Flames At Midnight

09 | quentin miller

"Maybe they're right," I said, feeling a little disappointed.

"Kya and I can go," Dillon said, and Kya responded with an eager nod.

We were interrupted by the doorbell.

"The pizzas are here," Porter said, touching a hand to his stomach.

In all the excitement, I had forgotten how hungry I was. My stomach rumbled after being reminded of food.

"How about we eat and then figure out our next step?" I offered. "You have to eat, right?"

The two of them didn't look like they cared much for eating, but they nodded anyway. I went upstairs to get the food. Pretty soon the basement was filled with that familiar aroma of herbs, tomato sauce, and cheese.

We passed around plates and everyone dug in.

"I think we should wait until tomorrow. That way, we can prepare what we're going to say," I said. "We'll be able to figure out the best way to talk to her."

"Don't you think it'll scare her if we all show up though?" Dillon asked. "Wouldn't it be better if only a few of us approached her?"

I shook my head. "We should go together as a team and show her that there's a group of people who will understand her. If she's already experiencing her abilities, she might feel alienated and alone."

"He's right," Kya admitted.

"I second that," Porter said, between bites.

Grace tossed a napkin in his direction. "You have cheese on your chin."

He looked mortified, glancing surreptitiously at Fiona to see if she noticed. When she didn't even glance over in his direction, he quickly scraped it off with the napkin.

"Fine. I know when I'm defeated," Dillon said, holding his hands up in surrender. His fingers were glistening with grease from the food.

"Right. Tomorrow after school then."

"I probably can't make it," Fiona said quickly.

"No worries. We'll let you know what's happening," I said. "We have this text group so we can keep each other updated..."

In my peripheral vision, I could've sworn I saw Grace rolling her eyes, but when I turned, she smiled at me innocently and took a bite of her pizza.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at her.

"Sure. And my number is only given out to a select few, so—"

"You have our discretion," Kya told her.

Fiona was added to the group.

I started to say something, but a wave of nausea rolled through me and my plate fell to the floor.

Grace stood up. "Quentin? What are you—?"

I was hit by a vision before I could react.

We were in a dark hallway. It didn't look familiar. I was running behind Grace and Porter.

Then there was a box. It was large and wooden, with two round handles on the sides. Kya was pulling it out of the closet. She whipped her head around as a shadow in the corner shifted.