Ignite

by Andre Pisco

  Suddenly, a beam of light, behind Alec and his friends, struck the two men in the air. They hit the wall and fell to the floor. They were still alive but their HP had dropped to a mere 80. The group looked back, surprised and smiled at the corner of their mouths. Alma and Matilda were within a few feet of them. Alma had a double-edged sword in his hand, with a gray handle and sharp to the point of shining. Matilda had a pistol in her hand and smiled at the group. Beside him was a girl larger than both, with a top that made it possible to see her sculptuous belly. Her legs were more muscular than anyone in the hall. White ribbons wrapped around her fist, matching the red color of her hair long enough to reach her shoulders.

  "What do you think you're doing here?" Alma asked. He had an intimidating look, which was complemented by his hoarse voice. Before waiting for an answer he looked around and murmured something that no one heard, but that didn’t sound good.

  "We had to help them," Alec replied, with some preponderance in his voice.

  "I never thought they would dare attack us." Matilda blurted out.

  "Matilda," exclaimed Alma, "this is no time to complain. Amber, help Professor Trent, I’ll help the director. You, protect them," he commanded, pointing to Matilda, who this time didn’t grumble or bark.

  Impatience and a sense of uselessness ran through the veins of the young. Alec and James had one foot in front of the other. They were prepared to run to someone else's aid if need be. The rest remained motionless, Neil and Max had silently moved away from the confusion and were already out of the hall. Max took note of everything he saw, distracting himself from his surroundings and ignoring the putrid smell that sailed through the haze of brownish hues.

  "How can you write at such time?" Neil asked, struggling not to look at the battlefield.

  "This distracts me. I needed to get my head on something as soon as possible and you never know when you’re going to need information about them."

  Neil nodded slightly. He didn’t understand how, but he understood why. In front of him, the battle unfolded without pause.

  The young girl whose size made her stand out fired Professor Tom's foes by punching with sonic speed. She didn’t get tired and smiled with each face hit, each body thrown into the air. It was not enough to kill them, but it took some time for them to get back up again. She took around 70 hp with each attack and sometimes paralyzed someone's body. At the same time, Alma had placed himself on the right side of Loras, whose body was already giving out. He had trouble standing up, and his white hair had blood that was not his.

  "I need ... I need you to buy me some time. I must hand them the letter. It's the only way.”

  "To them? They're just kids. The letter can change the world. Are you sure?" Alma replied, surprised, as the Phoenix, already almost transparent, protected them.

  "We have no other solution. You can feel it, can’t you? The pressure. The despair. He’s coming. Maybe he won’t be expecting 6 kids and they might succeed. We cannot leave them here, much less when he wants to wrest the spirit animal from the boy's body by force."

  "And you? He's going to use you as a guinea pig."

  "Don’t worry about me. I will survive." Loras said, struggling to mimic a smile despite the pain in his tired body, "It's your turn to shine."

  "Tremor of light," Alma said, stabbing his sword into the marble floor.

  Bright light escaped through the crevices of the hole and scattered around the sword. The earth began to shake, unbalancing everyone. Some fell and others didn’t move, keeping their legs flat on the ground despite the incessant aftershocks of tremors.

  "Kill them. Kill them all except the boy, the director, and the pink-haired girl. Now!" The woman said.

  However, she didn’t move. She leaned against the wall and waited for the remaining hooded men to do it for her. Amber had put Professor Tom's arm around her neck and carried him, as Loras drew back towards the young men. Alma used his power to create a transparent barrier, the likeness of a dome, which separated both groups.

  "They will eventually break the barrier. It has to be quick.”

  "Come on everybody. Quickly," Loras ordered. The group of youngsters mumbled in what was once the entrance, "They will eventually gain control of the academy. I don’t have time to explain everything. All you need to know is that they came here for two main reasons; one is Lucian’s spirit animal and the other one is this letter." He said, pulling out a letter sealed by a red envelope from the pocket of his white coat, "I have no idea how they knew I had it, but right now it doesn’t matter. Run to my office. There is a pile of books in a corner. Take the red one and quote page 33. It will give you access to a tunnel that will get you out of here. You must take this letter to Mrs. Evanora, who lives in Relics. Whatever happens, don’t open it and don’t trust anyone but her. The letter has everything she needs to know. I wrote about you Lucian, but I didn’t use your name. I trust her, but If the letter falls into wrong hands at least you’ll be safe. You must promise me that you’re not going to quit no matter how hard it might be. And above all don’t separate. Stay together and work as a team. I believe in you. Go, go, fast. Take this. It may be useful to you," he said, struggling not to show that he, too, was afraid of the future. A strong voice, but it was getting sharp as he spoke. He gave Lucy some coins. She put them in her pocket without even counting them.

  "But we can help," James replied, with an almost healthy shoulder.

  "You've done enough. Now it's our turn. Go quickly. You don’t have much time.”

  "We better go. We have a mission to fulfill,” Alec said, grabbing James by the sleeve of his shirt.

  Alma still had enough strength to hold onto the barrier for a long time. However, the constant attacks of the hooded had weakened it and small cracks began to appear.

