Praeses | Teen Ink

Praeses

June 15, 2018
By Anonymous


Within the confines of the ever so polluted concrete jungle named LA emerged a strong spirited kid who is yet to know his true potential, it will take determination but he found his way of becoming a legend. With these very words let me describe the way of this so called, “Legend.” His name was Leo, he had been born in LA living life with one parent because of his father’s passing due to a brutal murder by the hands of some menacing vigilant. Leo was very young when this occurred as he doesnt have any memory to what his father was like. All he had was his mother’s memories of his father, she’d always tell him how strong and confined he was, she even went as far to say he was impenetrable mentally and physically.

Thus gave Leo inspiration wanting to be as strong as his father looking up to the ways he treated people and reciprocated them himself. He strived to be very noble and honest with his words and would shy away from hesitation and speak his mind freely to make others hear what he has to say. Being confident was key to Leo’s personality as he wanted people to feel comfortable around his presence as he had respect for every living being no matter shape or size. With these communication skills set in motion he had became a couple steps closer to becoming like his father, putting people’s problems and lives before himself because helping is what made Leo feel important and it gave him meaning.

This was only one piece of Leo’s greatness as he yet has awoken the true power within himself, and this is how he had set sail on the path of glory.

“Man what time is it?”

“Time for you to wake up Leo, you got school in a hour.”

“Right, sorry I had a weird dream last night.”

“Riigggghhhttttt yea well get your butt in the shower I have to make breakfast.”

“Ok, i’ll get on it but can you make my eggs with ham scrambled in please?”

“Sure but be quick i dont want you crying when its cold.”

As Leo gets into the shower he starts pondering about the dream he had, “What was up with that freaky dream, all i remember is kids crying for help from me, why me? Was I helping them in someway? Ehhh best not to think about it i'm just going to drive myself crazy.” He exits the shower with water dripping all over the floor which is something his mother hates that he does, grabbing his towel he feels a slight cramp like feeling within his mid bicep. Leo massages the area out of reaction but the pain goes away before he even touches it. Shrugging it off bluntly he gets into his room to find a outfit for school, in his fresh clothing he looks down the hall walking towards the dinner table as his mother calls his name.

She serves him his eggs with ham like she promised but the eggs got a tad bit overcooked with undercooked eggs still on top. Leo inhales his food within a matter of minutes as his mother drinks her coffee with toast slowly while reading the daily news about tom foolery happening within their area.


“Be careful today theres been alot of alleged missing people and murders that have been happening not too far from here, I dont want you wandering anywhere afterschool you hear me?”

“Yes of course, I’ll make sure to stay safe I promise. I’ll even take the bus today so i can avoid strange people on the street.”

“Ok but if you get hurt or scared don't forget to call me. Trust your gut!”

Leo walks out the front door he sees that his friend is also walking to school and he shouts from across the street saying, “HEY JAKE WHERE YOU GOING THE PARTY’S THIS WAY!!” as he points towards to himself with a giddy smile. Jake then crosses the street to come walk with him to the bus station and they engage in conversation with Leo opening with,

“Hey did you hear about the missing people in the news today?”

“Yea my mom told me which was set her into self defense mode and made her give me a lecture.”

“Haha tell me about it, my mom did the same too but she was more concerned about the murders than anything.”

“Yea I heard who ever did so is very brutal as the victims were butchered.”

“Man that's tough, why would anyone want to do that anyways, especially to someone so innocent?”

“I really don't know bro some people are just mentally sick in the head like that.”

“Do you think they could ever be persuaded with words?”

“Probably not as they don't care for anyone, not even themselves, they just thrive on the dark things in life.”

“Woah its sounds pretty scary when you word it that way, I bet with reasoning they might consider, in the end people are the same it's just small things that differ us apart from each other.”

“I guess you're right, people really are equal its just ourselves who make things look bigger than they are.”

“Hey it think i see the bus down the street.”

“Oh yeah your right! Can i borrow a dollar please? I forgot my wallet.”

“No worries i always got your back man haha.”

They ride the metro bus scheduled at 6:30 am it starts to rain ominously with raging thunderstorms racing across the clouds tenderizing the air. It was from here on after that would change Leos life forever, but this was only the beginning of the story. As he stares outside the window  he sees something disfigured but ever so slightly can he comprehend what he's seeing as it seems invisible to the eye. Leo shrugs this off with a light heart but continues to search for what he saw out of instinct. Without a doubt what he saw was strange but he wouldn’t let it get out of his mind, it kept burning into his memory.

