Fire

by Cheryl Twaddle

  "We should go," I said quietly, not wanting to leave the portal but knowing that our safety was the most important thing right now. Max and Barker would have to look after themselves for now. I tried to hold down a sob as I realized that leaving them meant they could become a prisoner of Howling Wolf's or, worse, they could already be dead. I couldn't think about it. Something bad was happening here and we had to get out of the line of fire.

  "Thank you," Robert said. "Like I said, we will come back."

  "We better," I said.

  "Are we ready?" asked Colonel Al. I nodded. Robert took Marshal, who was still unconscious and carefully put him over his soldier. Emma Lee and Cornelius kept close together and I could see that they were holding hands. I looked away, angry that they still had the comfort of each other. I silently cursed Max for not jumping through the portal and Barker for staying behind with him. Now, they were both gone.

  "Where are we going?" I asked the colonel who seemed to have taken charge of the situation.

  "Away from the gunfire," he answered. "All this smoke in the air can't be good for our lungs." He marched ahead of everyone, gun raised in case we came across an enemy.

  I let everyone else walk in front of me so I could be at the end of the line. It gave me a chance to look around and try to figure out what exactly was going on here. There was so much destruction. Everywhere I looked, things were either damaged or destroyed. It was so grey and cold, colder than where we had just come from. This was definitely not my home! Whatever battle was being fought here had been going on for a long time. This had to be a different world; a different dimension.

  As I looked around I realized all the crumbled buildings were bigger than houses. They looked more like apartment buildings or office buildings. The road we walked on was cracked and twisted, as if an earthquake had split it in half. I saw a couple of mangled cars that were so black from whatever fire had destroyed them that I couldn't even tell what colour they had been. I wanted to go over and look through the broken window of one to see if there was anything left inside. I was so positive we would come through the portal where I had first seen Barker, just a couple of blocks from my house. I was selfishly looking forward to going home and seeing my family but that didn't happen. Instead of familiar houses lining the street, we were surrounded by concrete and metal, like we had been swallowed up by some hellish dystopian world.

  I searched for any sign of life. Someone had to be firing the guns we were hearing. There had to be someone around. It was like when I first woke up after I fell. I saw no people then either; not until I met Marshal. I glanced at my friend who was being carried by Robert; still no sign of consciousness. He was going to be okay, I told myself, he had to be. I couldn't stand to lose Marshal, not when I may never see Max or Barker again.

  Colonel Al came to a stop. There was some kind of car in the middle of the street and, although it looked like it had sustained some kind of internal fire, the windows were still intact. They were closed and covered in a black soot but they were intact. Maybe there was someone inside, I thought, hiding from all the gunfire. I walked over to check it out.

  "Oh, Nicky, I don't think you should do that," said Emma Lee. "It could be dangerous."

  "Or there could be someone in it that can help us," I said. There was no time to be overly cautious; we needed help and if there was someone in this car that could help us, then I wanted to find out. "Besides, did you look around? It doesn’t look like anything around here is safe."

  "I'll come with you," said Colonel Al, pointing the gun at the vehicle. He was now in complete soldier mode, making me feel a bit safer.

  "Okay."

  The two of us approached the car slowly, ready to run or fight. As we got closer, I could see more of the damage that had been done to it. There were dents and scrapes along the side and I could finally see that it had been black at one time but was slowing fading into patches of grey. I started to mentally calculate how long a car would have to sit out in the sun to look that faded. A long time, years maybe. It looked big, maybe some kind of sedan. I cupped my hands and tried to look inside but the soot on the windows was so thick that I couldn't see anything. There was no way to tell if there was anyone in it or not, hopefully there wasn't. If I was right, which it looked like I was, this car burned from the inside. If there was a person in there when that happened, they were dead now. I still wanted to check the inside. I tapped on the window. Colonel Al pointed his gun at the door, ready to fire in case anyone popped out at us. There was no response. I tapped again, still nothing. Finally, I reached down for the door handle to open it. There was no door handle.

