2 Clifford Harrison

"Wake up sleepy head." A little girl barged into a room and started to hit a boy sleeping on the bed with her tiny puny hands.

"Urgh! Let me sleep a bit more" he grunted. The boy was Clifford Harrison, he was a young man of seventeen years old. He was about five feet tall, had brown hair that were almost touching his shoulders, purple eyes, pale skin and quite skinny stature.

"No! Wake up" I won't allow you to sleep anymore." The little girl refused, she attempted to smack Clifford across the face but he caught her little hand just in time.

He pulled her to his bed, hugged her and kissed her forehead, her name was Lyla and she was Clifford's younger sister.

"Good morning kid sis, did you sleep well?"

"I slept well big bro." Lyla replied with a pure innocent smile that always warmed the heart of Clifford.

Clifford looked at her booming smile, "her smile is the most beautiful sight in the world." He thought to himself.

Deep blue large eyes, adorable cheeks, small cute nose. She was the perfect example of a princess from the fairy tales.

"Aah! Let me see your face, you've gotten bullied again." Lyla said while checking on the bruised face of Clifford.

"No, I didn't get bullied."

"Liar! Tell me the truth or I'll report you to Mom."

"Okay, I got bullied." Clifford said with a defeated sigh.

"I'm gonna tell Mom" Lyla replied and jumped out of the bed."

"You just said you won't tell her." Clifford said with a betrayed look.

"I lied." Lyla stopped by the door and winked at him before zooming off to report Clifford to her mom.

"Urgh! This little girl can't keep secrets, can she?"

Clifford asked himself with a defeated sigh.

He got up from the bed, took a mirror and started to examine his face. His left eye was swollen and there was bruises on the right side of his face.

"It wasn't my fault, was it? If only I was strong, I won't get bullied by that Freddie and his fellow bastards." He thought to himself.

"Mom mustn't see me like this." He quickly sneaked into the bathroom, had a quick bath and dressed up in a few minutes. He took the mirror and checked his face again.

The bruise had cleared a little but the swollen eye was still very noticeable. "I'll have to sneak out again."

He thought to himself.

Clifford sneaked to the kitchen, took a loaf of bread from the cabinet. He had a few bites and kept the rest in his backpack. He walked up to the mini fridge, opened it and took a bottle of milk, he noticed there was only few groceries left in the fridge. He knew he would have to get more money this week to assist his mom.

Mrs Stacey Harrison was the mother of Clifford and Lyla. She was five feet tall, she was a woman about the age of forty, but she looked older due to the great amount of stress she had to go through to feed herself and her children. She lost her husband, George Harrison, to the war between the humans and the monsters.

Clifford was a little boy of seven years old when he lost his father, so he had little memory of him.

Lyla on the other hand was a few months old. She had no memory of her father, she only had a picture of her father in a small closet which she hung around her neck every time.

Being a single parent and a common human with no Magic ability, Mrs Harrison had to live in one of the low-tier cities together with Clifford and Lyla, She worked as a teacher in one basic school in the city they lived in.

Her salary was never enough to cover the expenses of hers and her children so she had to do menial jobs to keep up.

Clifford shook his head, closed the fridge and took his backpack. He sneaked up to the door and attempted to open the door, but the door wouldn't budge.

"Damn! Who locked the door? Where's the key? Damnit!" He thought to himself

"Are you looking for this?" A voice said from behind.

"Mom...." Clifford grunted.

"You're sneaking out again, aren't you? Let me see your face." Mrs Harrison said.

"Just give me the key mom, there's nothing wrong with me" Clifford replied without turning.

"Let me see your face Clifford," she said again.

"It's just a swollen eye and it's not even that painful." He murmured. He turned to see the worried look on his mother's weary face.

"Oh my...! Clifford!" She exclaimed covering her mouth with her hands. "Come, let me treat it before it gets infected."

"Don't worry Mom, I'll stop by a clinic and get it treated."

"Are you sure you will?" She asked with a worried expression.

"I will Mom," he replied while he grabbed the keys from her hands. He went to the door, opened it and was about to leave the house when he heard his mom's voice.

"Clifford!" She called. "Be careful out there, don't get into trouble." She said in a worried voice

"I'll be careful mom." He said, closed the door and left. He checked the time on his mobile, it was just few minutes past eight. "Fuck! I'm late," he cursed.

He had a meeting with his friend, John Harry. John was the best friend of Clifford, he was a year younger than Clifford but he was extremely smart. He was almost as tall as Clifford but quite muscular. He had dark spiked hair and also had a large refined nose. He often wore glasses. John was an orphan, he lost his mother to the war and his father died of depression few years back. He had no relatives that he knew of. He worked in a library as a cleaner earning daily wages to feed himself.

