Touching Smoke

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Touching Smoke Page 4

by Phoenix, Airicka


  “Lidia?”

  Her shrieks continued as she struggled to untangle herself from me and my bed. I managed to shove her off and get to my feet just as the earth gave another violent shudder. The lamp on the nightstand tumbled over, crashing across the hardwood. Bits of glass and debris crunched beneath my bare feet as I rushed to the door and threw it open.

  People were running and screaming along the hallway. The fire alarm blared, muffling the thunder of feet. The emergency lights flashed at the end of the hall, painting the corridor a violent shade of crimson.

  “Lidia!” I turned back into the room and the girl still fighting with my bed sheets. “We have to get out of here!” I shouted over the deafening din.

  In two quick strides, I made it to her side and tore her free. I grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet. Green eyes, wide with horror, rolled in their sockets. Madness gleamed in their depths, wild with panic.

  “No! Let me go!”

  I never saw the punch coming. Stars exploded even before the dull ache in my cheek settled. My grip fell away, my hand flying to cradle my throbbing face.

  “Ow!” I snapped, glaring at her with my good eye.

  Breathing so hard and loud I could hear her perfectly, Lidia shoved me, sending me crashing into the wall with a force that cracked my teeth together. Stars burst across my eyes a second time as I slid to the floor. I was only vaguely aware of Lidia making a run for it, leaping like a beautiful gazelle over my fallen body and disappearing out the door. One of her family photos tumbled off the wall and shattered next to me, reminding me that I was about to get crushed by a building if I didn’t get myself together and moving.

  Man, that girl hit hard! My head was buzzing as I pushed upright and staggered back to my bed. It was stupid and reckless, but I couldn’t leave it behind. My duffle was all I had. I swung it over my shoulder, wobbling beneath the weight and the continuous rumble beneath my feet. The walk from the bed to the door was like walking through a bouncy house. The floor kept shifting and bobbing beneath my feet. But I made it to the threshold when something struck the top of my head. I didn’t even remember the floor jumping up to meet me until I hit it with a thud.

  “Fallon!” Someone was shouting my name. I could just make it out over the earsplitting sound of glass shattering in the background.

  Strong, firm hands grabbed my arm and non-to-gently rolled me over. Something silky tickled my face, suffocating me with a mixture of spices and leather as my savior rested their head on my chest, possibly searching for signs of a heartbeat. The weight on my chest lifted a second later and something tapped the side of my face sharply.

  “Fallon, wake up!” I heard the voice growl into my ear, so close I could feel the heat of their breath burning against the skin on my face.

  I might have groaned; I couldn’t be sure. I couldn’t even hear myself thinking over all the commotion, but I felt the person jerk back.

  “Fallon?”

  This time I did groan, shifting and struggling to sit up despite the weight pushing me down. “No, it’s Santa Claus!”

  Good God my head hurt. The splitting headache was doing just that, splitting my skull in two. I would have happily thrown up with the pain if I hadn’t taken that moment to open my eyes and tumble into a pair of breathtaking electric-blue pools so bright, they could have been laser beams or lightening. I would have gladly drowned in them, bathed in them, lost myself in them forever.

  “Can you stand?”

  I blinked, bringing into focus the rest of the room and the danger we were still in. “Yes!”

  With his help, I struggled to my feet. My rescuer kept a firm grip on my elbow as he dragged me to the door and peered out.

  I don’t know what he was looking for, a possible escape route maybe, but he checked up and down the hall before taking left and running to the nearest staircase.

  “Hang on!” he shouted over his shoulder as we practically tumbled down the stairs — or at least I did. He seemed to be in complete control of everything he did, as if running from a collapsing building was something he did every day.

  “Where are we going?”

  I knew from countless hours of wandering that this particular staircase didn’t lead outside, but toward the basement and the indoor pool.

  It was hard to tell, but I could have sworn I heard him mutter something that sounded suspiciously like, ‘hell if I know’. But I didn’t get the chance to question him when his loud cursing had me worrying about other things, like the twin figures floating up the stairs in our direction.

