by Steve Bevil
Disgruntled, Nathan turned around to find Jonas dancing erratically; he was almost on top of him. Jonas’s shaggy dark hair was moist, and several curls lay stuck to his forehead. Nathan groaned as the tall and slender teenager smiled back at him.
“Isn’t this great!” yelled Jonas. He continued to bop up and down while nodding his head. “Justin Bloomer is the best!”
“Jonas!” yelled Nathan.
“Don’t stop movin’. Don’t stop groovin’ — feel your heart beat!” Jonas sang, aloud. “I love this song!”
Leah continued to stare at Nathan with raised eyebrows and Nathan smiled weakly. “Ugh,” he said, as Jonas bumped into him again. “I didn’t know you were this much into pop music.”
Jonas nodded and continued to dance.
“Nathan?” called Leah. “Are you going to tell me or what?”
“Hey, guys!” yelled Samantha, joining them. She stood in between Nathan and Leah and tried not to be elbowed by Jonas. “Why are you guys still standing around? My party isn’t that boring, is it?”
“No, not at all,” smiled Malick. “In fact….” He paused to look out into the crowd. “I was just about to ask Lafonda to dance — and I’m sure she’s saving a dance for me.”
Surprised, Samantha quickly turned to look at him and then frowned. “Well, speaking of dancing,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s why I came back over. She turned to look at Nathan. “I wanted to see if you wouldn’t mind dancing with the birthday girl.”
Nathan smiled wide and Samantha smiled back at him. He could feel his cheeks and ears burn red, but his smile soon faded when he noticed Leah glaring at him. “Umm, Leah,” he stuttered. “You’ve met Sam, right?”
“Yes, Nathan,” responded Leah. “This summer, remember? At the banquet.”
“Awkward,” said Malick with a grin.
“Right, right,” said Nathan. “At the closing ceremony for camp.”
“Well, don’t let me keep you, Nathan,” continued Leah. “I know you have more important things to do. You don’t want to keep the birthday girl waiting.”
“Leah,” said Nathan, sympathetically.
“Is this a bad time?” asked Samantha. “I can come back later….”
“No, no, perfect timing,” said Malick with a grin and Nathan frowned.
“Nope, I was just leaving,” said Leah, while rumbling inside her bag. “I just need to grab my cell phone and then I’ll be out of Nathan’s hair.”
“Leah,” said Nathan, again.
Leah looked up at him. She was suddenly pushed forward. “Ugh!” she cried out, dropping her bag.
“Sorry, Leah,” stuttered Jonas. “I was dancing. I didn’t mean to!”
A look of horror crept upon Leah’s face as the contents of her bag spewed across the ground. All around her people kept dancing as she frantically tried to pick up items amongst the kicking feet and the rolling fog.
“Jonas!” Nathan wailed.
“Here, let me help you,” said Samantha sympathetically, as she bent to assist.
“I got it,” said Leah, swiftly placing the last few items into her bag and springing to her feet.
“Did you lose this too?” asked Samantha. She stood up, revealing the gold and silver object in her hand.
Instantly, Nathan’s eyes grew wide. Malick and Jonathan responded the same. Soon, the gold and silver object burned a bright blue, revealing its crescent shape in the darkness.
“Uh — Sam?” uttered Nathan.
“I said I got it!” cried Leah, and before she could take the object from Samantha’s hand, a blinding bright light appeared in front of them … forming a white doorway.
The entire section of Lynn Field on which they stood lit up. For a split second, it was as if daylight had made an impromptu appearance in the darkness. Leah snatched the object from Samantha’s hand and the light and doorway disappeared.
“Leah!” shouted Nathan. “What are you doing with that medallion?”
Several people around them had stopped dancing and had confused looks on their faces. “Okay, okay, Bloomer groupies … nothing to see here!” said Malick aloud. “Turn back around — just a part of the show.” Slowly, people started dancing again, but one guy continued to stare. “What buddy? Haven’t you seen a light show?”
“It’s nothing, Nathan,” said Leah, clutching the medallion tightly in her hand. “It belonged to Pius. I took it the night you rescued us from Grimm Cemetery.”
