Rouge

Rouge - Chapter Thirteen

Joshua paced back and forth in the kitchen. He had no intention of going to work today. Not until he heard from Hunter. So he vowed to stay by the phone in case she called.

He was angry at her for leaving so suddenly in such an unstable state without telling him where she was going. Didn’t she learn not to do that from their last argument, the one that first brought out the fire? He couldn’t stand not knowing if she was safe or not. She would be brewing with emotion; God knows what she might do. What if she became reckless and impulsive and started using her powers for heroic things like pulling people from the wreckage of burning buildings? The very thought made him sweat and he poured himself a glass of water. If only he’d had enough time to explain properly, to teach her how to control the flames, to implore her to keep her powers a secret.

She has no idea of the danger she is in if her powers become public. If they found out what she could do …

A shiver ran down Joshua’s spine. It was a strange feeling, because he was never cold. Cold was his friend.

Hunter’s powers were one of a kind. The combination of heat, fuel and oxygen creating a supernatural fire inside her as she was formed in the womb would never occur again. That was what scared Joshua the most. Now that Hunter’s powers were almost fully developed, and she was unstable enough to do something drastic, what would stop them from taking her away? What would stop them from threatening him again, from bleeding out the secret of her powers to use for the selfishness of money and power?

Joshua knew what these people were capable of. Hunter was not stable enough to fight them. She was not strong enough to control the fire either, let alone protect herself from the Agents. They would come for her the moment they found out that the fire had finally broken through …

I can’t let them come for her, he thought and skulled the glass of water, pouring another. I won’t let them take her.

I promised.