Lena Matthews
I lugged the firewood into the backyard. It was heavier than expected, but I didn't let that stop me. I had already made up my mind. Beads of sweat began to gather on my forehead, but I wiped them away.
"What are you doing?" Finn asked, following me.
"I need to know." I replied shortly.
"Okay." said Finn, confused. "What was Jane-Anne doing here earlier?" he added, casually walking alongside me. He held out his arms, offering to carry the firewood for me, but I refused.
"I guess she just wanted to start over. I'm sure you've heard some rumors about me that she helped start." I replied.
"I haven't heard anything." said Finn, lying effortlessly.
I dropped the firewood into the pit and covered my eyes as ash flew everywhere. "I never thought I'd say this, but I actually feel bad for her." I shrugged, and began arranging the logs neatly.
"So, do you still think she's one of them?" Finn asked in a very I-told-you-so fashion. He smiled, despite still having a split lip from Carter last night.
"You were right." I admitted begrudgingly. "Listen, Carter's coming later. He's taking me to Atalka General so we can visit Rowan together."
I didn't have to tell Finn that I was going to take the opportunity to dig into the accident. There was no information about it anywhere, and the fact that Rowan was found frozen made no sense under normal circumstances. It had to be one of the Forbidden.
I checked the chairs for lighter fluid and matches. Dad must have left them out here last night after leaving so abruptly. I found them tucked underneath one of the throw pillows and set them by the fire pit triumphantly.
"Why are you trying to light a fire in the middle of the afternoon?" Finn asked. "Oh..." He connected slowly. "Are you sure you actually want to do that?"
"I need to know." I repeated stubbornly. I grabbed the bottle of lighter fluid and used it to spray the logs. Then, I took a match and struck it against the box, creating a tiny flame. I dangled the match above the pit and dropped it. A small fire crackled to life, and I watched it burn resolutely.
"Lena," said Finn. "I need you to listen to me very carefully. If you do this, there's no going back."
"Sh!" I instructed. I didn't need Finn giving me valid advice right now. Dad's words from last night floated inside my head, taunting me. If what he said was true, and my grandmother was one of the Forbidden, it would explain Aurelie's stunt last night.
A Forbidden relative. The mere thought of it made me sick.
"Seriously, Lena, you're not actually going to-" Before Finn could finish his sentence, I shoved my bare hand into the middle of the flames.
"Lena!" Finn shouted, alarmed. He grabbed my arm, but I pushed him away. The fire didn't hurt; it just lightly brushed against my skin. I let my arm stay there, unaffected. Slowly, I pulled it away and examined my pale skin, perfectly unharmed. It was true. I stumbled backwards in shock. Finn tried to catch me, but I shoved him away again. I staggered back to a tree and threw up.
For the first time in my life, I felt a pure, undiluted rage. I wanted to rip out of my skin and escape from my body, my family, and the Forbidden blood that poisoned my veins. My vision blurred with tears and anger. I wiped my mouth and nearly sprinted back to the stupid fire. I grabbed one of the logs and held it in the air with my bare hands. With all of my might, I launched the burning log as far as I could.
"Lena! Stop it!" Finn demanded. He intercepted the flying projectile like it was a football, not flinching from the heat of the flames. Both of us stared at the log, shocked. Finn dropped the log quickly and let it burn out by itself.
"It's us." I whispered finally. "We're the monsters."
We were descended from monstrosities, and had the unnatural ability to withstand flames. It was a strength that came from a disgusting burden. My legs shook before finally giving out from under me. I wanted to scream and cry, but instead, I did nothing. I sat down on the ground and stared up at the clouds, feeling numb.
"So it's real," said Finn blankly.
"How could he not tell us?" I demanded. "He should have told us." I looked up at Finn for some kind of reassurance, but there was nothing. He slowly sat on the dirt next to me, and let me rest my head on his shoulder. "Are we going to be okay?" I asked.
"We'll be fine Lena." Finn promised. He was able to make himself so assured, and I wanted to believe him more than anything.
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"I don't."
