The Elementals

Chapter 3

He starts screaming, and the piercing sound stings my ears, “GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY! GET AWAY!”

His begging eyes meet mine, and I take several hesitant steps back. As I step back, my foot hits a small switch on the floor causing a small spark to ignite. The spark travels across the floor, and I suddenly realize where its path would end. The pole. I don’t have time to think, I just act. I run towards the orange speck dancing its way across the floor.  I try to stamp it out with my foot, but it continues to burn no matter how much I stomp. I look around for water, but there’s nothing. I panic as I search for the fire extinguisher I had seen the men use earlier, but I come up empty handed.

Suddenly, the seemingly innocent spark touches the base of the pole and it catches fire instantly. The boy wiggles and tries his best to get out of the ropes, but they’re too tight. The flames creep up the side of the pole, and begin to lick at the soles of his feet. He looks down at his feet in panic, and then looks up to meet my gaze.

“Please! Help me!” he screams in terror. “Please, I don’t want to burn alive!”

I reach out to help him, but a hand holds me back. I spin around to smack the hand away, and come face to face with Blaze. I try to pull away from her, but her grip on me only tightens.

“Let me go!” I scream in desperation. I hear a scream behind me and look back at the boy; seeing that the flames have now moved up to his ankles. “Please, I have to save him! Can’t you see that he’s in pain?”

Her hand doesn’t loosen at all, and her face goes dark, “He must complete the trial. Those are the rules. No exceptions.”

Another screams erupts through the boys gritted teeth; the skin around his toes and ankles is beginning to blister. The flames slither up his calves like evil serpents, and they hiss and crackle as they consume the boy’s leg. As the flames come in contact with new skin it makes an awful sizzling sound. The patch of skin turns bright red, and the flames leave a smoldering, blistery mess wherever it touches. The blisters pop as the flames burn hotter on the skin; the wounds ooze a yellow liquid the smells of rotten fish and acid. The skin then turns an ugly brown and black; frying to a crisp layer that easily peels off. Tears escape my eyes as the boy withers in pain. The flames eventually engulf his entire body, and he lets out his last round of screams. His head falls limp against his chest, and he begins to burn away as firewood.

Suddenly, I feel Blaze’s warm breath against my neck as she whispers, “You’re next 639. We’re ready for you to begin your trial.”

She laughs viciously and clamps my hands behind my back while still whispering “We’re ready for you to begin your trial 639…639…639.”

***

“639!”

My body jerks awake at the sound of my number being yelled, and I frantically look around the room for the boy. I feel a hand grasp my shoulder and turn around in panic.

“Whoa! Calm down! It’s just me, Blaze. You fell asleep while we were preparing the room for your trial.” She laughs.

I glance over her shoulder and am relieved to find no pole standing in the corner. I wipe off my forehead with my shirt, and stand shakily.

Blaze looks at me with concerned eyes, “Are you ready to begin your second trial 639?”

I fix my slumped over posture and meet her eyes with confidence, “Yes, this tester is ready for her next trial.”

Just like in the water trial, she attaches wires to my forehead. When she is finished and satisfied with her work, she types something on her computer and adjusts a few wires.