  They were not there to help us. Everything from their stone-cold expressions, milky-white complexions and long, black trench coats screamed evil. I couldn’t see their eyes behind their dark glasses, but I had a feeling it was better that way.

  “Go!” my companion shoved me back up the stairs, back the way we’d come. “Go! Go! Go!”

  Really, I didn’t need to be told twice. I was up those stairs as fast as I could while numb with fear. My duffle repeatedly slammed into the back of my thighs, hindering all chances of a speedy escape until I gripped the handles and pulled the bag away from my body. Behind me, I could hear my companion following. Our feet thundered against the metal steps. The sound echoed around the cylinder stairway. I dared a glance back and instantly wished I hadn’t.

  The eerie figures hadn’t yet given chase. They resumed their leisurely pace after us as if we weren’t in the middle of an earthquake.

  “Who are those guys?” I shouted, using the banister to pull myself along.

  “Just run!” my companion snapped back.

  I would have asked why, why were we running? But he didn’t have to answer. I saw it for myself.

  At first glance, it looked like they were holding fire launchers; the flames in their long, spidery hands had to have originated from somewhere, right? But I didn’t see a gun, or a machine, just… hands, holding fire.

  “What—?”

  “Get down!” My companion tackled me to the side before I could register what was happening.

  Chapter 4

  The first fireball whizzed over our heads and slammed into the wall ahead of us. It exploded across the stone, leaving a very real, very large singe mark in its place. I hit the stairs with a bone-rattling thud, and felt nothing except the numbing sensation of hysteria bubbling up the back of my throat. Panic seemed to be the only emotion my frozen brain wanted to register.

  On top of me, my companion twisted his body, concealing me completely from the rain of fire falling around us. The stench of burning plastic filled the air and the fire alarms seemed to scream even louder. The sprinklers ruptured overhead, soaking through our clothes like ice needles, but did not douse the fire. If anything, it seemed to be getting bigger the wetter it got.

  “We have to keep moving!” my companion shouted over the noise, as if I needed to be told.

  Again, his fingers closed over my wrist and I was yanked me up like a ragdoll. I think I was running. I couldn’t feel it, but the halls rushed past as we bolted haphazardly up one and down another while the floor shook beneath our feet and the walls caved in around us.

  “We’re going to get killed if you don’t knock that off!” my companion growled over his shoulder when I tripped for the hundredth time.

  With his inhuman speeds, I couldn’t keep up even if I wanted to. My sneakers were slipping chaotically across the wet marble and my legs… what legs? They may as well have not been there at all for all the sensation I had in them.

  “I can’t help it!” I snapped, surprised that I could even speak. “I don’t usually get attacked by fireballs on a daily basis!”

  Teeth flashing in a snarl, he shot a glance over my head. Long, dark fringes whipped across his face, nearly shielding his eyes as he scanned the hall behind us for the two still just feet away. They were close now, too close; their fireballs were only missing us by mere inches.

  He suddenly stopped running and turned to me. Without batting an eyelash
, he hauled me onto his back like a baby koala. He barely shouted for me to hang on before he was moving again. My ears popped. My eyes stung with the lash of wind and smoke. I squealed — an embarrassing sound. My arms tightened around his throat and I buried my face into the crook of my arm to keep from being nailed in the head with a fireball. It was like being on the back of a horse without the saddle. My stomach dipped, churning with the unnatural sensation.

  When we finally broke free of the building, he didn’t stop. He rounded the building and took off into the fields at the back. Our pursuers followed without breaking stride, away from where the rest of the school stood huddled, shivering in the night. I knew this because I somehow mustered the courage to glance back and caught them tailing us, twin shadows, moving with the same speeds as us without even running; they were… gliding!

  “I’m going to put you down,” my companion said over the whistling in my ears.

  “What?” I cried, horrified. “They’re still after us!”

