Eighteen
I sat on the bench, swinging my legs. I sighed to myself. What was I going to do now? I had nowhere to go: I'd put my family in danger if I stayed there; Aunt May was dead; no one from school liked me anymore. I could always find a hotel and stay there, I guess. But then I'd be putting innocent strangers at risk, so that wasn't an option anymore.
I groaned and leaned back, covering my face with my hands. What to do, what to do... One thing was for sure, though: I needed to destroy Phoenix. I didn't care if I died in the process, he just needed to be gone, or imprisoned forever.
I heard voices nearby. They sounded somewhat familiar, but I couldn't tell exactly who it was. I shrugged it off.
People were screaming. Fire surrounded a camp, and a tiny army blocked the entrance. At the front was a boy, grinning sadistically.
Another boy ran at the cruel boy, but he couldn't get past something. An invisible force field. It momentarily flashed yellow as the boy came in contact with it, but faded away quickly.
"Just give up, Ashton," the first boy sneered. "You'll never win."
"Maybe not," the second boy replied angrily, ramming into the barrier again. "But I'd rather go down fighting than just sit here and do nothing.
"Brave," the first boy commented. "You know, you could do well with the Goldbloods."
The second boy scoffed. "I wouldn't join the Goldbloods even if my life depended on it."
The first boy raised his eyebrow. "You'd rather stay with this?" He gestured to the flaming camp and panicked people. "Unorganized people?" He looked around, smirking. "By the way, where's your saviour?"
The second boy bit his lip and stared at his feet.
"She didn't come?" the first boy asked with fake incredulously. "Wow, what a shocker." He laughed cruelly. "It's a shame I have to kill you, Ashton. You could have done so well in the Goldbloods." He shrugged as a ball of flame appeared in his palm. "Nice knowing you." He prepared to throw the flame at the second boy, aiming for his heart.
I opened my eyes, gasping. My visions always came unexpectedly and left me with a tiny headache. It wasn't the best thing ever, but it gave me the information I needed. Right now, that information was that Phoenix knew where the Powers were, and he was planning on destroying them once and for all.
I stood up quickly, looking from left to right. I realized then that I didn't know which direction I had come from, where I was, or where the camp was.
"... headed to the camp right now," said a voice I now recognized. I mentally groaned and advanced towards the voice. If I was going to get to the camp and warn everyone, I needed to know where exactly it was, and where exactly I was.
"I can't tell you where it is," Phoenix's voice scolded. "There could be eavesdropping." Silence for a little bit. "I'll meet you in front of... Yeah, sure, that works. Bye."
I caught a sight of him, and he was just putting a phone away. I quickly ducked into a bush nearby as Phoenix glanced up so he wouldn't see me.
"Phoenix," Abaddon called. "Time to go."
I peered through the leaves and branches to see Phoenix standing up.
He smirked. "I can't wait to destroy the Powers," he said nastily. "They'll never see it coming."
As he walked away, I muttered to myself, "Not if I can help it."
When I was sure Phoenix was gone, I scrambled out of the bush.
"Okay, mind," I told myself. "Please show me where I am and where the camp is. Or tell me, it doesn't really matter." I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping for something to happen.
I wasn't exactly shown or told where I was or where the camp was, but directions flashed in my mind, and I suddenly knew how to get from exactly where I was standing to the camp. I smiled, opening my eyes.
"Thanks, mind." I started to walk as fast as I could.
I reached the camp in what seemed like no time, running into the clearing. I received many rude looks.
"What are you doing here, traitor?" Valerie taunted, egging me on to get mad. I ignored her, heading straight for Ashton.
"Oh, hi Callie," he said once I was right in front of him. He didn't meet my look, which made me think Ashton, just like everyone else here, blamed me for everything that happened.
"Look, Ashton." I sighed, running a hand through my hair and glancing back. "I'm so sorry for what happened with the school. I'll do anything to make up for it, but right now, everyone's in danger."
"Really?" Ashton looked into my eyes. "From what? You betraying us once again?"
Ouch. That hurt.
"Look, Phoenix is coming to destroy everyone," I pleaded, trying to get Ashton to listen. I understood he was angry, but could he just listen?
"How would he know where we were, and how would you know he was coming?" Ashton crossed his arms over his chest. "Did you tell him?"
"No!" I exclaimed, frustrated. "I get these visions of the future, past, or present, and I got one of Phoenix coming with a whole bunch of other Goldbloods."
