by Liz Long
Bianca got the same mischievous look on her face that Delia did before Running. “I’m a Transporter,” she said.
“You were the girl I saw earlier! That’s a gift I know, but you literally popped in and out so fast I didn’t know what happened,” I exclaimed.
Bianca blinked and when she reappeared, she was standing at the other end of the field. Another second, and she materialized back in front of me.
“It does come in handy,” she said. “I have a small act with the animals, but I also help the magician when he needs an assistant to “disappear” behind the curtains. Or helping out with costumes and props when we’re short on time and need to get somewhere fast.”
“Can you carry other people with you?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Carried my dog once. I’m not as advanced as I’d like to be. I can really only Transport when I know the area—like the circus grounds, but I have to do a walk through to make sure it’s always similar. I can’t travel to any other countries or anything. I can barely get through a mall; I need to know exact locations in order to properly Transport.”
“I didn’t even know some could do that much,” I replied.
“Hey,” Finley said, nudging me, “see if you can guess my gift.”
He shuddered and changed. Instead of tall, lanky Finley standing next to me, there was now my very own twin. Every detail was perfect—the wavy, light red hair in a ponytail, freckled skin, and hazel eyes stood before me. While “beautiful” would never be an adjective used to describe me, I was cute, both a blessing and a curse in a world with Delias and Biancas. I glared at the cowlick sticking up by my temple until my copy winked at me and morphed back to Finley.
“You’re a Shapeshifter! That’s why you hugged me,” I said.
“I gotta touch someone for a few beats to do it right. I can only do other humans. Others shift into animals,” Finley said.
“Before we left, I had a friend who shifted into any animal when we needed her to jump in on animal acts. She wrote and told me her family had moved on to another group a few years later, though. Are there any Chameleons here?”
He shook his head. “Nah, I met one when I was a kid, though. He always cheated at hide and seek.”
I laughed and glanced around. Keegan and Nikolas stopped wrestling and Brooklyn yelled at us from the sidelines. “You know the drill—get over here so there’s no stupid accidents.”
“Their shows are fun. I am interested to know what you think,” Delia said to me as we joined everyone on the sidelines.
I turned my attention back to the field’s center. The two Firestarters faced off and stood maybe ten feet apart. Keegan warmed a fireball in his right hand and Nikolas flicked his lighter on to catch a flame. For a heartbeat, nobody moved; dead silence filled the air as we all held our breaths. It felt like more than just playful competition. If I didn’t know better, I would guess that someone was about to get seriously hurt.
Nikolas struck first. He wound up his arm and a blazing hot fireball flew out of his grasp and towards Keegan. This was why Firestarters were so dangerous to others; anyone not possessing this gift, and with it the fireproof body, would be killed. Anything near contact with fireballs could easily catch flame and whole structures destroyed. In a human’s world, explosions and fires were typically accidents or arson; in our world, it was a Firestarter’s emotions.
Too late, Keegan ducked; his shoulder caught the brunt of the fireball and he was thrown backwards.
“Two points!” Bianca shouted.
Before I could glance at her, Keegan was back on his feet, a maniacal grin on his now dirt-streaked face. He pitched his own fireball to Nikolas, who leapt to the side to avoid singeing. The fireball hit the dirt ground, dissipated into smoke. He and Nikolas had to aim carefully to keep their fireballs from going too far and hitting someone.
Nikolas flicked his lighter and lit another giant fireball into his palm. I barely saw his arm pull back before he flung it at Keegan. Quick as a snake and far more dangerous, he wasted no time in a good offense.
They kept at it, jumped and dodged each other’s focused scorches. Bianca screamed points as they got pelted with flames. They had obviously done this many times before; they were comfortable with a duel and still controlled their own fireballs. With enough concentration, the owner of the fireball can make it do whatever they want, including fizzle out. They were so fast, however, neither had much chance to do anything besides hurl them at each other. They made sure that no matter the size of the fire, it would fizzle out before reaching anything outside the circle of dirt they competed on, even if that meant they took the brunt of one to protect it from getting too far.