Rocks and small pebbles spin across the concrete sidewalk as they get off the bus, then Leo looks towards Jake as they walk towards their high school not to far from the bus stop.

“What time is it? I don't want to be late to class.”

“Chillax tampax its barley 7:00 am we still have 42 minutes to spare.”

“Oh I see you’ve became a comedian in the past 5 minutes, congratulations!”

“It was just one joke and now I'm a comedian? Hah you best bet I am.”

“Hey by the way did you see what was on the bus earlier? Like by the 7-11 on Atlantic but it was faintly visible.”

“Nah man i didn't see anything I was too focused on trying to respond to my girlfriends messages so she wouldn’t get mad at me. Can you believe she throws a fit if I don’t respond in 5 min- WHAT IS THAT?”

  A enormous beast emerged from nowhere like as if it was thrown in by a wormhole, its features made it evident this beast was nothing from Earth but indeed from another realm. It looked like a dog but with their limbs and body figure looking alike but there facial features were not. It had a face similar to a pre blossomed rose but with having a close resemblance to a horse with the eyes on the sides of the creature, it screeched and revealed all of the vicious sharp teeth lined with the creatures rose petal like organs. Leo started it down with his eyes and it struck him with fear, holding the feeling dear he reluctantly went to see what was happening to the people enduring this grotesque creature.

“HEY WHERE YOU GOING YOU IDIOT YOU'RE GONNA GET KILLED!!”

“I dont care, Id save 1 life if it meant id lose mine.”

Leo arrives at where the beast landed in the high school.’

“Jesus what did this thing do, all of the kids look helpless and scared.”

All Leo saw was his fellow classmates hide behind the walls of classrooms with the stragglers hiding in the cafeteria. He walked up to this beast without fear and made himself stand in front of this dog.

“Things like you are what make me sick, some animals entertained and thrived on the killing of others, like its a sport of any kind. You do it so it makes you feel strong and powerful but really it's rather a waste of your own life killing when you could’ve did good instead.”
When Leo was talking to this beast knowing it couldn't understand him, it seemed to sit and listen to what he had to say and didn't move a muscle. It didn't seem like anyone was around, but few were definitely watching from the windows of the classroom. As the beast realizes he stopped talking it let out a deep roar that shook the whole school. Leo on the other hand was looking down feeling something deep within his core, it could only be described as some type of fire built up inside this kid. The beast starts charging at him with full speed, he gets closer and closer as Leo now looks up at the beast.

He feels this pulsation within his right arm that feels like its charging up with energy, his arm then starts protruding red veins glowing with a hot neon aurora. Leo himself does not know what is happening but is just going on instinct, he feels the same thing that happen to his arm transfer to his legs. He leaps forward at a great speed towards the beast with his fist ready and as he makes contact it gets launched back with a powerful hit enough to destroy a house. The creature is pulverized into dust as the impact of the hit had destroyed the whole football field, luckily no one was damaged or hurt as it was empty when Leo talked to the beast. Even though Leo had defeated the monster but his body was badly injured, his right arm, left and right leg all broke due to this mysterious power within him. He layed in the pit created by himself until help arrived. A helicopter arrived to the scene to transport him to the hospital, as he arrived his mother had barley been informed about it and quickly rushed there. The media wanted to report on this situation but it was too drastic to release to everyone as it'd create a large panic within the people, they'd question this boy and look at him like some freak and would interrogate him for answers how he did what he did. They ended up reporting that the situation was a bombing of the football field intended to kill thousands but went off early and no one got harmed. The people who did see what happen remembered this well and personally thanked Leo for his bravery, but he didn't want them to as he did so because he wouldn't stand to see innocent people die no matter the cost. To him it was mandatory he’d stand before people who can't defend themselves.

After this day Leo swore he’d use this mysterious power for good only and when it's needed, not for selfish greed or gain but instead it was used for protection of the public. He continued to follow his dad’s ways and ideals just as his mother remembered. The only ones he'd eventually let know about his true power were his friend jake, mother, and those who witnessed the fight. This is the man that would later live on to be the protector of this world with his miraculous power, forever being a legend.


The author's comments:

I kind of rushed this story but detailed it as much as I could


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