Ashton rolled his eyes. "Look, Callie. Maybe I was wrong with you being the saviour. It's obvious you aren't. So stop trying to attract attention, okay? You're embarrassing yourself."
I was completely taken aback, and my mouth fell open in disbelief. "Excuse me? I'm just trying to help save you and the Powers. Sorry for considering other people's feelings, and lives."
"You didn't seem to consider them when Phoenix came and killed half of our people," Ashton retorted.
I open my mouth to respond, but Nash appeared.
"Calypso, Ashton." He looked at both of us. "Now is not the time to be arguing. There seems to be a big group of people headed towards us."
Ashton looked surprised, but I sent him an I-told-you look. He glared at me before standing up.
"Tell people to get ready," he ordered. "We're not going to lose more people this time." Nash nodded and disappeared. Ashton turned to me. "I don't trust you." He did the "I've got my eyes on you" sign before walking off.
I sighed, leaning against a tree. I wasn't sure what to do. Phoenix hadn't come yet, and no one from the Powers trusted or believed me, so I couldn't convince them to get ready for a battle. I decided to just try and help fight. I took a step forward, and then the area in front of me went up in flames. I jumped back, startled.
From on the other side of the wall of fire, I heard screams. I thought of the vision. I already knew what was going on.
I started following the fire, knowing it would lead me back to Phoenix. The fire had encircled the camp, and Phoenix, along with his army, was at the bottom of the circle, or top, depending on how you looked at it.
The ring of fire started to curve, and when I heard Phoenix's voice, I knew I was close.
"Just give up, Ashton," he sneered. "You'll never win."
I remembered the force field surrounding the Goldbloods, and I wondered how to break it. If I was supposed to save the Powers, I needed to destroy the force field. But how?
An image of a tiny chink near the back of the force field appeared in my head. I summoned a knife and clutched it in my hand as I advanced toward the force field. I heard Phoenix insulting the Powers, and knew Ashton was biting his lip and looking down at his feet when phoenix mentioned me.
Soon, Phoenix would have the fire in his hand, and if I didn't get to the hole in the force field, Ashton would be burned. Literally.
I started running until I came around to the back of the crowd. From here, I could see Phoenix create a ball of flame. I saw the tiny chink in the force field.
"Nice knowing you," Phoenix said, preparing to throw the flame at Ashton.
I thrust my knife into the chink. The force field started glowing yellow, and then it started cracking. Everyone looked up at it in wonder.
"What's going on?" Phoenix demanded, forgetting all about Ashton. I watched him as he turned invisible.
The force field crumbled away completely, leaving the Goldbloods vulnerable to attack. It looked like only some of them brought weapons.
Phoenix turned around, probably to blame whoever had the power of creating force fields, but stopped when he saw me. I smiled sweetly, waving.
"You," he growled. He took a step forward, but then a long gash appeared on his arm. He looked down at it in shock. Ashton appeared right in front of him, punching him in the face before disappearing yet again.
Goldbloods started battling against Powers. Multiple people came at me, and I wasn't sure if they were part of the Goldbloods or the Powers, but I attacked back, defending myself. I only knocked people out, though, moving on after I had made sure they were still breathing.
The rest of the Goldbloods retreated after a while, the fire dying out since Phoenix wasn't there anymore.
I walked into the camp, helping anyone who was injured get to Lillie. There was a long line waiting for her, but she remained calm, placing hand after hand upon the many injuries that had been sustained during the battle. Soon, everyone was healed.
Ashton walked over to me. "Look, Callie," he began.
"No, I'm sorry," I interrupted. "I'm sorry for everything that happened, and everyone that died or was injured. It was all from me, and I understand if you don't want me here anymore." I turned and started walking towards the exit, not wanting to hear any hurtful words.
"Callie." Ashton's voice was more powerful, so I stopped and turned around.
"Yes?"
"I actually wanted to ask you if you wanted to stay here, with us," Ashton said. "I'm sorry for doubting you. I'm still a little suspicious of you, but my respect for you has grown. Will you stay?"
I looked over his shoulder to where Nash was standing. He was nodding eagerly, holding both of his thumbs up.
"Okay," I agreed, "as long as I'm allowed to leave whenever I feel like I'm not wanted, or just whenever I need a break."
"Alright." Ashton nodded.
I walked past him and joined up with Nash.
Maybe I hadn't messed up as badly as I thought I had. Maybe things would actually turn out to be okay.