They rolled on the ground, spun and threw in midair, all the while keeping it contained. As I watched, it was easy to see Nikolas was the aggressive one, whereas Keegan had to be on the defensive. Rarely could he get a fireball off without first blocking one from Nikolas.
Nikolas caught a fireball in the shoulder, which knocked him off balance. Then Keegan threw the rest of his energy out. Keegan threw out his hands to throw a fireball which Nikolas tried to avoid, but Keegan didn’t release it; this left a giant line of flames between the two men. It pushed Nikolas backwards, but he managed to shake it off only after he launched himself out of the way.
Keegan managed to throw a zinger that hit Nikolas square in the chest. Nikolas was thrown back several feet, but managed to keep his balance at the last second. Bianca yelled “Twenty points!” and it looked as though Keegan would win the fight. Just then, Nikolas gave a kind of primal yell and created an orange fireball the size of a couch above his head. I hadn’t even blinked before he released his grip and it went flying at Keegan. It hit Keegan’s chest and I expected him to be tossed back, but instead, the fireball Nikolas created was so large and hot that Keegan caught fire. Flames encased his whole body. I heard Keegan curse. Nikolas had won; while Keegan knocked him off guard, Nikolas was clearly the better talent.
“Nikolas wins!” Bianca screamed. “Game over!”
Keegan shook off the fire like it was water droplets. He and Nikolas met in the middle, shook hands and walked over towards the group, laughing.
I didn’t understand. Fire games were dangerous. My father never allowed me to behave in such a way and I knew he would highly disapprove of these games. Even before his “no fire” rules, he taught me to control my gift, to never use it to hurt or threaten others. We were to keep our emotions on lockdown to prevent accidental fires. It seemed reckless to goof around this way.
“Don’t be such a stick in the mud, new girl,” Brooklyn said to me from the other end of group. “We’re just having some fun.”
“I’m not being a stick in the mud. And my name is Lucy,” I said. I heard the annoyance in my voice and took a deep breath. I couldn’t let her get to me.
Nikolas and Keegan reached the group and everyone congratulated Nikolas and rehashed the play by plays.
Finley elbowed me. “What’s up? You look a little stunned.”
“I didn’t think it was safe for us to play like that,” I said.
“We’ve done it tons before. Neither of us would ever seriously hurt each other,” Keegan said.
“We’re not nearly powerful enough for that, anyways,” Nikolas added.
“I knew Firestarters were capable of defending themselves. I’ve never seen anything like that in action,” I replied.
“Oh, you’re like a passive, hippie Firestarter chick,” Finley said.
He nudged me and I elbowed him hard in the ribs. “I’m really not. And even if I was, that doesn’t make me a hippie. I guess I grew up a different way.”
Brooklyn snorted and jumped into the conversation. “You mean the goody two shoes way.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I answered. “My father always tried to make me think of reasonable options and ways to calm myself before resorting to violence. I wasn’t allowed to let my emotions take charge. I know my gift is too dangerous to
let loose around others, especially humans.”
“I honestly can’t believe you’d even have it in you,” Brooklyn said.
I saw Delia nudge her and it only made me madder. I didn’t need protection and I didn’t understand why Brooklyn was acting so snotty to me. I expected unfriendliness, but this was ridiculous. Even those wretched queen bee bitches in high school had given me a couple weeks to fool myself into thinking I was invisible. My arms at my sides, I cracked my knuckles against my thighs.
Keegan gave me a sympathetic glance and continued conversation with Nikolas to jump over the growing tension. Finley leaned down and nudged me again.
“You know, if you don’t defend yourself, she’s gonna walk all over you. I really don’t think you want that, nor would I wish it upon anyone,” he whispered.
“I didn’t even do anything to deserve this!” I angrily whispered back. “All I did was walk over and say hello and she acts like I’ve somehow offended her.”
Finley shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It’s already started, so you’ve got to either stand up for yourself or take it. Those are your options. She’s testing you. Prove her wrong and you can change her mind, get her respect.”
