Empty Parking Lot

"…Um… Mr. Hannibal?" 

The large black man ignored his call. 

He stood atop a small outcrop above the brilliant flames below. In the distance, he watched the Orc's camp fall. 

"Uh… Hannibal, sir?" 

Hannibal clenched his fists. 

He was newly perturbed. 

"Well um… it's been twenty —" 

"I know." Hannibal said coldly. 

His fingernails dug further into his palm. 

Teddy and Juniper did not return. 

Hannibal knew this was a potential outcome, but he'd be lying if he said he expected it. Strangely, he believed the two young men would succeed. 

But now that it's been over twenty minutes — over the allotted time for their return — Hannibal did not know what to do. 

Is he a leader who abandons his men? 

Or is he a leader who sticks to their word? 

Where does he fall on the spectrum? 

Where does he wish to fall? 

Hannibal lamented. 

He turned around towards the members of his party. 

"We stay until the flames die. Then, we'll comb the area." 

"Yes, sir!" 

*** 

Cain and Church stood in an empty parking lot. 

It was night and the street lights above them flickered on and off. Even the city's electrical was subject to the icy season of Greenland. 

Parked behind them, a few parking spots away, Church's rental car hummed music for the two boys to listen to. 

Church leaned against the hood of his rental. His arms folded across his chest, he watched Cain curiously. 

"How precise does this need to be?" Church asked, shivering. 

Meanwhile, Cain was crawling across the parking lot floor. In his hands he held two sticks of chalk with which soared across the pavement under his command. 

First, Cain drew a big circle. A circle about the size of a hula hoop. 

Then, within that big circle, he drew two smaller circles parallel to each other. 

All around the two smaller circles, Cain drew lines and shapes. Some lines connected the smaller circles to the big circle, some lines just accented the circles — wrapping around them or accentuating them. 

Once those details were fine tuned, Cain began working inside the two smaller circles. 

One of the circles, the one on the left, represented Olive. In it, Cain drew what appeared to be a small girl cradled on the floor.

This girl sat in a circle similar to the one Cain was drawing and around her, Cain drew phantoms and figures that towered over the small girl. 

The phantoms had mischievous faces: some looked at the young girl with hatred, others with envy, but none of the phantoms looked kindly upon the small girl. 

In the next circle, the circle to the right — representing Cain — he drew a similar figure. A cloak draped in torn cloth with a skull hidden underneath its hood. 

"It has to be exact." Cain said while wiping his brow. 

He was finally finished. 

"What if it's not exact?" Church asked. "Does it teleport you somewhere random?" 

Cain stood up. 

"Teleport?" Cain repeated. 

"No, this has nothing to do with teleportation. Although I can see why you'd think that, this is effectively a Summoning Circle but built backwards. These two smaller circles in the center represent Olive and I — and the greater circle links our two smaller circles together." 

"…" Church scratched his cheek. 

"Once our circles are linked, all of these squibbles and shapes you see within the greater circle absorb our mana and energy to pull one circle to the other. In this case, me to Olive." 

Church nodded along. 

"But I thought you said Olive had to draw the circle too? So why are you drawing it?" Church asked. 

"Well —" Cain wiped his chalky hands on his pants, "it has something to do with the fact that I technically am a summon. Apparently, once you're summoned the first time, your circle is effectively branded onto your soul. So whenever Olive wants to summon me, she just has to draw this greater circle to link with my already branded circle. But since Olive's never been summoned, her circle hasn't been branded onto her yet. In other words…" 

"There's nothing to make a connection with?" Church said. 

"Exactly." Cain nodded, "There needs to be a relay out there for us to connect to. My relay is branded onto me, but Olive's relay isn't. She has to draw it." 

"This sounds like teleportation." Church said. 

Cain huffed, but didn't say anything else. 

"So what now?" Church asked. 

"Now, we wait." Cain said. 

*** 

Clark propped Olive up against a tree. 

Her head held low. The muscles in her neck were overused and worn out. 

It hurt to look around. 

In front of her, Clark worked tirelessly. 

Like a crazed man, he ran around the field of grass ripping chunks of greenery as he went. After a few minutes, the grassy field died and an area of dirt sprouted. 

"Okay!" Clark keeled over on his knees. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked back at Olive. 

"A big circle?" Clark said. 

"Yes." Olive meekly replied. 

Clark raised his eyebrow. Confusion was blatantly strewn across his face, but he listened nonetheless. 

He slammed his heel into the dirt and quickly spun around. Thus, a large circle was born. 

"Now two smaller circles in the center…" Olive muttered. 

"Space them about six inches apart… and make sure they're the same size." Olive said. 

Clark obliged. With his fingers, he kneeled onto the ground and began drawing according to Olive's instructions. 

He drew the two circles. Then, he filled them in: a small girl in one circle, a floating phantom in the other. 

"Okay!" Clark said triumphantly. "How's this?" 

Olive split her heavy eyes. She slowly raised her chin to look at the circle Clark drew. 

But when she saw it, a grimace surfaced. 

"The lines…" she said, "they're backwards." 

Clark looked down at his creation. 

"Backwards?" He muttered. 

Clark sighed. He took his foot and ran it through the soil, completely demolishing the circle he drew. 

He spread the dirt around until the surface was smooth and flat once again. Then, he began anew. 

Big circle first. Then two little circles. 

Fill in the little circles. 

Then finally, add the outer details. 

Olive looked up. 

"Oval…" she said. 

Clark looked down. 

"Shit!" He cursed. "It is an oval!" 

Suddenly, the bushes rustled and two small wooden creatures burst into the light. 

"Acorn! Lion!" Clark shouted. 

"My boys! My troopers!" Clark scooped up his creations. 

"Can you guys draw?" Clark whispered to his little soldiers. 

The acorn man and dandelion man looked at one another. Then, they nodded together and jumped down from Clark's grasp. 

They looked at the lopsided circle drawn across the dirt. Simultaneously, the acorn man and dandelion man shook their heads in disappointment. 

This circle simply wouldn't do. 

The little acorn man strutted over to Clark's leg and began smacking Clark's ankle. The acorn man pointed to the dirt. 

'Clean it up!' The acorn man seemed to be saying. 

Before Clark could get to work, however, the bushes started rustling once more. 

Tusks broke through the foliage. 

Then skin shaded jade with black markings and fresh burns. 

An Orc stepped out of the forest and into the light. A vicious snarl sat atop his lip and bloodshot eyes glued onto Clark's figure. 

The Orc exhaled deeply and steam fell from his lips. He had just come from the flames, his form was torched and his skin was seeping off. 

Like a bull, the Orc stomped his foot against the ground. 

A moment later, the Orc rocketed forward. He charged at Clark in a blind fury, ready to decimate the plump human beneath his feet. 

With barely any time to think at all, Clark dove out of the way. He barely avoided the Orc's grab before racing to his feet. 

"Just finish the circle!!" Clark shouted. 

With that, he spun around and bolted away. 

Behind him, the Orc slammed his green feet into the ground and charged after Clark. 

Meanwhile, the acorn man and dandelion man spread the dirt in the field. Once they were done flattening the land, they began drawing the circles just as Clark did. 

At the same time, Clark ran for his life as, behind him, a monster loomed. 

///LostNoteFound///

Hey moofin. Looks like it's just me and you. Mano a Mano.

Yeah, I see you. I'm always watching. 0_0