Page 1 of From the Ashes

CHAPTER 1

Charlie

Iwas the kind of kid that always had a box of matches in his pocket. Not because I was a junior arsonist that enjoyed lighting neighborhood cats on fire. But because after a weekend scout camp one summer when I was eight, I was eager to have a bonfire as often as possible. There was just something magical about sitting around a fire in the great outdoors. It was better than anything I’d ever experienced. Oh, and I was never far from a bag of marshmallows either.

Both of those things probably explained why I didn’t have a lot of friends. I was fascinated with nature, which was an odd thing when everyone else was enthralled with music, video games, and television. And the surplus of marshmallows definitely put me on the very chubby side. That alone was enough to make me an outcast. Needless to say, I learned early that kids could be cruel to anyone who dared to be different.

So when a new kid moved in down the street when I was ten, I thought little of it. Well, at least until he wandered into my backyard one night as I was setting up the fire pit.

“Charles?” my mother called from the back porch.

God, I hated it when she used that name. It was such anoldperson's name. And since I was named after my dead grandfather, no amount of arguing could convince me otherwise. It seemed intrinsicallyunluckyto be named after a dead person. It didn’t give me much to live up to.

“Yeah?” I asked, turning back to her. “What do you–”

My words trailed off as I saw another small figure standing next to her. He was backlit by the light from the dining room so I couldn’t make out much, but he was skinny, mop-headed, and struck a confident pose. He looked like he was close to my age, too.

“Remember I told you that a Mrs. McKean moved in down the street?”

I nodded as she neared the campfire, my eyes fixed on the boy she ushered along at her side.

“Well, it turns out she has a son and you’re both going to be in the same grade.” She nudged him forward a bit. “This is Phoenix.”

The boy stepped forward and I got a good look at him for the first time. He was a little taller than me, lanky, and his hair wasn’t brown like I suspected, but flaming red. He shifted his weight to one hip, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he lifted a shy face and gave me a smirk.

There was something about him that struck me. I couldn’t quite place what it was. But for all the shyness he was putting on, something about him seemed…wild. And the way the campfire caught his green eyes… it was almost like there was a fire burning inside him. I could nearly feel the blaze roiling within him that was desperate to get out.

“I figured you two could get to know one another over the summer and then he wouldn’t have to start school without knowing anyone,” my mother continued. “Maybe you can show him around the neighborhood. I know how much you like to explore. I’m sure you know all the best places for adventures.”

She gave me a wink and I felt a surge of embarrassment wash down to my toes like a cold egg cracked over my head. I returned a stern look, but she only smiled.

“I’ll let you two be,” she smiled. “I told Mrs. McKean I’d have you home in an hour.”

Then she was gone, her shoes clacking on the porch boards as she slipped back inside the house. The pair of us were left standing there, staring awkwardly at the ground as we shuffled our feet. I had no idea what to say to this complete stranger. Mom was always trying to get me to make friends. She thought I was a loner. What she didn’t know was that it wasn’t by choice.

“Hi.”

My head snapped up as Phoenix was the first to speak.

“Uh… hi,” I replied shyly.

There was a long pause.

“So… uh… did you just move in?” I asked, not sure what else to ask.

“Yeah. Last week.” He paused, looking me over. “How old are you?”

“Ten.”

“Me too.” There was a long pause as we both searched for something to say. “Do you have bonfires all the time?” he finally asked.

I nodded. “I like them. And being outside. It’s…” I searched for the right way to convey my passion with a single word. “Quiet.”

Phoenix gestured to the s’mores supplies I had sitting on a log off to the side. “Are your friends coming too?”

My cheeks burned with embarrassment. “I… I don’t have any friends.”

I hated the sound of those words on my lips. It cut deeper than I liked to admit.

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