sending seven colors onto Phoenix's face.

Releasing a shrill shriek, Phoenix thrust his hand forward and smacked the prism away into a patch of grass. He narrowed his eyes as tendrils of smoke emanated from his brow and cheeks. Melvin didn't see anything, but he went flying backward, slamming into the ground and sliding through a few feet of the gravel parking lot. His chest ached and he couldn't feel his heart beating anymore.

He heard Mark screaming, but his voice faded in and out and was mixed with more shrill shrieks followed by footsteps. He lifted his head and blinked to clear his vision. Mark made it over to him and crouched down with a smirk on his face.

"That's one way to prove a theory, but you probably don't want to do that again."

Melvin wanted to laugh, but his rib cage felt like it had collapsed. He saw Mark's hand and took it. Relying on his brother's strength to stand, he steadied himself and looked around. Phoenix was gone. Mark noticed his confusion.

"He screamed or whatever that was and left, but he dropped this piece of paper."

Mark held up a note and Mark saw another time written on it. No date, but it was four hours from the current time.

"Shall we?" Mark said, holding out his arm.

Melvin nodded and followed his brother into the caverns. A mix of excitement and nervous anticipation made him feel his heart again. The entrance had been forced open, undoubtedly by Phoenix, and they walked through. Their flashlight speared the darkness and they trudged forward, using their memory as best as they could to guide their steps.

The cold reminded Melvin that a jacket was the only thing he had forgotten, but he kept moving and tried to keep warm. They splashed through more water than he remembered being on the stone ground, but his boots kept his feet dry.

They made a few wrong turns, but eventually found their way into the chamber from their childhood. The only indicator that they were in the right room was their lights. The water on the walls reflected the light back white at first, but soon everything was tinted in yellow or blue or shades of in between.

Mark let out a chuckle. "What do you think causes this to happen?"

Melvin shrugged and set down his pack. Mark followed suit and they begin to examine the rocks, scraping off or swabbing samples to study. After a brief search, Mark called his brother over.

"Look," he pointed to the ocular lens and Melvin pressed his eye against it.

"Spectacular!"

Swimming around inside a Petri dish was a community of bacteria. They were long with tiny hairs covering the length of their body. They bumped into one another and appeared to be in a feeding frenzy, but it was what they were eating that made Melvin gawk. The light source from the bottom of the microscope was filtering through the Petri dish, and the bacteria were devouring the color red. As they fed, the other two primary colors took over, and the light tinted variations of yellow, blue and green.

"What do you think he wants with these?"

Melvin looked up, pondering an answer to his brother's question. "If my theory was correct, then I'm not sure what he wants with these."

They sat in silence for a while before Mark started gathering specimens. "Maybe he isn't affected by all of the colors in the spectrum. These bacteria only eat the color red, so maybe he can't handle that color?"

Mark's idea made the most sense. But Melvin still wondered why. There were infinite possibilities, but one that nagged at his conscious.

"I think Phoenix aims to become invincible. If he can't handle the color red, then these could help."

Mark started packing up his bag, carefully securing the specimens. "But how?"

Unable to produce any answers, the two brothers finished packing and exited the cave. Two hours remained and they headed home, curious as to what Phoenix would have them do next. It took them 45 minutes to make it home, and they unpacked, setting up their lab for whatever they might be doing. They put the specimens in various locations, preparing a number of tests to be done.

While they waited, Melvin took another look under the microscope. After a few seconds he called his brother over. Mark peeped through and gasped. The bacteria devoured the color red, but they also dispelled it as a waste product before reproducing. The color was excreted through their cell membrane as an ionized plasma that glowed for a few seconds before dulling to a dark red.

The first thing Melvin thought of was a weapon. He checked the time and realized they had an hour to harvest the plasma and think of a way to inject it into Phoenix without him knowing it would be harmful. He informed his brother of his plan and they used multiple syringes to gather as much as they could. They then combined the plasma into two syringes and placed a cap on both tips.

Deciding it would be safer if Phoenix never knew about the weapons, Mark and Melvin hid them in their pockets, hoping that if one failed to inject the plasma the other would succeed.

By the time Phoenix arrived the brothers had already figured he would want them to create a cure out of the bacteria. If his only weakness was the color red, then the only logical conclusion for gathering bacteria that ate red, would be to somehow incorporate the bacteria into his body. They filled a syringe with the bacteria as well, figuring that was their best bet to get close enough to him.

When he appeared out of the shadows, his eyes were citrine quartz, catching glints from the overhead light as he glared at them. There was a moment of silence and the three exchanged glances.

"You wanted us to make you a cure?"

Phoenix didn't respond, simply nodding and folding his arms. Melvin picked the syringe with the bacteria in it off the table and tried to calm his shakes. Adrenaline pumped through his body and he could hear his pulse in his ears. A sudden heaviness weighed down his shoulders and he wondered what would happen if he failed. Someone as evil as Phoenix without a weakness wouldn't bode well for anyone.

Removing the cap, he plucked the syringe to remove any air bubbles, squeezing the plunger until a little squirted out. Phoenix followed Melvin with his eyes, his lips pressed together like there was something on his mind that he didn't want to talk about. Stopping at Phoenix's right, Melvin held up the syringe. Mark maneuvered to Phoenix's left, keeping a hand in the pocket where the weapon syringe lay in wait.

Melvin swallowed hard, inching closer. Doubt clouded his mind and he wondered what would happen if he injected the bacteria before the weapon? Would the weapon still work? Would the weapon work at all?

Before Melvin could finish his thoughts, Mark jerked his hands forward. One hand coddled the weaponized syringe and the other was spread wide as it headed for Phoenix's throat. He yelled as if Phoenix would be afraid of a loud noise, but Mark was stopped short. He froze, the syringe inches from Phoenix's skin. With another shriek, Mark flew backward, slamming into the far wall and toppling a Bunsen burner as he flopped down onto a table.

Without thinking, Melvin dug into his pocket and pulled out his weaponized syringe. Before Phoenix could turn, he plunged the tip into Phoenix's neck and compressed the back until it was empty.

Swirling around quickly, Phoenix backhanded Melvin and he crumpled to the floor from the blow. He felt like a baseball bat had cracked his skull, but he managed to keep his eyes open and he watched Phoenix.

What looked like fire ants crawled across Phoenix's skin and his arms bent in opposite directions. The ants started at the site of the injection and spread outward. He gnashed his teeth together and let his head fall back. The color red spiked through his teeth before dissolving them. Smoke funneled out through the holes in his head and his legs bent the opposite direction as he toppled over backward. When he impacted the ground his body broke into red shards that morphed into steaming red particles.

Breathing deeply and massaging his head, Melvin stood to his feet. He stared at the floor, the steaming particles cooling and shimmering. He looked over at his brother, who was groaning. Staggering over to his kin, he grabbed his brothers’ head and cradled it against his chest.

"We did it," Melvin whispered, a smile wrinkling his cheeks. "We did it."

Mark relaxed against the embrace and Melvin could feel his brother smile as well. The two gazed at the scattered pieces and didn't want to move for hours. They stared until exhaustion called them to sleep. As they slept, the pieces shifted from a shimmering red to a dull purple before separating into blue and yellow.

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