  “I know, but they won’t stop unless I make them,” he replied, not a hint of breathlessness in sight — I wasn’t exactly a basket of feathers despite my small stature… and I still had my duffle! “When I put you down, I want you to get as low to the ground as you can and find a safe place until I come get you.”

  That was so easy for him to say; I had a hard time remembering my own name. But I was willing to try at the mention of safe place.

  He didn’t even give me a warning before slamming to a halt with jarring force. I was set down with reasonable gentleness. “Down!” he growled when I swayed on my feet a moment too long and narrowly missed being hit.

  The spongy ground took my weight like a sack of potatoes, knocking the wind out of me. I army-crawled, digging my elbows and sneakers into the dirt and dragging my body towards the black silhouette I recognized as the track and field bleachers. Orbs of fire exploded around me like missiles. I suddenly had a clear understanding of how a soldier felt under attack, only I wasn’t trained for this! My bag kept snagging on things, adding thirty pounds to my already clumsy escape attempt.

  I squeezed myself beneath the bleachers, ignoring the rip of flesh and fabric as I dragged my body between gravel and platform. Safely in place, I twisted around, peering through the narrow gashes at the all-out war raging in the middle of the football field. It was like watching some crazy paranormal TV show in person with my mystery guy, being the good guy, sent out to kill the fire-throwing demons terrorizing the town. I couldn’t even fathom where the guns appeared from, because suddenly they were in his hands, banging in rapid succession like canons while he nimbly dodged the downpour of fireballs. The grass around him sizzled and burned, forming a thick, gray cloud in the already dark skies. A plume of wind blew the stench downward, in my direction, engulfing me with the blinding stench of burnt grass and sulfur. I choked on the fumes, gagging even as I clamped both hands over my mouth and nose. The shield did nothing to protect my eyes, leaving them open for the cloud of ash that blew in with the breeze. I coughed, stuffing my fists into the backs of my eyelids, grinding out tears and grit. It was because of my temporary distraction that I wasn’t quick enough to duck when a blazing orb hit the bar inches from my face, exploding in a shower of sparks. I screamed, sucking cinders into the back of my esophagus. I scampered backwards, choking and coughing. Heat from the assault clawed at my face and arms, forcing me deeper beneath the seats. My lungs burned as I wheezed through smothering smoke. My heart cracked between my ears, an erratic tempo of desperation. A speck of glowing ember, a butterfly of fire, landed delicately on my arm. For a fraction of a second, it was so beautiful against the pallor of my skin that I wasn’t quick enough when bit through the skin, filling the air with the foul odor of burnt flesh and singed hair that made my stomach churn. I yelped, slapping at my arm.

  “This can’t be happening!” I moaned out loud to myself, practically in tears as I rubbed the forming blister.

  But the sting on my arm was a sick reminder that it was happening. I really was crammed beneath the bleachers. I really was watching the three unusual characters fighting it out a few feet away. I really was seeing balls of fire appear out of thin air. This was not a dream.

  Maybe I was dead. Maybe I died in that earthquake, the earthquake that had mysteriously stopped now that we were away from the school. This new bit of information only further convinced me I was either dead or losing my mind. Earthquakes didn’t just stop. People didn’t throw fireballs, and I really wasn’t about to get barbequed. Yet, when the second ball of flames crashed mere inches from where I was hiding, it was impossible not to see everything for what it really was: all too real.

  “Fallon! No!” I heard my mystery companion roar as I scrambled out of my hiding place and bolted.

  I heard the panic in his voice, the anger and fear, but my body had already made up its mind; I wasn’t sticking around to watch the end of that fight. The whole thing was crazy and I wasn’t going to be put in the middle of whatever gang war they were having. I’d seen enough movies to know when things were about to go down badly.

  It didn’t take long to circle around the collapsed and burning building to where the rest of the school stood, watching in horror as everything went up in flames. I was the only one who got their stuff out. I couldn’t imagine the things everyone lost that night. It irritated me that I felt guilty, as if the whole thing was somehow my fault. But it wasn’t. How could it be?