Finn was right; there was no going back from the truth. Maybe this time the truth wasn't worth it. Was knowing that monsters existed in the first place even worth it? Finn and I could have been kids, but we weren't.
"Hey! Ivy, I-" Carter stopped as soon as he saw Finn and I turned to face him, a crestfallen expression on our faces. "Is this a bad time?" Carter asked. "Your mom said that you guys were outside." Carter gave Finn an awkward glance. "Hi." he said awkwardly. "I'm sorry about your... um..."
"I deserved it." Finn finished.
"So, we're cool?" Carter asked.
"We're cool." Finn agreed.
"It's not a bad time, Carter." I tried to feign a smile, and it halfway worked. "We were just..." I didn't bother finishing my sentence, but Carter didn't seem to need an explanation.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked.
"Yeah." I replied, trying to make my voice sound a bit more cheerful.
"L-" Finn cleared his throat in an attempt to cover up his mistake. "Ivy, are you sure this is a good idea?"
"It'll be fine." I insisted. "We're just going to check on Rowan."
"Okay." said Finn. "Just be careful."
"Always am!" I called over my shoulder, following Carter to the driveway. I could see Finn shaking his head, well aware that that was a huge lie.
Carter drove a pretty old BMW that looked like it belonged in an entirely different decade with its bright coloring. Between that and the mysterious dress his mom owned, I wondered if the Reynolds had anything from this year. The car started loudly, and Carter shifted the gear into drive.
"So," said Carter, breaking the silence, "are you going to tell me why you were acting so weird back there?"
"It's..." I was at a complete loss for words. I cleared my throat, and decided to try again. "Have you ever discovered something about you that isn't your fault, but you can't change no matter how much you want to?"
"I might have some experience with that," said Carter, tapping the steering wheel. "Can you tell me what it is?"
"It's hard to explain." I said.
"Then you don't have to." Carter concluded. "I'm not going to force a secret out of you." Carter put on the left turn signal despite the fact that the roads were empty.
"So what about Jane-Anne?" I asked, jumping to a new subject.
"What about her?" Carter fired back.
"I don't know, do you still hate her?" I asked. My opinion on Jane-Anne was starting to change. Maybe if she detached herself from Kiara and Taylor, she could be a good friend. At first, I had seen Kiara and Taylor as the minions, but it was clearly the other way around.
"She's a mess." said Carter, avoiding my question.
"But how do you feel about her?" I asked.
"I don't know." Carter admitted.
Atalka General finally came into view, and Carter pulled into the guest lot smoothly. He was able to do a perfect parking job on his first try, which made me a bit jealous. I still couldn't park well without pulling through the lines.
"Most of the staff know me already, so just stay with me." Carter instructed as he stepped out of the car. I noticed that he looked really nervous. A part of me had forgotten that Rowan was a real person whose life was really at risk. Maybe that was because Atalka and all of its inhabitants still felt temporary to me.
I got out of the car and slammed the door shut before taking a deep breath. This was it. This was how I could prove to Dad what a great agent I could become. I had to find answers about what happened to Rowan last night.
Maybe I could rise above being descended from the Forbidden. If Dad could do it, why couldn't I?
A smiling receptionist welcomed Carter and I to the hospital. "Is that your girlfriend?" She asked Carter immediately.
"No." I responded quickly. "We're just here to see Rowan."
The receptionist frowned. "We're not letting anyone see her right now. Not even family. There's nothing I can do, sorry."
"Actually," said Carter, "Ivy was here to see Rowan. I needed to see my mom. She's in the, um, the other wing."
The receptionist typed onto her computer. "Okay. You're clear to go, but your friend's gonna have to wait here." Carter turned to me apologetically.
"Go." I assured him. "I'll be fine. Tell me everything you can find out."
"Okay." said Carter. "I'll be right back."
With that, I plopped down on one of the small couches and elected to make myself comfortable. My chance to investigate this case rested on my new oblivious friend. I was ready to punch something aggressively. I really needed a distraction.
I looked around and saw a small children's room with four glass walls. Inside, there was a small boy who was coloring furiously. Above him, I could see a TV playing what looked like High School Musical. It didn't seem like I had any better options.
