Imprisoned by the devil 3

Chapter 17

I walked up the staircase behind Eden. She led the way, going faster by the minute. Colt followed quickly behind me. He walked up the stairs, looking behind us as he followed. I ran after Eden as I entered their temporary home. I stopped to examine the living room and kitchen. Everything was a mess, pots and pans filled the sink. Food was spilled all over the stove. The table was piled with magazines and books. Clothes were covering the furniture in the living room, with blankets all over the floor. The rooms were a disaster, looking like a tornado hit them. I started to catch my breath as I looked more around the room. Colt started to lock the door behind us as Eden went into the bedrooms. I walked around the room to look at it better. Under the table were bones of different animals. The floor beneath them was stained with blood, but it looked like animal blood. The blood followed into the living room in drops like someone carried it over. I walked into the room in silence, heading into the living room. Sturring came from the bedrooms as I heard a thump. "Will you stay away," Max's voice yelled, but died out completely. I turned to Colt, who looked straight at me. He studied me cautiously like I was more of a prisoner to them. I huffed in frustration as I looked at the hallway again. I started to walk again as I entered the hallway. "I'm just trying to help," Eden's voice spoke. "I don't" Max's voice yelled as it died out again.

I slowly continued towards their voices as Eden lashed out a painful scream. She rushed out of the room. She held her arm tightly, which made me wonder if Max's powers were out of control. She winced, then slowly looked up at me. "Careful, don't touch him," she said, as I studied her. She stood up as she looked at her arm, revealing a burnt mark. The mark covered almost her whole arm. It was black like a real burn, but it looked smooth like a tattoo. I cocked my head in confusion. Maybe she drew it for a prank. I took a deep breath as I walked up to her. "Can I see?" I asked as she studied me. "It's a burn, Ella. Have you ever been struck by lightning before?" she asked as I nodded. "I have. It was in a fight with our parents. But the burn that I had didn't look like that," I said, gesturing to the burn on her arm. She looked down at her arm. She slid her hand up, revealing more of the mark. It was red like someone just hit her with burning lava rocks. A dark red circle with black boils all over it. It didn't steam, but it looked fresh. I heard the freezer door open, as Colt walked up to Eden with an ice pack. He pressed it on her arm, then helped her sit down at the table. I took a deep breath as I looked at the hallway.

"I'm going in. Stay here," I said, as I started to walk past them. Both Eden and Colt looked at me in shock. "Ella, he's dangerous," Eden snapped. I stopped in my tracks. Colt took a deep breath. "She's right. You shouldn't go in there," he said, as I shifted to look at them. "What is the opposite of fire?" I asked him. Colt huffed. "The opposite of fire is ice. But Ella," he started to say but I cut him off. "Now, what's the opposite of lightning?" I asked. Colt started to help his sister to the couch. "Water. You're not making any sense," he said, as he turned to me. "What is ice?" I asked. Colt looked at me. "A frozen water molecule. What are you even getting at?" I cracked a smile. "Finally, what melts ice?" He looked at me in surprise. "Fire. Lightning will only chip it," he said, figuring what I was getting at. I cracked a smile. "I'll be back. You two stay out here," I said, as I started to head towards the bedroom.

I heard a thump against the wall, then another scream. I sighed as I thought about how much pain Max was in. I continued to walk in silence, my thoughts invading my mind. I thought about how when the committee left last time, how Max disappeared then came back hurt. It made me wonder what they even did to him, or what was said to make this all happen. Why did they even want to try to take over again? And how did Cameron come into this? My mind kept exploding with questions and different thoughts. Just an endless train of thoughts that kept going with no end. I walked closer to the room that held my friend. His scream became louder as I approached. I winced at the last one, which made me close my eyes and almost covered my ears. I opened them back up to find myself standing right in front of Max's door. I looked at the door then to the floor as I listened. I heard him sniffle a little and lightly speak. "Please, stop," he said, in a whisper. I stood in silence, studying the floor and the pattern. I just kept thinking to myself as I listened in. "Why," he started again. "Why are you doing this again?" I looked up at the door in silence. I thought about walking away to let him be, but something told me that I needed to go in. I took a deep breath as I knocked. "Max, it's me," I said silently, but loud enough for him to hear it through the door.