Finding Fire -Book 1 of the Finding the Element Series

Chapter Twelve

There was pounding against the doors that night. It smelled like rot and body odor. Tobiah and Xavier were the first ones to rush the door and push against the wood with their shoulders. Duke joined them after a minute of looking at me. Rile and the other boys ran and hopped on my bed and sat in front of me. My hand found Rile’s back as he moved closer, so close to sitting in my lap. “He can smell her!” Xavier screamed back out of breath, his face turning purple.

I, suddenly worried, that I stunk began to shrink in on myself. Rile jumped up and snatched something out of a drawer. When he popped the cork of the bottle a strong scent of musk escaped and steamed my nose. I coughed but let Rile pour the bottle over my head.

It ran down my cheeks and across my lips. It dripped down my shirt and down my chest. They weren’t giving up. The ogres continued to howl and push the boys back. They mustn’t be that strong because they haven’t gotten very far. I felt my throat closing up, like my vocal cords had been singed closed with a piece of wire.

I brought my knees to my chest and prayed for something. I don’t know what I was hoping for. An ivy green ogre, with thorns bristling from its belly and leaves in its hair, was the first to push in. Tobiah, Duke and Xavier scooted back towards the bed on their behinds.

A few orange ones tromped in, their green tongues licking around their lips. The boys built a barrier between me and the female eating monsters. No good it would do though, if they wanted me bad enough, they would get through.

My palms felt heavy, like concrete was injected.

“We want girl!” The thorn ogre yelled.

It rocked the room, shaking the lamp on the table and electrifying my body. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to calm down. Nothing good comes out of having wonky emotions.

My teeth dug into my bottom lip and my finger nails clawed at my over-sized shirt. Rile began to scoot away. I wondered why. When I opened my eyes, all the boys were off the bed. The ogre’s eyes linked with mine and for a second I thought I was going to die. One had something shiny in his hand.

Death felt like a whole new experience. It’s not what you see in the movies, seeing a white light and then poof you’re gone. No this, this was worse; this was seeing your friend die to a creature that shouldn’t exist.

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 Tears streamed down my face and for a moment the world around me slowed. It felt like I was pushing through sludge to catch up with time, to everything going on around me. I saw Tobiah falling to his knees with Rile in his arms.

I opened my mouth and something like a scream erupted. The world shook and I saw people I shouldn’t have. I saw Kade and Nathaniel in the door looking at me with wild eyes. I saw silver knights but I also saw the concrete fall from the ceiling, some orange goo dripping from the cracks. Lava.

I saw blood, a lot of blood. It puddled through Rile’s shirt and left a little red trail from the corner of his mouth.

I screamed louder and the ogres lost balance. I could feel my throat get raw, I felt the heat in my body and I knew that I was no longer in control of my mind and actions. I lifted my palms and like a flash of light the one holding a bloody dagger was set on fire. The next two I covered in the same lava that dripped from the ceiling.

Kade looked down at the boy, his head moving in slow motion because I was still in my state of sap. Tobiah’s eyes were glistened with tears and his face got dark.

Then it froze.

The ogres lay still on the floor and I caught up with the world. Tobiah cried rocking Rile back in froth in his arms. I sat stunned but as soon as the knights stepped in, I leaped off the bed and scuttled across the floor to Rile. I couldn’t believe what I had done but nothing compared to what they did.