They had agreed to meet by eight today, Clifford wanted to apply for a job as a cleaner in the same library. He wanted to ease the burden of his mother by earning some money to pay their bills.

"I'll have to walk faster." He thought.

______

In an alleyway down the street to Clifford's house. An old man was walking by the alleyway, dressed in a black robe with a hood covering his head. He had completely white hair hidden under the hood. He looked feeble and weak with extremely pale skin, he appeared to have lost a lot of blood and might fall anytime.

He continued to walk when he suddenly got surrounded by a group young teens. The leader of the group happens to be Freddie. Freddie and his gang were known for their notorious activities in Clifford's neighborhood. They were mages but didn't had enough talents to get enrolled into a mage academy. They resorted to bullying and stealing from those weaker than them.

"Hey old man!" Freddie called, "you look so weak and pathetic, you might die anytime." He sneered.

The group bursted into laughter. "Let's send him on his way to hell." One of the gang members said. The group bursted in to laughter again.

"Not yet, he might have something to offer us before he goes on his journey to hell." Freddie sneered. "So.., old man, you have anything to offer before we kindly send you to hell?" He jeered.

The old man didn't reply and this infuriated Freddie, he attempted to smack the old man across the face but a voice rang out shouting "Stop!" He stopped to look at who dared to stop him.

It was Clifford. He happened to be passing by when Freddie and his gang surrounded the old man. "Don't you dare touch the man," he's an old man and you bastards still rob him? Heartless monsters!" Clifford spat angrily. He knew he couldn't fight against Freddie and his gang as they would easily overpower him due to their numbers, but he couldn't watch a helpless old man getting bullied, he had to do something.

"Hehehehe! Seems like you've got some guts boy." Freddie grinned. "Leave here at once or you'll be dealt with." He threatened Clifford.

Clifford gritted his teeth and said, "No" He knew he's in deep trouble already.

"I won't use my fists on you anymore you stupid brat!" Freddie spat angrily. He stretched out his palms and shouted, "Ice ball!" A cold energy started to form on both of his palms, the cold energy soon formed in to ice balls spherical in shape, about the size of a tennis ball. Three ice balls on each palm, dancing in the air above his palm.

Clifford looked at the ice balls with fear, his fiery balls are no match for the ice balls. He can only conjure one fiery ball on each hand which limits his chance of winning. He had absolute zero chance of winning against Freddie.

He conjured the balls anyways, he wouldn't go down without a fight. 'Fiery balls!" He grunted lowly. A hot energy started to form the shape of a ball and on each of his palms. The balls were smaller to Freddie's ice balls which shows his magic ability is poorer than Freddie's.

"You're gonna fight me with those pathetic balls?" Freddie sneered.

"Shut up you bastard!" Clifford replied and shoots his fiery balls towards Freddie. They weren't fast and accurate enough so Freddie easily dodged them.

"Shit! Not again, Clifford said in despair.

"Playtime is over you brat, it's time I teach you a lesson not to poke around other people's business." He shoots the ice balls at Clifford, they were faster and more accurate than Clifford's.

"Aah! Pls stop" Clifford cried as the balls hit him on the head, chest and abdomen. He bent down holding his head and abdomen, blood tickling the side of his lower lips.

"Fuck! I should've just left and mind my business, now they're gonna kill me with the old man." He looked up and saw Freddie and his gang jesting and laughing at him. He got mad and roared, he charged at Freddie like a mad bull, he caught him, flung him to the floor and gave him series of fists on his forehead.

One of Freddie's gang member kicked Clifford on the head, the rest ganged up on him and they all started to beat him. Freddie stood up, grabbed a wooden plank on the floor and attempted to smack it on Clifford's head.

"Aaaaaah!" Freddie suddenly caught fire and he screamed. "Help, help, put out the fire, he continued to scream.

The others and Clifford looked towards the source of the fire. They were shocked and blood drained away from their faces. The old man stood there with his left hand stretched out, six fiery balls the size of a basketball were burning fiercely and dancing in the air above his palm. He had set Freddie on fire.

They looked at him with fear written all over their faces, death was the only thought in their mind, they've offended a powerful mage, the fiery balls are the largest they had ever seen.

Freddie's cries of agony stopped, he laid there dead. The others couldn't recognize him anymore, he was completely burnt black and smelt of burnt meat.

Seeing the dead body of Freddie on the floor like a lump of burnt meat, their minds were jolted back to reality and they all fled in to different directions.

Clifford just sat there, motionless and speechless. He glared at the old man like he was a ghastly ghost.

"Stand up," the old's man hoarse voice rang out. Clifford quickly stood up. At the moment, he couldn't feel any pain of the beatings he received earlier, fear was the only thing in his mind.

He stood up but his legs were visibly shaking due to fear.

"Fear not! You have an important mission."