Consuming Fire

Chapter 10

In one last effort to grasp their attention, Joshua raised his hands and ice burst in sprays with the force of jets from his palms, not directly at any of them, but into the air, where the ice hit the ceiling and sprayed like rain upon the room. They were all speechless, looking up at the flakes of snow that settled around them.

"Look," he began in his most serious tone. "The FBI don't know a thing about you guys. They have been searching for answers to the mysteries of your disappearances for decades now, and when they found me, I was their first clue. They were suspicious that I had something to do with it all, so I told them my story. They tried to find ICE but came up with nothing."

"They came here," said Chantal. "I used my power to convince them that they found nothing. But we were so afraid, because Hunter told us this was the safest place to stay."

"We're leaving tomorrow," said Marcus. "If the FBI can find us, surely the Agents will too."

"You are all safer here than anywhere else in the world," said Joshua. "Trust me, I know. This was my safe house when I escaped ICE."

They were shocked, because clearly none of them knew Joshua had been imprisoned. He owed them the explanation, and when he finished, it seemed they were feeling more comfortable in the cabin than they were beforehand.

"I won't tell the FBI you're here. You can hide as long as you like. But sooner or later, you're going to have to help me."

After a moment of tense thinking, in which many questioning glances were made, Fearne spoke up.

"We'll help you."

"We will?" asked Zac.

"Of course. Hunter sacrificed her life for our freedom. We owe it to her. And we can't leave Will, or Alfie either."

"But we've talked about this," said Marcus. "We can't go back; it's too risky. Hunter and Will went back and they're still in there. Who knows what Dr. Wolfe is doing to them."

Joshua felt ice seal over his heart, making him angrier and more determined than ever. He turned to Ryo. "Can you teleport?"

The young girl kept her face composed, but her eyes did not lie. They were sparkling with fear. "I ... I can, but I've never teleported to a place I haven't been before."

"What if you teleported into the labs?" suggested Chantal. "Could you walk down to the Death Caves and find Hunter?"

"But she could have been moved," said Marcus. "And what if Dr. Wolfe has her in surgery or something?"

"I need to know where I'm going," said Ryo. "It's too dangerous otherwise."

"Not if I train you," said Joshua.

They gazed at him.

Zac snorted. "What are you, some kind of Professor X?"

"No, but I'm a scientist."

"I thought you were a geologist," Chantal frowned.

"That is a science, dumbass," Marcus chuckled.

"I'm equipped with enough knowledge to analyze your powers and determine how to strengthen it and teach you to manipulate it to your own ability. I can show you, Ryo, how to envision your location and bend your body through space to get there."

"I may be able to find Hunter in her dreams," said Fearne. "That way we'll know if she's alone or if she's with Dr. Wolfe."

Joshua nodded. It was oddly exciting to have so many weapons sitting around him. Finally, he could make progress towards rescuing Hunter.