[ 2 ] 2006

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"Go and take care of your little brother. You can't leave him alone. He needs you. We will follow you soon. I promise."

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"Mama, why can't we just stay home this holiday season?" The twelve year old boy threw his head back and let out a groan. 

Every single year without fail, from November to mid January, his family toured the country with their mariachi band El Sol de Mexico, or The Sun of Mexico in English. Ever since he could remember, they had to sleep in a cold tour bus for months, perform for people who were sometimes even ungrateful and rude, and spend Christmas in some big event instead of at home with the family. Paul Medina was tired of it, to say the least. Especially when he and his little brother John weren't allowed in some of the venues and they had to stay in the tour bus.

But he understood that it was his parents' livelihood, it was the way they knew to sustain their little four person family. They were musicians--his father the main vocalist of the mariachi band and lead guitar, his mother a singer and violinist--and that was how they made their money. Whenever they had their good months, during las posadas at the end of the year, they made so much money that they didn't need to work for the next couple of months. Paul had seen his parents go into a venue with only their instruments and come back out with thick stacks of money, and trays of food that had been given to them by some of the customers. That gave them time to spend with John and Paul, and their father could work on his little side job making and selling mattresses.

He just didn't want to go because he had a bad feeling in his gut. They were to travel around the country, performing at Christmas time events. But there was something in the back of his mind that told Paul that it wasn't such a good idea to do so. At least not for that year.

"M'ijo, we have to tour the country to make money. By January we'll be at home in Guadalajara again and your father says you can finally start football try outs. We've been saving money to sign you up." She said to him warmly, touching the side of his face gently with her hand. He closed his eyes at the feeling of her hand on his face. She had a mother's touch, and was always so gentle. She was the soft hearted one in their family. She was kind, full of joy, and pretty. Oh, so pretty. Paul didn't think any other woman could compare to his mother. 

His father was the complete opposite of her--tall whereas his mother was a tiny woman, he was thin and lean, whereas his mother was more full. Paul's father also had a bit of a temper on him, was quick to get into arguments with anyone, which Paul knew that was where he got his temper from as well. But his parents both shared characteristic green eyes, which was a common trait in people of Guadalajara, where they were both from. His mother, Miranda, and his father Enrique, often joked with their two sons that they were adopted because neither of them had the famous ojos Tapatios, or Tapatio eyes, like they had. But the two boys knew that couldn't be true because Paul looked a lot like his father. John looked like him as well, but he had more similar features with his mother as well.

But the family packed their things anyway and the band climbed into the tour bus, some of the band members had their families there to watch their departure. At least, Paul was glad, that he didn't have to separate from his family. His parents always took him and his brother along whenever they traveled. But that meant that they didn't spend a lot of time back home in Guadalajara. Paul didn't get to see his friends for several months and sometimes, by the time he was back, they all had things to talk about that he couldn't participate in.

They were on their first night traveling and it was night time, things had been going well for them until that moment. Paul had fallen asleep in his seat with his ten year old brother John sleeping beside him. At the front, his father was taking his turn driving the tour bus, and his mother was sitting right next to him. They were on an abandoned dirt road that was said to be a short cut to get to the capital of Mexico. 

There was a noise heard in the front of the bus, followed by the horrible sounds of the engine struggling. Before anyone knew it, Paul was shaken out of his sleep by an explosion of sorts that was coming from under the hood where the engine was located. He thought he was dreaming at first, but he then heard his mother's screams from the front of the bus. "Fuego!" Fire, She yelled, waking everyone in the bus in the process. She leapt from her seat and went along shaking everyone awake. "Kike, I'll get the boys. You pull over and start helping everyone out."

Enrique nodded his head and got the bus to the side of the road as safely and quickly as he could. Meanwhile Miranda went around waking everyone and asking them to evacuate. 

When she finally reached her two sons, Paul was already awake, but John was still fast asleep as though nothing were happening. She reached over her oldest son and grabbed John in her arms. For ten years old, he was still pretty small and scrawny. She easily lifted him up in her arms, then she took Paul by the hand and helped them out of the bus. It took them minutes to evacuate, and everyone watched the bus go up in flames faster by the minute.

Watching from a safe distance, Enrique bit down on his lip with lament. As an idea came to him, he knew it was absolutely crazy. But he knew there was also a chance that it just might work. He glanced at Miranda with their second son still in her arms. It was a cold winter night and everyone who had been on the bus was startled and shivering from the cold. Paul was sitting on the floor watching the flames start to engulf the tour bus. Enrique said to her, "If was can get the instruments out quickly, maybe we can still rent a bus in the city and continue with the tour."

But Miranda refused with a shake of her head. To her, it was more important that they had all made it out alive. "We can't go back in there, Kike. Its too dangerous. I think we should just go back home and perform locally this year."