  "That's weird," I said, looking all over the side of the car. "Do you see a handle?"

  "No," he said, running his hand over where the handle should be. "There has to be some way to open it."

  "Maybe there's a button you have to push," I started pushing in random places. "We could break the window."

  "No, there has to be a way in," he was determined to find a way in without breaking anything. I shrugged my shoulders and walked around to the other side to see if there was anything there.

  "What the...?" My heart started to race and I stepped back, surprised. There was a man hunched down, leaning against the car, covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut. He didn't look very old, maybe twenty-one or twenty-two. He had black hair and very pale skin. He had no idea I was there. "Hello? Hello, what's wrong? What are you doing here?"

  "Is there someone there?" It was Colonel Al. He made his way around the car, still keeping his gun raised, ready to fire.

  "Sir? Sir are you okay?" I reached down to touch his shoulder and before I knew what was happening, he grabbed my arm, twisted it and had me on the ground. "What the hell?!" I screamed.

  "Let go!" Colonel Al aimed his gun at the man's head and I was grateful for his years of military training. "Do it! Release her and stand slowly with your hands in front where I can see them." The man looked at me and I was shocked to see how pale blue his eyes were, almost transparent. He was not happy. He released his grip on my arm and got to his feet, hands above his head. He was tall, well over six feet and very thin.

  "You're making a mistake," the man said. "You don't want to make an enemy out of me."

  "You should have thought of that before you grabbed my friend," said the colonel. "Who are you?"

  "I didn't mean to hurt your friend," he said. "I'm sorry but I didn't expect her to touch me. I didn't know she was there; she surprised me. I only reacted out of an instinct to protect myself."

  "I didn't mean to scare you," I said, "but you didn't answer me so I tried to get your attention. You were all hunched over, covering your ears. I didn't think you could hear me."

  "There are other ways to get someone's attention," he glared at me. "You didn't have to touch me."

  "Sorry," I said. I didn't like this guy; he spoke with too much arrogance and he was getting angry over something stupid. "Next time I'll dance in front of you and, if you have your eyes open, you'll see me."

  "Or, you could just keep on walking and not bother with me at all," he said, dismissing me as if I were something that crawled on the ground. He looked over to Colonel Al, "May I put my hands down now? Your friend is safe from me."

  "Who are you?" asked Colonel Al. He wasn't ready for this man to be at ease.

  "Curious that you don't know who I am," he said rather arrogantly. "I find that hard to believe but, then, I don't think I've seen any of you before either."

  "No, sorry," said Colonel Al, keeping his gun pointed at him. "We have no idea who you are and we really don't care if you know who we are."

  "You've got to be kidding me," he said, surprised that we really didn't recognize him.

  "Is everything okay?" It was Cornelius. He had come over when the man stood up. Emma Lee was with him, refusing to let go of his hand. Cornelius was not a fighter. He was more of a negotiator and didn't think it was a good idea for Colonel Al to shoot the first person we ran
into. He was right, of course. This man could be the one to help us, although I got the feeling he'd rather stick to himself and not get involved with a bunch of strangers.

  "Oh, goody, there's more of you!" The man said with sarcasm. "Do either of you know who I am?"

  "Can't say that I do," said Cornelius who could use his English accent and Cambridge education to give himself an air of superiority that could easily outmatch this guy. "Dear?" He turned to Emma Lee.

  "No, I'm afraid not," she said. The man rolled his eyes and looked back to the colonel.

  "That confirms it," he said. "You're definitely not from around here."

  "Why don't you tell us who you are," prompted Colonel Al.

  "That's easy, I am the Second," he said, holding his chin high and sticking his chest out but slumped back down when we didn't react. "And you obviously have no clue what that means."

  "Not really," I said. He narrowed his eyes and gave me a look of total disgust.

  "The Second...?" he urged. "No? Nothing? If there's a Second, there must be a First?"