I stood there and fumed. Why were those my options? Maybe Brooklyn was insecure or feeling defensive to someone new. Maybe she felt threatened.
Insecure, I thought pointedly.
“I’m insecure?” Brooklyn scoffed. “You won’t even show your gift because you’re scared it’s not good enough for us.”
Brooklyn turned away from Bianca and Nikolas to face me. She smirked at me and my pulse quickened. She needed to be careful.
“You’ve got it backwards,” she said.
“You don’t even know me. If you’re this bitchy on the first meeting, then obviously it’s not me who has the problem.”
“Maybe I have a hard time understanding anyone who would run away to the circus and then be too scared to prove their gift. It probably means you’re really terrible at it.”
“I didn’t run away to the circus. I used to be here, long before you ever were.”
“Yeah and then you left. You’ve been gone a long time and things have changed, princess.”
That familiar vein in my neck was starting to vibrate, a sign that I was about to have a problem. I took a few steps back because I could feel the heat pulse through my body. My chest heaved as I sucked in a few deep breaths to control the anger. The last thing I wanted was to start a fight or set one of my fellow troupe members on fire my first day here. I needed to leave.
“Delia, I think I’ll catch up with you later,” I said, not taking my eyes off Brooklyn.
“What’s wrong, kiddo? Scared to play the game?” she said. She took a step towards me.
“If I have to be honest, you’re really getting on my nerves,” I replied. “But I’m stepping away so I don’t accidentally hurt someone. You know, my being a goody two shoes and all.”
“You’re a real martyr. Don’t want you setting your new friends on fire, I suppose,” Brooklyn replied. She took another step towards me and I shifted back a few feet. My face felt like I was coated in a terrible sunburn.
“You don’t count. So I guess I won’t mind too much if I accidentally melt those facial piercings off,” I countered. Laughter and whispers murmured from the group.
“You don’t have the guts or talent,” Brooklyn said.
“B, leave her alone,” Bianca chided. “She looks plenty ready to burn you.”
“I want to know why Sheffield let her join our troupe. She obviously possesses something, but how do we know she didn’t get in on her daddy’s merits?”
I stopped in my tracks. “That’s enough, Brooklyn. Say whatever you want about me, but don’t say a word about my father. And if you don’t get out of my head, I’m going to make sure you’re bald in about ten seconds,” I hissed. Everyone else froze and Brooklyn smiled.
“C’mon, two-shoes. Dance with me,” she replied.
Flames licked at my wrists, ready to be thrown out, but I knew logically I couldn’t fight. I couldn’t let her get to me. I wouldn’t be her punching bag.
“But I could really use a new punching bag,” she said slyly.
“Get out of my head!” I snapped. I refrained from throwing fireballs, but the internal burning was so intense that I caught fire. It was the only way I knew to control myself when it got this far. Rather than send any fire out, I kept it inside and the flames engulfed me. Much like Keegan minutes earlier, I looked rather like the Human Torch.
I could feel my hair stand on end and judging by the surprised look on everyone’s faces, I hoped Brooklyn got the hint that I wouldn’t stand for her ridicule.
Instead, Brooklyn laughed. “Are we supposed to be impressed? At least act like you’ve been with the circus before! Didn’t your daddy teach you anything?”
By this point, I was so angry I couldn’t even say anything. I had to make her stop. I threw my arms out towards Brooklyn. She moved to duck, but instead of fireballs, I let out giant waves of heat. They rippled out and crashed into everyone; there was no avoiding it, like getting hit by a giant wave in the ocean. I knew it would knock everyone several feet backwards, but when I heard surprised cries, I came back to reality, stopped sending the waves out. I didn’t want to scare or hurt anyone. Even I was startled at what I’d done. I had only meant to knock Brooklyn over, but she’d really pissed me off. I’d never let myself be consumed with that much anger before.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath to center myself and felt the heat slowly melt from my body. My skin tingled and I tried not to smile at my success. I opened my eyes to see everyone picking themselves up off the ground. Keegan and Nikolas were the only ones who weren’t sweaty and sunburned.