“The hell it’s nothing!” shouted Nathan, and Malick looked surprised. “Do you know how much danger you’re in — the danger you’ve put us all in?”
“Calm down there, cowboy,” said Malick. “Before you give yourself a heart attack.” He placed himself between them. “And you don’t need to draw more attention to yourself.”
Nathan stopped to give Malick a stern look. “And what the heck was that?” he asked, dramatically, pointing in the direction the white doorway had appeared. “What was all that bright light? You can’t tell me that was nothing. That definitely was not nothing!”
“I don’t know, Nathan,” said Leah, shaking her head. “It’s never done that before. It hasn’t done anything until today.”
Suddenly, the music stopped and the noise from the overzealous crowd decreased to inaudible chattering. “Give me the medallion,” said Nathan.
“Guys…” said Jonas, faintly.
Leah frowned. “I’m not giving you the medallion, Nathan.”
“Guys,” said Jonas, again.
“Give — me — the medallion, Leah!” demanded Nathan.
“You guys!” shouted Jonas.
“What?” they both screamed.
“I think something’s happening,” he said, pointing toward the stage.
Quickly, Nathan turned around. He immediately noticed that everyone had stopped dancing, and all eyes were on the stage. One by one, all the musicians on stage backed up from the grayish white mist that spilled out from the scaffolding. It appeared to have originated from the supported curtains on its’ right side. Nathan thought it looked like one big gray mass because every object it passed was washed in gray. Only the people remained in color. Justin Bloomer, who was still standing center stage, had finally abandoned his microphone.
“I’ve seen that before…,” said Leah, trembling.
“I know,” said Nathan. “I’ve seen it before too — in my dreams — when they were coming after you.”
Just then, Lauren stepped out from out of the dark stage corner, which was surrounded by the grayish mist. She had a wide grin and her sparking green eyes soon blazed a fiery red. From the shadows, Luke and Laban also appeared, followed by two Scarlet Priests. Both priests remained hooded, marked by the black crescent-shaped medallions around their necks.
Two security guards immediately rushed the stage. Laban had subdued one of them and he was soon docile after Lauren stroked his face. Swiftly, Laban had moved to restrain the other guard, but Luke had already tossed him off the stage.
The security guard shot through the crisp night air like a rocket, only to hit the ground in a thunderous thud. Several women screamed and the crowd started to panic as people tried to maneuver past his lifeless body.
“Oh, shit!” grumbled a tiny elderly woman as she attempted to scurry past Nathan.
Frantically, the crowd fled the stage. Nathan took Leah’s hand and together, along with the others, tried to move to the side before they were trampled. Droves of people escaped to their cars. “Okay, this is crazy!” yelled Nathan.
“What is Lauren doing here?” stammered Leah. “I know she had posters of Justin Bloomer in our dorm room when she was pretending to be Amanda — but this is taking crazed fan to a new level.”
“Nathan!” called Jonas, with trepidation in his voice. “Did they just kill that security guard?”
The two Scarlet Priests that accompanied them were now center stage; their black crescent-shaped medallions glowing green against their ruby red cloaks. Behind them, Lau
ren paced obsessively, but her face gave way to a wide maniacal smile after they pointed in Nathan’s direction. It was as if her fiery red eyes burned right through him as she beamed in delight.
“What do they want?” bellowed Leah.
“Well … you,” said Malick mockingly and Nathan frowned. With raised eyebrows, Malick shrugged his shoulders. “What … it’s true?”
Leah’s eyes quivered with fear and her entire body began to shake. “W–what!” she mustered to say. “N–not again….”
“You’re okay,” said Nathan, placing both arms on her shoulders. “They aren’t after you. They’re after the medallion.”
“What!” she exclaimed. “Then here, take it!” She attempted to shove the medallion into Nathan’s hands. “Give it back to them. I would have never taken it if I knew they would come after me.”
Nathan paused and then twisted his mouth to the side as people rushed past them. “Unfortunately, it’s not that simple,” he said and Leah looked confused.
“Okay, Nathan!” yelled Malick, pointing toward the stage. Lauren pointed at them. Luke and Laban both bounded in the air, landing halfway to them. “Enough of the heart to heart — I think it’s time we get out of here!”