  "Not getting any clearer," I said.

  "Oh, whatever," he shook his head and blew out a gasp of air. "Okay, I'll tell you who I am but your going to be begging for my forgiveness when you find out."

  "Humour us," I said.

  "I am Gregorius Huxley," he said. "I am the Second and my sister, Amelia, is the First."

  "And?" prompted Colonel Al.

  "And what?" said Gregorius. "That's who I am; a Huxley! I am..."

  "...the Second," I said. "You told us that. We just don't know what that means. Maybe you can fill us in."

  "I'm sorry, sir," said Cornelius who was beginning to understand what all the titles could mean. "As you've guessed, we're not from here and are not familiar with you or your family. Our apologies. You may put your hands down. Colonel put your gun away."

  "Not until I know it's safe," said Colonel Al.

  "I'm sure Gregorius won't hurt us," Cornelius said. He didn't want any trouble from someone who was implying his family's importance in this world. How we treated Gregorius was probably very important as to how we got help to go back to Max and Barker. "Look, he has no weapon and I don't think he'll try fighting; there are too many of us."

  "Okay," Colonel Al said reluctantly. "But remember I can raise my gun quicker than you can run."

  "Thank you for your kindness," said Gregorius with more sarcasm, making me more angry.

  "Okay, Greg," I said, deliberately shortening his name. "He lowered his gun. Please, explain who you are."

  "The name is Gregorius," he said with a sly smile. "I prefer Gregorius. You will call me Gregorius every time you address me." My face started to turn red and I clenched my fists. Who the hell did this guy think he was. Cornelius put his hand on my shoulder and I looked at him. He shook his head and I unclenched my fists.

  "Sorry," I apologized through slightly clenched teeth. "Gregorius."

  "Hmph," he replied and turned his attention back to Cornelius. "Let me try to explain to you in very simple terms who my family is." He paused and took in a deep breath, making sure we were understanding everything he said. "The Huxleys have been the ruling family here for centuries. Our governance has been passed down from generation to generation, to the firstborn of each ruling Huxley. The First, as she or he is called, rules until their death at which time the title is passed on to their firstborn. Amelia, my sister, is the First right now and as such is the ruler of the land. I was second born; therefore, I am the Second. If, for some reason, my sister dies before she gives birth to an heir, then I will become the new ruler."

  "Hmm, like a beauty pageant," I mumbled.

  "Excuse me?" he looked at me angrily, not sure if I was insulting him.

  "So, let me get this right. You're sister is the ruler and you're the back-up, right?" I asked.

  "I suppose you could say that," he answered.

  "I just did," I muttered.

  "What part of this land do you rule?" asked Colonel Al.

  "All of it," he answered. "At least what's left."

  "Yeah, it doesn't seem that friendly here," said Colonel Al, "What happened?"

  "I-I think we should go," Gregorius insisted. He was looking a little panicked and I wondered why he didn't want to tell us what had happened here.

  "I think we'll stay right here," said Colonel Al as he raised his gun one more time. "Now, why don't you tell us what the hell you're trying to hide."

  "I'm not trying to hide anything," pleaded Gregorius. "I just think we should get off the street; go somewhere a little less...cluttered."

  "I think it's quite comfortable here," I said. "Maybe we should stay, pull up a piece of building and chat."

  "You can't be serious!" he said, looking extremely frustrated with us.

  "Our apologies," Cornelius said, trying to alleviate the tension and giving a slight bow to show the respect that this man so obviously wanted. "Like I said before, we are not from here and have truly not heard of you or your family name."

  "I will forgive you for your lack of knowledge," said Gregorius. "But I really do think we should get off the street."

  "And what if we don't want to go?" I asked and then jumped as another bomb exploded, this time quite a bit closer than the one we heard by the portal. Gregorius noticed my uneasiness and pounced on it.

  "Then you can stay," Gregorius said as he glared at me, a smug smile forming on his mouth. "I'm sure you still have a couple of minutes to find a place to hide before the monsters who sound their fire approach. I, for one, will not be taken as their prisoner. I'd rather die."