“You’re extremely patient for a Firestarter. That took longer than I expected. Nice to see what you got,” Brooklyn said. She dusted herself off and picked up her cigarettes.
I blinked, confused. “What?”
“Well, obviously Sheffield wouldn’t let you be here if you weren’t worth it. But you were too shy to show off, so Finley and I pushed you a little.” I heard Finley groan in agreement and I turned to see him pick himself up clumsily from the ground.
“Not that I thought it would have the repercussions of a concussion,” he grumbled. He examined his arms. “Damn, I think I have second degree burns. That hurt.”
Nikolas rolled his eyes as he brushed dirt off his jeans. “You deserve it, you idiot. You should both know better than to push someone with an aggressive gift. And you wouldn’t be so nice if she actually had caught your hair on fire, Brooklyn.”
Brooklyn shrugged and walked to me. “I was ready to move, but she wouldn’t actually hurt anyone. I knew her thought process. Speaking of which, I do my best not to listen in, but it slips once in a while. Remember that so you can keep your thoughts to yourself.”
“You don’t want me for your punching bag?”
“Not really. I heard what you were thinking and thought I’d mess with you a bit. You needed to get your welcome in. Tough love and all, right?” She pulled out a cigarette, gestured for me to light it. I flamed my palm, perhaps a touch higher than she wanted; she bent long enough to light it. She grinned at me over the tall orange flame.
Delia huffed. “Maybe with the next new person you can warn us, no? I wondered why you were being ruder than usual.”
“Oh, c’mon, I didn’t mean it. It’s like hazing the rookie. I wanted her to loosen up, show us her gift!” Brooklyn exclaimed.
“Yeah, you’re kind of a bitch,” Bianca said. She wandered up and nudged Brooklyn, but I caught a shadow of a wink between them.
“I know, but I got what I wanted to see outta the deal. She’ll forgive me eventually.”
“That’s a nice skill you’ve got there, Lucy,” Keegan said. “I haven’t met someone who can generate heat waves like that.”
“Yeah, I’ve never been knocked down by one,” Nikolas added. “Ho
w did you learn to do that much?”
I ignored Brooklyn’s smug expression. “I had some stress as a teenager. My mom convinced me to learn yoga. It’s all about harnessing energy, then focusing it to a direct point.”
“Yoga, huh? Maybe you should teach me some of that,” Keegan said.
“It’s not exactly a helpful trick. But it prevents me from hurting anyone…too much, anyways,” I replied. I shot another dirty look at Brooklyn and hoped she got the hint. She smirked at me over her cigarette.
“Well, that was a nice move,” Finley said.
“Uh, hate to break up the party, fellas, but it’s about time to head to the Big Top,” Bianca said, tapping her watch.
“I gotta swing by the camper to change. Nikolas put a huge rip in my shirt,” Keegan complained.
“Better than on your face,” Nikolas replied with a smirk.
“Good meeting you. Let’s hang out tonight so we can throw all sorts of questions at you,” Finley said. The three boys took off towards the tents.
“And I would walk with you today, but I have to find Henry,” Bianca said. She waved goodbye and disappeared.
I gave Delia a quizzical look and she smiled. “Her dog. He is probably a little angry about being cooped up inside this long. He goes with her everywhere except when we practice; he is horrified of the fireballs.”
“Terrified,” I said. I blanched, not wanting to sound like a snotty know-it-all, but she just waved her hand at me in agreement.
“Right, that one.”
“See you,” Brooklyn said to us. She crushed her cigarette butt on the ground and wandered off towards her camper.
“We should head towards the Big Top,” Delia said.
We walked for a minute before Delia looked over at me.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, just thinking. I really like everyone I’ve met so far. Though I think Brooklyn might be a little too cool for me,” I added.
Delia laughed. “Do not mind her. She is a bit tough on the outside, but she is loyal and a good friend when you grow to know her.”