I got up and opened the door to the children's room. The boy looked up at me, confused.
"Hi." I said. "I'm Ivy."
The boy narrowed his eyes at me, obviously confused about why I was talking to him. "I'm Charlie." he responded, turning back to his weird coloring.
"It's nice to meet you, Charlie." Charlie's name sounded familiar to me. Suddenly, I realized that I was talking to Rowan's little brother. I leapt into action immediately.
"Charlie, do you know what happened last night?" I sat down by the small table so that I matched Charlie's eye level. Maybe coming here wasn't such a waste.
Charlie was still engrossed in his drawing, and didn't look up the entire time he spoke. "We were going on a walk so that I would fall asleep."
"You were going on a walk..." I had suggested that. Rowan was in the hospital because of me. "What happened next?" I asked, my voice suddenly hoarse.
"I thought it would be funny to hide when it was time to go," said Charlie. "I wasn't ready to go. But it was cold."
"Yeah, it's January. It gets cold outside at night." I said.
"No." Charlie shook his head. "She was cold."
"Who? Rowan?" I asked.
"No." said Charlie, shaking his head again. He put down the black marker and carefully chose a blue one before continuing his drawing.
"Who was cold?"
"The lady in white." Charlie answered.
"Lady in white?" I asked. If that didn't scream Forbidden, I had no idea what did.
"She made it cold. She gave me a hug, and Rowan too. But Rowan didn't like it." said Charlie.
"She hugged Rowan to death?" I asked, trying to understand.
Charlie nodded slowly.
"Tell me more about the lady that made stuff cold." I suggested.
"She looked like this." Charlie moved aside so that I could see what he was drawing. I looked down to see the rough outline of a woman. Her hair was long black scribbles, and her smile took up most of her face. She was wearing a long dress, and was covered in snowflakes.
"Charlie, can I have that?" I asked.
"Mm-hm." said Charlie, handing over the sketch.
"Thank you, Charlie." I said, inspecting the drawing.
"Ivy?" a voice asked. I looked up to see Makaya, who had tied her hair into a tight bun at the top of her head. She was wearing scrubs that were a deep blue and bedazzled. "You shouldn't be here, honey. And Charlie, your mom and dad are looking for you. You should probably go find them." Makaya nodded to Charlie, who nodded back. Without another word, he stood up and left.
"I guess I'll go." I said. I stood up, the drawing in my hand. "I was just waiting on Carter, anyway."
"Hold on, Ivy," said Makaya. "I need to speak with you." Makaya closed the door completely, isolating us in the glass room. I felt like I was a student being pulled into the hallway for bad behavior. "Ivy, I need you to tread very carefully here. I've met your type before: curious beyond your best interest. As a matter of fact, I was you."
"What's your point?" I asked, folding Charlie's drawing.
"My point," said Makaya, snatching the drawing from my hands, "is that since I was like you, I know what your next move is gonna be. If you poke around too much, you won't like what you find. This is a nice town. One of the best places I've stayed, actually. Enjoy it. Just don't question it."
"Really? Have you stayed in a lot of places?" I asked, trying to get Makaya to keep talking. I eyed the paper that was nestled in her manicured hands carefully. I needed to get the drawing back.
"I was a fortune teller in Georgia for a while. That was fun. I also spent some time in Vietnam..."
I nodded along to Makaya's words and slowly reached for the drawing.
"What do you think you're doing?" Makaya asked, noticing my intentions. She pocketed the drawing and sighed. "You need to listen to me. I don't want you finding out something that you regret, okay?"
"Okay." I said, nodding.
"Good." said Makaya, smiling patronizingly before leaving me alone to listen to East High's singing identity debacle. But this wasn't a Disney musical. There was an ice monster on the loose.
And now, there was a fire monster determined to kill it.
A/N: Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Makaya seems to have a habit of popping up in the randomest places. Inconvenience, coincidence or something darker? I guess we'll find out soon enough.
QOTD: What do you think about Makaya, and do you have any theories about her past or why she pops up everywhere?