A Vision of Fire

TWENTY-TWO

She turns swiftly and punches me in the nose, sending me taking steps backward to regain my balance. She grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls me close to her face. My nose feels like it's swelling to the size of a balloon. I stand only inches away from her face, her hand gripping my shirt tightly. I cover my nose, breathing heavily. "I don't suggest you fight me," she says. "Unless you've got a death wish, of course."

"I don't have a death wish, and I don't want to fight you," I reply angrily. "Looks to me like you're the one trying to fight me. I just came to let you know who I am, because apparently you forgot why you were here."

Her eyes widen in shock. She gasps and drops me before smoothing out my shirt for me. "I am so sorry, Idris. You look so different."

I just stare into her sharp, blue eyes. "What did Dominic say your name was?"

"Wait, you don't remember me?"

"You'd think the blank stare and my asking your name would give that away."

"Lana. I'm one of the leaders of Aegis. You and I, well, we were a good team when we had to be, though, you preferred to work with Taylor and Gwen when you had a choice."

My eyes light up. "Taylor and Gwen. Are they here?"

"Gwen is. Taylor had to stay back at Aegis with the group keeping watch. We can't send everyone out and leave Aegis wide open for enemy attack. Gwen should be in that area." Lana points toward an area of her army. "You need a weapon?"

Jackson and I both nod. I had forgotten he was there in the short moment of panic. She pulls out two different colored guns. One blue, one yellow. I take the yellow one and Jackson takes the blue. Lana puts a hand on each of our shoulders. "I've given you water and electricity. To make one stronger, you need the other. Just like you two. We can win this war. It's been coming for a while now, so all we need to do is finish it. Go. You can do it."

Determination takes over my senses. I turn and run in the direction of Gwen. Jackson and I push through the crowd of people fighting hand-to-hand until I see her. She wears the same dark clothes and expression she wore in my memory. I watch as she fights with another teenage girl from PAWN. The girl doesn't stand a chance.

Gwen grabs her collar, pulls her forward quickly, and punches her in the face. She has a sort of grace to her fighting that brings out how beautiful she really is. I feel a deep respect for her grow as I see her knee the girl in the stomach, sending her to the floor. "Good night," Gwen says cockily.

Before thinking it through carefully, I rush forward. "Gwen!"

She turns sharply with a confused look on her face, but before she can do anything, I tackle her with a hug. Despite the fact that we stand in a war zone, my happiness is indescribable. This is my best friend whom I barely remember, yet I still feel a strong connection with her. I hug her as tight as I possibly can before she pushes me off of her. She backs away and looks down at me a couple of inches. "Who are you and what makes you think we are friends?"

I furrow my brow and tilt my head sideways. "Do I really look that much different? It's me, Gwen. Idris!"

Gwen's face shifts from dark to light for a split second. "Idris?" I nod and she puts on a humorous grin. "What makes you think I would want a hug from you?" Before I can reply, she returns the tight hug. I breathe into her shoulder with a calmness I haven't felt in a long time. This moment could last forever.

It would've lasted forever, if Jackson hadn't coughed to remind me he was there. "There's kind of a war happening, people."

Gwen and I separate, and she gives him an icy glare. "I never understood why you were friends with this guy, Idris. He's such a flake."

"You should give him a little credit," I say, giving him a sideways glance. "He discovered something I didn't realize. There is a war happening."

"Your sarcasm is very amusing," he says with a dull expression. "If you pansies need me, I'll be over there fighting like I'm supposed to." He rushes into battle.

Gwen follows Jackson with her eyes. "A bit anxious to fight, isn't he?" A PAWN member rushes toward Gwen from behind, prepared to punch her, but she knocks him out quickly by summoning a boulder to fall on him. She doesn't even turn to look at her victim. "Pathetic. They all are. Watch-"

Someone grabs the back of my shirt and pulls me to the ground with him. I roll out of the grasp and hop to my feet. I look down at the man who tackled me. He's got blood running from the corner of his mouth, and he wears an eerie grin. He shouts in a voice that has no intelligence behind it. "You'll never win! You'll never win!" He reaches for my ankle, but I tear it from his reach. I swing back and kick him him hard in the face before reaching down and picking him up by the shoulder of his sleeves to look into his empty eyes.

"That's what you think," I do him a favor by swinging my arm back and slamming my fist into his cheek over and over until he's out cold. I drop his limp body with a new will to fight engraved in me. Gwen has already moved into the battle once again, so I do the same. Someone tried attacking her again from behind, but I aim and fire my weapon at him and he falls to the ground with electricity arcing along his body, causing him to spaz out.

I sprint up to two PAWN members and engage with them in combat. One of the two punches me in the nose, causing it to bleed. I return the favor with a blast of electricity. The other tries swinging her fist into my stomach, but I dodge and touch her shirt, lighting it on fire. She screams and runs in the opposite direction, probably to find a water elementist. I wipe the dark blood off my face with my jacket sleeve.

I find Jackson in the crowd just as he knocks someone over with a strong blast of water from his gun. He looks over at me and I aim my gun at the person he was fighting. Jackson nods, and we shoot at the same time. Water and electricity cover the body from which no more breaths escape.

My eyes widen and I look at Jackson. He smiles sadly down at the motionless body. When he looks at my shocked face, his smile disappears and his eyebrows furrow. He walks up to me and puts a hand on my shoulder. "It's a war, Idris. If we don't kill, we get killed."

I put my hand on his and we stare into each other's eyes. Realization hits me that we could die today. I push his hand off of me and hug him. After a moment's hesitation, I feel his hands on my back. He grips the back of my shirt like he's scared to get pulled away from me. I lean back and look at him. He returns the stare. I start to say something, but I get cut off.

Someone tackles me from the side, and we roll together for a few feet. Before I get a glimpse of who it is, I get punched in the face multiple times. I have to use most of my energy to kick whoever my attacker is in the stomach. He or she only hesitates for a moment after that, but it gives me a chance to get my legs free from under his or her weight. I wrap my legs around the person's neck and twist my body until he or she falls over and I'm out from under whomever it is. I stand and straighten my shirt out while looking down at my attacker, who is on hands and knees trying to catch his or her breath.

Or at least that's what it looked like. Suddenly, the person grabs my ankle and pulls me back to the ground. I twist my body around on the floor and kick what seems to be a girl in the face. She keeps her face hidden with her long, blond hair. I wonder if she has recognized who I am. She gets back up to her knees and swings her leg out at my chest.

I fall back, my wind knocked out of me. She takes advantage of the moment and wraps her arm around my neck, cutting off my air. I stand on my knees as I make choking noises and try to break free, but I've used up all my remaining energy. I make a strong attempt to burn her forearm with a flame, but I'm too tired to summon even one spark. Black dots start to take control of my vision, and I feel myself slipping away from the world.

I see a flash of black and hear a thump, and I just know I'm dead. Suddenly, I can breathe again. I feel the arm removed from my neck, and I feel the rush of air to my lungs. I collapse onto the cold cement floor and feel the warm blood streaming from my nose. The last thing I see before blacking out is Gwen and Jackson rushing past a giant rock on top of my attacker - Lily Camfir - to get to me.