  "I think we'd all be happy to leave the street," said Cornelius. "Just show the way and we'll follow."

  "Do you really think that's a good idea?" I questioned Cornelius but he was staring at me with a look of urgency and I realized he was just as alarmed by the explosions around us as I was. "Okay, fine! I'll get Robert and Marshal."

  "There are more?" asked Gregorius.

  "There's only two more," explained Emma Lee. "Marshal and Robert. Marshal's in a bad way; he's unconscious and Robert stayed with him over there, that's all. Just two more."

  "What's wrong with him?" Gregorius asked after I had left to get the rest. He actually sounded concerned.

  "He's been shot," answered Colonel Al, still pointing his gun at him.

  "Shot?" Gregorius' eyebrow raised. "Here, in Algar?"

  "No, not here," said Colonel Al, giving no further explanation.

  "Very well," said Gregorius. "Let's have a look at him."

  "Nicky has just informed me that your sister is the ruler here. I'm very pleased to meet you," Robert said as Gregorius approached us. He extended his hand for a formal greeting but Gregorius didn't shake it. Instead, he stood there, staring down at Marshal with concern written all over his face. Robert noticed this and tried to explain. "He's not doing so good. Is there a doctor who can help him?"

  "Who is this?" Gregorius pointed at Marshal. "And what did you do to him?"

  "This is Marshal. He's our friend," I explained. "He's been shot and is in bad shape. He desperately needs..."

  "Why did you shoot him?" he asked, staring at me as if it were me who shot him.

  "I didn't shoot him!" I said angrily. How dare he even think that I would shoot Marshal? "We were being chased by a group of men who wanted us all dead. They shot him."

  "I can't believe it!" Gregorius knelt beside Marshal and reached out and touched him.

  "Hey, don't touch him like that!" I yelled.

  "But don't you realize what this means?" he asked.

  "No and I don't care," I said, trying hard to hold back my anger. "All I know is that Marshal's in bad shape and could really use a doctor right now. So, if you have one can we please take him there?"

  "This man; is-is he part of the Fire People? Oh, what am I saying? Of course, he is. Look at him, he has to be," he said. "I thought they had all been killed off centuries ago but clearly, that's not true. I wonder how
many people know? My sister..." He was yattering away to himself and then suddenly addressed us with a sense of urgency, "We've got to get him to the healer as soon as possible."

  "Who the hell are the Fire People?" I asked.

  "You don't know?!" he said, looking at us in disbelief. "Of course, you don't know. How could you? You're not from here!"

  "So, who are they?" I asked.

  "Not are, were; as in the past. Our ancestors or, at least, my ancestors," Gregorius explained. "They came to this land after the Collapse, when everyone was emerging from under the ground. They were amazing creatures, in their original form of course."

  "Creatures?" I didn't like that he used the word 'creature' to describe his ancestors, especially if he thought Marshal was one of them.

  "Yes," he said, staring at Marshal as if he wanted to dissect him and look inside. "I've read all of the legends written about the Fire People. I know all about their great strength and speed and how they could change to suit their environment. They were wiser than any man from under the ground. I've been taught about them from being a small child. They brought the people living here out of the darkness and helped build them a new life above the ground."

  "And you're related to them?" I asked, doubting that this guy could be from some ancient god-like tribe. "Does that mean that you're strong and fast too?"

  "Very funny," he said. "If I could only be half as powerful as my ancestors. Unfortunately, we started breeding with the people here and much of our DNA has been changed forever. But there was a story, thought to be more of a fairy tale really, about Faelen taking some of the original Fire People and hiding them in different worlds to preserve their powers. Not many people believe the story. How could a wolf travel between worlds, hiding such incredible beings without being discovered? I mean, it's been over a thousand years! Such a thing should be impossible and, yet, I've always believed it to be true and now I have my proof."