  No one took any notice when I slipped around the huddled crowd and passed through the open gates. I jogged quickly the rest of the way down the hill towards town, never stopping or glancing back to see what happened next. Fire engines rushed past me, sirens blaring. I didn’t know why, but I ducked behind a clump of bushes and waited for them to pass before running the rest of the way down.

  Rettop County looked even more rundown and deserted in the dead of night. It seemed to echo like a ghost town. Most of the people probably didn’t even know about the fire, but they would soon enough.

  The hole in the wall pub, Mom had hooked a waitressing gig at, was just off the main road that cut through the entire town and up towards the school. I remembered the way from when mom had dropped me off the first day. I would have gotten there faster if my duffle didn’t suddenly weigh more than I did.

  “Mom!” I banged with both fists against the door of room eight, hopping from foot-to-foot as I waited for her to open it.

  I tossed a glance over my shoulder, half-expecting those fire-throwing demons to be right on my heels. But the night remained silent… still. It seemed to hum around me like some haunted melody I couldn’t quite place, but I knew the lyrics like I knew every inch of my own face. It was a song that echoed through my very soul. I would have lost myself in it happily had the door not opened, revealing my mother’s baffled and sleep-tussled expression.

  “Fallon?” She grabbed my elbow and dragged me inside. I didn’t miss the frantic glances she threw over the empty parking lot before shutting the door. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you call? I would have—”

  “We were attacked!” I tossed my duffle on the rumpled bed, my hands shaking. “I don’t know what… the earthquake… we have to call someone!”

  “Earthquake?” She pushed me down next to my duffle and pressed a cool hand against my brow. “What earthquake? Who attacked you?”

  Why wasn’t she listening?

  “Didn’t you hear me?” I grabbed her wrist, stopping her from pushing tendrils of hair off my sweaty brow. “We have to do something!”

  “Calm down and tell me what happened exactly.”

  “I don’t know what happened!” I cried, tearing both hands through my hair. “We just can’t stay here! Those things are still out there and they know I saw them. They’ll come after us…” Why hadn’t I thought of that before? I led them straight there… they could be right behind me. “We have to go! We have to go now!”

  She seemed to hesitate a second, staring into my face with a great
deal of uncertainty, and maybe a little doubt. But she nodded, taking a step back.

  “Okay, let me just… let me get my things.”

  She hurried into the bathroom. I heard her rummaging a moment later, collecting her things. It seemed like hours before she emerged again, toiletries in hand.

  “Tell me what happened,” she said, tossing the items on the bed and reaching for the suitcase she’d tucked between the bed and nightstand.

  Where to start? The dream I no longer remembered? The earthquake that she clearly hadn’t felt? The mysterious guy with his incredible blue eyes? The twin figures with their fire-throwing abilities? Now that I was thinking about it, even I had to question my sanity. It all sounded so fictional. But I told her. I paced the room and recited everything that took place, right down to Lidia taking off. I kept nothing from her. By the end of it, she stood over her packed suitcase, regarding me with a distinct expression of someone who was given an hour to live. For a full heartbeat, I watched and waited for her to tell me I was crazy; I really wanted… needed to hear it. Instead, after a second, she seemed to suck in all the air in the room, grabbed her suitcase and told me to hurry up as she headed for the door.

  “Wait!” I threw my duffle strap over my shoulder and hurried after her. “That’s it? Aren’t you going to say anything?”

  The screech of the Rust-Bucket trunk opening was the only answer I got as she wrestled her bag into the back and reached for mine.

  “Mom, what—?”

  “Get in the car, Fallon,” she ordered, stuffing my duffle in after her suitcase.

  Maybe it was the seriousness in her tone or the familiar dark figure approaching us from across the shadow-strewn parking lot, but I didn’t stop to ask her why. I didn’t stop to think. I lunged for the door handle and yanked. The squeal of door hinges pierced the silence like a gunshot. The sound ricocheted between my ribcage, sending my heart into a frenzy of terror. I could taste the bile of fear in the back of my throat

 

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