Amidst the chaos, Luke and Laban casually made their way toward them. Like Lauren, Laban’s amethyst-colored eyes had a hint of fire in them as he swung wildly, knocking people out of the way. A young girl, bewildered, unwittingly crossed paths with him and he swiftly lifted her off her feet by her neck.
Nathan could feel something churning in the pit of his stomach and lifted his palm as his hand started to shake. The young girl’s screams echoed across Lynn Field as a bright blue flame immediately ignited from Nathan’s hand.
“What are you doing!” shouted Malick, securing Nathan’s arm. “Are you trying to get us killed?” He turned to look in the direction of Luke and Laban again, the bottom of their red cloaks flowing behind them. “Besides, they’re too far away.”
“What!” shouted Nathan, startled and taken off guard. Nathan watched helplessly as the young girl went flying through the air, only stopping because her body crashed into a nearby tree. “What the hell are you doing?” Infuriated, Nathan shoved Malick hard. “Why did you stop me? You just killed that girl!”
“You need to get a grip!” yelled Malick; surrendering his hands in the air. “You can’t use your powers out in the open — look at all these people. How are you going to explain shooting fire out of your hands?” He reached into his shirt and held out the silver chain with the metallic arrowhead attached to it that was around his neck. “Besides, you’re not even cloaked. You don’t want them to know that you’re the Firewalker.”
“Cloaked?” shouted Nathan in frustration. “They already know about us. They know who we are!”
“And whose job was it to get us cloaked anyway,” chimed in Jonathan, glaring at Malick from above his glasses. “Do tell me, how’s that going?”
Malick frowned. “W–what do you mean they know who we are?” he stumbled.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for the last fifteen minutes!” moaned Nathan. “The gig is up. They already know that there are two Firewalkers!”
“B–but, wait,” stuttered Malick. He started to back up, following the crowds of people who ran from Luke and Laban as they approached. “How do they know it’s me? How do they even know my name?”
“We don’t have time for this!” shouted Nathan, moving in the same direction as Malick, Leah and the others. “I–I don’t know if they know your name, but I’m sure Lauren has seen your face.” Abruptly, Nathan stopped moving. “And I’m going to need you to stop referring to me as the Firewalker — like I’m the chosen one or something. Last time I checked, one of your Pneuma Novo abilities was fire too!”
“Pneuma Novo?” asked Samantha, sounding confused.
“The ability to manipulate your life force or spirit energy,” said Jonathan. “See in Nathan’s case, he has the rare ability to manipulate his life force into fire — it’s really quite fascinating. I’m just beginning to scratch the surface in my research….”
“Jonathan!” yelled Nathan, dramatically pointing at Luke and Laban. Nathan paused and more panic came over him after he caught a glimpse of Lauren and the once docile security guard making their way toward Lafonda and the others. “Quick — I’m going to need you to do your wolf thing and go save Lafonda and the others!”
“You mean fox,” said Jonathan. Nathan glared at him. “Okay, okay — I’m on it!”
A swirl of blue and white lights suddenly surrounded Jonathan. Samantha’s eyes grew wide in amazement. “Whoa!” she said. “You weren’t kidding about the fox.”
“Great!” shouted Malick. “I tell you not to use your powers and you tell Jonathan to turn into a dog instead.” He pointed; gawking at the small black animal with piercing blue eyes in front of them. “Try explaining that to people.”
Jonathan growled and it appeared to be directed at Malick as he bolted across the fog swept field. “Jonas!” bellowed Nathan, as Jonas looked frightened. “I need you to help Jonathan.”
“W–what?” said Jonas, shaking his head. He turned to look at Nathan, an inquisitive look upon his face. He then slowly repeated what Nathan said. “Help Jonathan, save Lafonda and the others — right!”
Nathan nodded, as Jonas appeared to get his bearings. “But why is the security guard helping Lauren?” he asked.
“Ugh,” sighed Nathan. “Remember Steve?”
“Uh, yeah,” he nodded, “Lauren had some kind of freaky control over him after she touched him.”
Nathan raised his eyebrows and nodded eagerly. Luke and Laban had made their way through the crowd, closing in on them. “Yes, yes, you have your answer, now go!”
