The Wildflame

Lila Moore

  Lila raised her head from her math book, glancing at the teacher to see if she had noticed how Lila had slid her sketchbook from her desk. She hadn't, so Lila flipped to the next blank page, and began to draw. She didn't know what was coming out of her pencil: her hand seemed in control of that. In a matter of seconds, the section of her page was covered in one sketch. It was a beautiful bird, with sharp wings that seemed to move on the paper. It was in mid-flight, and it seemed to be on fire. Sparks flew from it, and it was so majestic, like nothing that Lila had ever seen, that she couldn't help but stare. 

Suddenly, her hand started moving again, and against Lila's will, it wrote is beautiful, flowing letters: Isthmys. Isthmus: a narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two larger areas of land, Lila knew that. But this word wasn't a strip of land; something in Lila knew that. It was the name of the bird. Lila glanced back at the picture, her eyes settling on the letters. They were curved, and neat, and unlike anything she could ever write. She suddenly felt very unsafe. Some how, she had managed to write hand writing unlike her own, and drawn a picture of something she had never seen before. 

A name started to chant in her mind, startling her. It was vague, and thin, and it tugged at her consciousness, like she was holding the end of a kite. She tried to tune it out, but it stayed put, tugging and pushing her, until she felt she was going mad. Lila raised her hand, not able to take it anymore. 

"Yes Lila?" asked the teacher, raising one eyebrow.

"I don't feel so good. I have my card here. May I take a break?"

"Alright. Come here." she said, pursing her lips as she stared into Lila's green eyes.

Lila removed a card from her desk, and walked up to the teacher, Mrs. Norri. The teacher gave an approving nod, and punched a hole in it. Lila ran out of the classroom, clutching her bags, and up the stairs to her dorm, which she shared with 5 other girls about her age. 

She threw her stuff down, and crashed down on the bed. The voice was still there. It seemed like it was speaking to her, but that was impossible. Another voice filled her head, and Lila almost jumped out of her skin. "Chloe?" it asked. It seemed as if this voice was coming from Lila herself. The vague voice grew louder, but it stayed just as indistinct. The sun was setting slowly, but Lila couldn't bring herself to rise. Both voices, one clear, one not so much continued in her head. Lila couldn't tune them out, so when her bunkmate came in, she rose, and tried to get ready for bed without listening to the voices. She tried to think of other things. The test the next day... the amazing  book, Keeper of the Lost Cities, she was reading... but the voices drowned everything out.

Eventually, she had managed to get ready for bed. She flipped aimlessly through the pages, first of her textbook, then Keeper, but nothing helped, until Sophie heard voices in her head. Lila frowned at the word, "Transmit", then smiled, realizing what it meant. She turned off her light, and sat up, rubbing her temples. She thought "Hi", until it was the only thing in her mind - well... except the voices - and then tried to push the word out of her mind, until it sat in the air in front of her. Nothing happened. She tried again. And again. And again. She tried one last time, and felt a sharp pain in the back of her mind. She pushed one last time, harder than she would have thought possible. Suddenly, as if her mind was using all its strength to lift a feather, it snapped, and seemed to drift out of her mind. She grinned at herself, as a word, this time her own, filled her head. Her mind went silent for a few seconds. Just as she was about to lie down, a reply filled her head. 

"Who are you?"