  "Professor, take it," Lucy said, taking one of the life bottles out of her bag and handing it to Professor Tom.

  He refused, pushing the bottle away from his face slightly. One couldn’t the weariness in his slow movements and the rapidity with which he breathed in and out. He thanked her but argued that they might need it and that the task they had ahead of them required all possible help.

  The young group had already turned and was about to leave when a shiver made them all stop. A demonic cold could be felt at the nape of their necks and spreading through the body without asking for permission. The air grew heavier, almost impossible to breathe. The masked men stopped and looked where the entrance used to be. Now it was just a clump of rocks - some scattered on the floor and divided into stone, and others being mere blocks of huge stones that nevertheless didn’t fit the door that had been there for dozens of years.

  A man, greater than all present in height, appeared on the horizon. He moved in a strange way. The feet never reached the ground, and as he passed through a place, the flowers shriveled, just as the birds flew and the trunks became putrid. A wave of death accompanied him and passed through the air. His presence commanded silence, no one dared to speak, not even to greet him or ask who he was. He wore scarlet armor, black metal boots, and a black helmet with two pointed horns. The stats were obscured by exclamation points. A haze that hid the face of darkness.

  "You have to go. Hurry!" Director Loras ordered.

  "Who is he?" James asked, his eyes half-closed as he struggled to look away.

  "Now!" Shouted Loras. His voice trembled as if he had a tightrope around his neck and felt it would be his end.

  The panic spread. Everyone's expressions changed; smiles faded, jaws clenched, and the half-closed lips allowed a lump of life to escape through the skin. The way he was feared by some and admired by others was all they needed to know to fear him. Matilda sighed one last "Good Luck", which came out almost as a secret told on her deathbed.

  They could hear the lacerating cries and the walls crumbling behind them as they climbed the stairs as quickly as possible. They didn’t look back even once, even though sometimes a familiar voice roared in agony, and the will flowed d
own their toes, tinged in an almost uncontrollable craving.

  "Don’t stop," Alec said, convincing himself too that it was not time to try to be the hero.

  "We know, you don’t need to say it," James replied, following him two steps down.

  As they climbed the stairs, they came upon the same vision as before. Students injured, in pain, and some who had already said goodbye to life. A shadow hung over the whole building. It was known that the lives of those present would never be the same again. The horrors were deeply inscribed in their memories, impossible to remove. They were destined to wake up in the middle of the night - their bodies sweating, their eyes tired and seeing the reflection of those who they saw dying in their own eyes.

  Alec noticed, for the first time, Krespo's body on the floor as well. He didn’t have a leg and the blood flowed through the guts that remained. Someone had torn the limb from him by force. There was no precision, only violence. He clenched his fist and continued to run, convincing himself that running would make the pain go away.

  Max and Neil went ahead, their backs were sweaty, and their breaths came in rapid gasps. They were not accustomed to running, but they knew their lives were at risk. They both ran in a peculiar way; they waved their hands as if they were about to take off even though they never left the ground. Lucian, despite the wounds, was still the fastest. He accompanied Lucy's gracefulness and ran on her right side.

  The corridors held a world apart. Solitarians, trapped in an ambiguous peace, they were the separation between the attack and normality. After a few detours, the white door, with the same inscriptions as the school gate, was at the bottom of the hall. They hurried on, knowing that every second was crucial and that on the ground below there were those who were sacrificing their lives for them. For many it was a goodbye, the last time they would be seen or heard.

  The door had no latch. James threw himself at it like a lion to a prey, but he just fell to the floor, complaining that the director had not told them how to enter the office.

  "I'm going to bust this door," he said, punching the floor, "Why would he give you a key if it has no clasp?" James questioned Lucy.

  "Calm down. I think I know how to get in." Lucy replied, " Look at the inscriptions, they're the same ones on the front door of the school, that opens only when it feels energy close to it. Maybe it's the same here. No need to force entry, just use energy without harming anyone," she said, stretching her arm and creating flowers, with purple petals and thin stalks in the palm of her hand.

  The door gleamed for a moment, and it was only when the light had calmed down that they could see that it had changed color. It now had a wild green aspect; a green that only exists in the depths of the forests where no one dares venture, due to the myths about those who have lived there for centuries.

  A silver latch appeared in the middle of the door, a few centimeters to the right, and with a hexagonal aspect. Lucy took the key out of her pocket and set it on the latch, opening the door with some care. As soon as they entered, the sound coming from outside was muffled. There was no more crying, screaming or energy and shocks between bodies.

  "Good work," Alec said, coming in first and looking both ways.

  The principal's room was a small cubicle, there was a wooden desk in a corner, with various papers scattered on top and on the floor around it. A lamp on the light blue ceiling illuminated the room. Insects concentrated around the light, buzzing from side to side. James complained of the strong scent of ‘Spring' incense, which gave way to endless sneezing.

  "It's too strong," Max said, joining his cousin in the complaints.

  "Is it my impression or is it getting stronger?" Neil asked, breathing in quick, sensing some change in the room.