"We won't all go in there." He said to her firmly. He would never let her go in there and risk her life. It was only something for him to do. "Only me, and I'll get as many of the instruments as I can."

Miranda set John on the ground next to Paul and grabbed her husband's arm to stop him. Her green eyes were pleading with him as she spoke. "Don't go. We can buy new instruments."

But he was convinced to take the risk. The tour was the most lucrative part of the year for them. Without it, they would have to continue working hard for months without rest. Enrique wanted to be able to spend the next couple of months happily with his family. He cupped her face in his hands and leaned down to press his lips to hers. "If I take too long to come back out, don't go in to look for me. Let me do this by myself."

The first couple of times the family and the band held their breaths. He had made it out quickly and safely with some of the instruments. But by the fourth time he went in, there was a loud sound of metal crashing, and Enrique didn't come back out as minutes continued to pass. Miranda took a step forward through tear soaked eyes, knowing that if he was in there and he wasn't coming out, he was probably trapped and needed help. But he didn't want anyone to help him. Still, he was the love of her life and she couldn't just let him die in there without even trying to help him.

Some of the band members had gone nearby where they saw a river and were using their instrument cases to bring water back to put out the bus. But it was too far away and they would not make it back in time. Others were now holding Miranda back so that she wouldn't do anything rash. But Paul was sitting on the floor, and upon seeing that his father wasn't coming back, he jumped onto his feet and ran into the burning tour bus.

He could barely see past the smoke and the flames. But he finally saw his father near the open door to the storage closet. In his arms was his prized guitar--a beautiful white guitar with roses and skeleton designs that his parents had given him on his fifteenth birthday. He was unconscious on the ground with the guitar in his arms, and there was a big piece of metal on top of his legs. The sound they had heard earlier was probably when it fell on top of him and knocked him unconscious. 

Paul got closer and touched the piece of metal to attempt to push it off his father. But he pulled his hand back when he felt how hot it was. Tears stung at his eyes because he wanted to help, but he didn't know how to. As he stood back, he concentrated deeply and tried to move the piece of metal with his mind. He and his brother had always had powers, as did both of their parents. But their parents always told them they were only to be used in extreme situations, since they wanted their children to live normal lives. Paul hardly ever used his powers, but he thought this was a good time to use them.

The metal shook under his control, but fell back down onto his father's legs. 

From behind him, he heard his mother's screaming as she hurried up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his small frame rom behind and cried into his hair. "Paul Alexander Medina Rivera," When she called him by his entire name, he knew he was in trouble. "What do you think you're--"

She stopped halfway and a gasp left her lips when she saw her husband's body on the ground. He wasn't moving, and something told her he was either on the brink of death if he wasn't dead already. Her eyes instantly pooled up with tears and she went around Paul, kneeling by her husband's side. She did the same as Paul at first, tried to move the metal with her hands, but it was so hot that it burned her fingers. She then looked around to see if there was anything that could help her move the object in her way.

Just then, there was another loud sound that rang in their ears as another piece of metal fell from the ceiling of the bus. This time, Paul looked in the direction of the sound to find that a large metal panel had fallen right in front of the door, blocking them inside. 

Thinking quickly, Miranda got back on her feet and went to one of the emergency exits. It was a window that she pulled on the handles and pushed the glass out. The opening was barely big enough for someone small to get through. Without even debating it, she grabbed her son's arm and started to force him through the opening. Paul refused to go by himself though.

"I want to stay with you and papa." He argued with her.

But they were running out of time and she was quick to offer him reassurances, even though he knew in the bottom of his heart that it was all lies. She was just saying that to get him to go without them. "Go and take care of your little brother. You can't leave him alone. He needs you. We will follow you soon. I promise."

With tears in his eyes, he was forced to climb out the bus window into the arms of one of the band members who was waiting below. Knowing there was no escape for them anymore, and having lost hope that they would survive, Miranda sat by her husband's side and waited for death to take her. 

From the outside of the bus, it was only a matter of a few more minutes until the flames consumed the entire bus. Paul was sobbing by that time. By his side, John had woken up confused, and his eyes searched the people there for their parents. When he didn't find them and saw the way his brother was crying, things started to sink in for him. When he started crying too, Paul pulled him into his arms. 

He then swore to himself that he would protect and provide for his brother by any means necessary. It was what his parents wanted of him and he would not let them down.

-

so the second chapter of this story is about paul.

and i think until we get to the moment when they meet, i'm going to jump around like that. one chapter about dempsey, and one about paul. that way you can get to know their backgrounds and their backstories. 

i have one more chapter pre-written so i think i will post it and then go to sleep. please let me know what you think of this chapter, the story, and let me know which other characters you would like to see more from. we already have harley, calum, and ashton, which are the main characters of the series.

then we have the spin offs about michael and hazel (the hunter), arthur and harleen and aaron (in another life), and now this one about paul and dempsey.

-clary