Far From Normal (Phenomenal Teens Series - Book 1)

Chapter Seventeen - Fire

Chapter 17 – Fire

Picking up a nearby fallen branch, Vivian used it to poke the dog’s side gently. “Yep. It’s dead.” She declared, throwing the stick to the side. “That’s really cool what you can do, Elara. Way cooler than healing.” She commented as she wiped her palms clean on the back of her pants.

I stood there staring down at the decaying body. At that moment, I began to realize what I was capable of. Here this thing was just dying away somewhere, minding its own business, and I’d called it back to life. It was disgusting and inhumane. If this was my ability, I didn’t want it.

“Uh, guys? I’d like to stay here and chat, but I’m pretty sure that guy’s going to be back any minute now with back up.” Tyler said. He looked in the direction of the van before looking back at us.

I shook my thoughts away. He was right, we weren’t exactly in the clear yet. We still needed to find Alex and regroup back up with Kiernan. “Yeah, let’s go.” I said as I led them away from our spot.

Unsure if any Facility members were close by, we continued with the original plan of sticking close to the larger trees while moving. The three of us progressed deeper into the forest, neither of us sure where we were actually heading.

“This is hopeless.” Vivian finally said after awhile, stopping us. “If we keep going any further, we’re going to be too far away for either of them to find us.”

“She’s right, we should be trying to find them without going too far away.” Tyler agreed.

I paused, thinking about it. Nodding, I surveyed our location. Still in the middle of a forest, there were trees everywhere. A low fog had rolled in, clinging close around our ankles like shackles. “I’ll call out for Kiernan then.” Tyler gave me a confused look. “Kiernan had told us to just call out for him when we were ready,” I explained. He slowly nodded, still unsure how he was going to hear us.

I slowly walked out into the open, leaving them back at the tree. “Kiernan,” I whispered into the night. I stood there for a moment, looking around for any signs of movement. “Kiernan.” I tried again. I looked back at Vivian who shrugged at me, unsure of what else to do.

About to give up, a glimmer of light to my left caught my attention. It had a yellowish red hue to it. Strange, what was that? I motioned for the two to come out and see what I was looking at. They came over, following my gaze into the distance.

“What is it?” Tyler asked, his voice going back to its usual softness.

“I don’t know. Let’s check it out, be alert.” I reminded as we headed towards the light. As we drew closer, the light began to get larger and brighter. It looked almost as if it was a growing wall.

“Is it just me, or is it beginning to feel warmer?” Vivian asked aloud. My eyes widened as I finally realized what it was. Fire. A part of the forest was lit up in flames. But how was it there when it was currently cold and freezing? That fire couldn’t have been put there naturally.

“Look, it’s Kiernan and Alex!” Tyler exclaimed, pointing towards the wall of flame. The two of them were headed our way, running at a fast speed as if from something. They each gracefully dodged trees that came up in their way. I squinted and looked behind them. Through the flickering of the flames, I spotted three Facility workers standing on the other side of the long flame wall.

 “Run!” Kiernan shouted as they came closer. Sensing the urgency in his tone, both Vivian and Tyler turned and fled in the other direction. Instead of doing the same, I stood there waiting for the two of them to arrive. Kiernan was the first.

“Didn’t you hear me? Run!” He yelled before grabbing my hand. He tried tugging me along, but I stood my ground.

“I wanted to make sure you guys aren’t hurt! What happened?” I asked, looking back at the part of the forest on fire.

He gave me an incredulously look like I had just slapped him. “Are you stupid? They’re back there and Alex’s fire isn’t going to hold them much longer!”

I stared at him, unsure of what he meant. “Alex’s fire?” What was he talking about?

Alex finally ran up and joined us, out of breath. “What are you two still doing standing around?” He asked, sweating hard from the flames' heat.

“See, we’re fine.” Kiernan pointed at himself then to Alex to prove his point. “Now let’s go, we’ll tell you later.” And with that, the three of us bolted off. We eventually caught up with Vivian and Tyler, leaving the Facility behind.

 ----

After we were sure that we’d lost them, we were finally able to continue on with our original plan. The five of us were back on the road, or rather, hidden from sight on the side of the road beneath the forest's protection, heading towards the nearby town of Rockdale.

“So, that went well.” Alex said jokingly.

Vivian and I simultaneously shot him a glare, not appreciating his sense of humor at the moment. It was late and cold. We’d been walking now for about half an hour and none of us had gotten any sleep yet. Plus, the fact that we were unsure if the Facility were still after us or not.

Alex held his hands up defensively. “Well excuse me for trying to lighten up the mood.”

“How much farther until we get there, Tyler?” Kiernan asked, ignoring Alex's attempt.

“Almost there,” He replied from the front of the group. With his ability, Tyler was able to lead us in Rockdale’s direction by following the Wi-Fi wavelengths in the air that he saw coming from there.

“Good, cause my feet are getting tired and my hair’s a mess.” Vivian complained as we trudged on. I held my head down, watching my steps as we followed the group from behind.

Kiernan looked back at us over his shoulder. “And how did you think running away was going to be like? Perfect and fun like in the movies?”

Vivian held up a finger, flicking him off. He let out a breath and shook his head before looking forward again. I couldn’t help but grin at her.