  A familiar sound drew their attention to the entrance. The door had closed and the latch inside was gone. The aroma intensified. Alec tried to open the windows, which were dull and dusty in the gaps, but they were stuck.

  "Well, the best thing to do is find the book as soon as possible. Do you all agree?" Max said, his eyes gleaming as he enjoyed the mountain of books that occupied most of the living space.

  There was a massive collection ranging from recent books to books with worn covers whose titles were impossible to read. There were books on history and about spirit animals, but also books that preceded the great separation - at least one with a blonde girl on the cover, with a graceful air, and one with a whale.

  "There's only one problem. Which corner did the director refer to?” Max asked, leaning against the top right, devouring every book he saw, and basking in the scent of ancient books that hung in the air for seconds, before being replaced by incense.

  "Let’s separate. Each one goes to a corner. I see these books scattered across the floor." Alec ordered, pointing to some books, “as soon as you see a red book, read page 33."

  "Why are you giving orders?" James inquired, retorting his smile.

  "Don’t you want to get out of here, too?"

  James didn’t answer. He turned his back to the lower right corner, where he bent down to the level of the pile of books.

  Lucy stayed in the lower left corner and Neil in the upper. Alec contented himself with the floor, which despite the mess in the room, was clean, and had a light brown chestnut still shining, and it was even possible to see his reflection on the floor.

  "Are you okay?" He asked Lucian, standing in the center of the room, seeming not to be there.

  "Yes," he answered in a monotonous tone.

  He looked ahead, but not at the wall. He seemed to be in a trance, still trying to make peace with what had happened or blaming himself for not being able to protect his spirit animal. It was hard to know what was on his mind if he didn’t put his trust in them. However, no one insisted. Neither did James complain that he was not helping. They continued incessantly searching for the book, leaving it alone while assimilating the events of the day.

  They cited excerpts from different pages 33 instead. They experimented with normal voice, with chanting, calm and aggressive, but nothing worked. The ticking clock, above the door, rose higher with each failure. A constant intermittence that was stressing everyone and making them sloppy for a while. The sneezing was recurrent and up close it was possible to hear the beating of each one's heart. The movements of each one became faster. Fear acted for them, giving them no opportunity to take a deep breath and calm down.

  "We’re going to get caught. We’re going to get caught,” Neil said, repeatedly.

  "Neil, shut up." Alec said, "There are not too many books left. One of them has to be it."

  The search continued. Lucian returned to himself and helped Alec, who was trying to lift the table by himself. Under the table were five books - two of them red.

  "It has to be one of these," Alec said, holding them.

  "Read both. It's going to work." Neil remarked, standing up and getting closer to Alec.

  He flipped the books up to page 33. In the most recent book, with the still whitish pages and a sturdier paper, there was only one sentence, whereas, in the oldest book, whose phrases had several notes in the line and in the corner of the pages, there were three in an odd language.

  "Anyone know how to read this?" Alec asked, going to each one and showing them the excerpt.

  "I know. It's French. A tongue spoken on the other side of the ocean. It is said that they are great in items of disguises and delusions. I've had some lessons, I should be able to read with the right tone." Lucy replied, picking up the book and reading the excerpt.

  "Why would you have French lessons?" Max questioned, intrigued. He was envious that someone knew more than him about a certain subject.

  "My parents wanted me to know a little of everything. Doesn’t matter, let's get out of here."

  A sense of curiosity lingered in the air, but Max was silent. It was not the right time to delve into the subject, even though he knew there was something about Lucy she kept hiding behind a curtain. A secret that she acted as if it didn’t
exist despite the rapidity with which she changed the subject following a tremulous and shy laugh, totally the opposite of her usual personality.

  She was ready to recite the three sentences when someone knocked on the door, with two light touches, but no request for help. The young ones were petrified. Their eyes fell on their colleagues’, across the room, but their bodies and voices were kept in a safe inside each one. James bit his lip and his hand was already glowing when Max held his arm and nodded.

  Suddenly, a sneeze. They looked at Neil, clutching at his nose, his eyes wide-open, his breath racing, his mouth open as if he got caught in an unexpected photography. The knocks on the door became violent. There were different people, all trying to force their entry. The punches pounded on the door with extreme violence and waves of energy were thrown at it. The attacks were returned against the sorcerer who had launched it. The group was safe but they had no idea for how long.

  "The door won’t hold forever. It must not react to people forcing the entrance. I have no idea. Quick," Max shouted.

  Lucy flipped through the pages in an instant as she had let the book close with fright. She prepared her voice, and keeping her tone calm and sharp, she said the three sentences. In the first 20 seconds, nothing happened causing terror to spread through their hearts. James was ready to create a hole in a wall so they could get out of there and Alec and Lucian stared at each other, hoping that one of them would come out with an infallible plan.

  It was then that a trapdoor appeared in the center of the room. It had a color similar to the floor, but the artistic scratches were in the opposite direction and there was also a gray handle to open it, which Alec did. It had a staircase that led them to the bottom. They didn’t know where it would lead them, but any place was better than there. Immense darkness obscured the descent and made the young men apprehensive. No one wanted to be the first. The noise outside increased, as did the attacks, making the door creak.