“Right!” said Jonas, scampering away.
“And don’t let her touch you!” yelled Nathan after him. Laban looked up at the sound of Nathan’s voice and smirked as he gritted his perfect white teeth. “Samantha — Leah — get out of here!” He raised the palm of his hand and in it formed a bright blue energy ball. “Don’t worry about us … run!”
Quickly, Leah took Samantha by the hand and along with a few stragglers, headed toward the rows of parked cars. “Let’s go!” shouted Leah.
Lynn Field looked almost as eerie as it normally did, now that most the people were gone. Although abandoned, the stage lights continued to blink off and on. A cool breeze rushed past Luke and Laban that caused their long blond hair to ruffle in the wind. At the foot of them, Nathan heard the moans of one of their victims, camouflaged by the rolling fog.
“Ha-ha-ha!” reveled Laban. Nathan hurled the energy ball at him.
Swiftly, Laban blocked the ball of energy with his hand and laughed.
“If you’re going to insist on exposing us to the public,” Malick sighed, “then why are you wasting your time throwing energy balls?”
Nathan looked frustrated, dramatically dropping his hands to his side.
“Don’t just stand there looking at me,” Malick shouted. “Throw a fireball!”
“Fireball?” asked Nathan. He produced a blue flame in his hand. “I’ve never made one!”
“Are you kidding me?” asked Malick, sounding a bit frantic. “And they think you’re the Firewalker?”
Nathan shook his head and several beads of sweat accumulated on his forehead. Soon he managed to coalesce the blue flame into a rolling fireball. “And why don’t you throw one?” he asked, preparing to cast it at them, but Luke suddenly leapt into the air.
“I told you,” said Malick. He watched in awe as Luke soared over them. “I don’t want them — to know — it’s me….”
Suddenly, Nathan realized Luke’s trajectory. “Leah!” he gasped, and Luke landed directly in front of Samantha and Leah; blocking their escape.
Nathan took off toward them, but felt a paralyzing grip on the back of his neck. In the same instant, he heard a deafening thud as Malick was violently knocked to
the ground. “So, this is the Firewalker,” sneered Laban, turning Nathan around. In one swift motion, he switched hands, seizing Nathan by the throat and lifting him in the air. “Doesn’t look like much.”
Nathan started to choke as Laban’s grip grew tighter and tighter around his neck. “Where’s the medallion!” he yelled. “And where is the other Firewalker?”
Tears swelled in Nathan’s eyes and for a brief second, he glanced over at Leah.
“Ah, I see — Luke!” Laban yelled. “Check the girl!”
“No!” Nathan cried out, struggling to get free.
Laban laughed heartily in response. He increased his grip. Quickly, Luke barreled down on Leah and Samantha like a semi-truck. He gritted his teeth and flexed his overly muscular arms, reaching out for Samantha.
“No!” screamed Leah, pushing Samantha out of the way.
Leah stood in between them now, her arms quivering at her sides. Luke’s 6’5 frame towered over her as his eyes burned a fiery red. He grinned a maniacal grin, and then struck Leah to the ground.
Nathan’s feet dangled helplessly in the air as he continued to struggle. Laban seemed to take delight in watching Leah suffer and it distracted him just enough that his grip became lax around Nathan’s throat.
“Malick,” Nathan whispered; the tears still swelling in his eyes, but Malick continued to lay unconscious on the ground.
Luke started to move in on Samantha, but she quickly dove to Leah’s aid. Luke gritted his perfect white teeth and then swiftly raised his hand to strike. Suddenly there was a flash of blue light. Samantha and Leah both looked at each other in awe as the crescent-shaped medallion clutched in Leah’s hand burned a bright blue again. Instinctively, Leah pointed it at him, and out shot a bolt of energy. Luke went hurling into the air.
A loud booming sound echoed across the field as Luke crashed into a parked squad car, crushing the hood and smashing the front windshield. With the help of Samantha, Leah stood up. She spun around; her weapon loaded, she aimed the medallion at Laban.
Quickly, Laban removed his hood and his mouth snarled. “You pathetic human!” he yelled, tossing Nathan to the ground. “Give me that medallion.”