Chapter 4

As soon as he walks away, I start thinking of how I should have reacted. My flight or fight response was not with me at that moment. That is something I need to work on. I should have been better prepared. I know he isn’t the threat I’ve been training to protect myself against but the fact that I had zero reaction except to just stand there was very bad, mom would be so disappointed. And she would, at least the very least, double my training hours. I focus on the thoughts of my training and think about Axel’s usual schedule and how I can actively try to avoid him.

“Did he just assault you?” Emily comes jogging to be by my side. She is shortly joined by Elizabeth, they both look like they are ready to fight.

“That was not good,” I admit.

“What the hell happened?” Emily asks while Elizabeth rubs my back gently, comforting me. I let them lead me back over to the bonfire but this time we sit at an empty table a little ways away from the rest of the group.

“I tried to remind him that we are not together anymore and that I don’t want him contacting me or seeking me out in the future, and he just, he just said no then kissed me and said that he would see me around, then he walked away.” I give them a rundown of what happened as we all stare at the receding taillights from his car leaving the parking lot. Once the taillights disappear, I turn to face the burning fire in front of us.

“Jeez,” Emily leans against me. “You okay?” She rubs my arm and looks at me. I nod and blink a few times, trying to figure out why the flame of the fire is growing bigger.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I don’t think he would actually do anything to hurt me. Plus once he gets to college, he won’t even remember me,” I say, trying to convince myself. Emily nods and offers me a small smile.

“True, he’ll need all his brainpower focused on actually passing his classes,” Emily snickers a bit. Axel is not super intelligent, he struggled in high school and was accepted into college on an athletic scholarship, but he still has to maintain his grade to keep that scholarship. Studying and sports should keep him busy and away from me.

“Hey, does the fire look like it’s getting out of control?” I sit up and move to the edge of my seat.

“Oh, yeah, yikes. Someone should probably figure out how to control that, bring down the flames a little.” Elizabeth looks around to see where our safety monitor is. Tiffany’s boyfriend, Link, is supposed to be taking care of the fire. Looks like he’s been a bit distracted. “Oh my gosh, did y’all see that?” Elizabeth gasps as the flames start to send off sparks.

Watching the flames, I notice that the sparks and the movement of the flames do not look normal. Something is manipulating the fire. I scan the trees to see if anything is out there, I see nothing. I look among my fellow students to see if any of them look suspicious but for the most part, they don’t seem to notice the wildfire.

“We need to get everybody away from the fire!” I jump up off the table. I need to figure out my next move, even if I knew how to use my powers to tame the flames, I can’t risk trying with the entire senior class here.

Emily, Elizabeth, and I go around to a few groups and point out the flames, suggesting that they all get a safe distance away from the flames. People start noticing and eventually, everyone moves their tables, chairs, blankets, and anything else, away from the bonfire. Once everyone is safely away, I think of ways to put out the fire without getting caught. We’re far enough away from the woods that they should be safe from catching fire but it still worries me.

“Look,” Tiffany points at the bonfire as it shoots up ten feet high and spits out five feet wide. There’s a huge burst of the flames and spark before it settles down to the original bonfire that was only a foot or two high.

“Jeez,” I look over at Emily who has her hand on her heart like she’s trying to calm its pace. “That was so freaky. Thankfully, everyone moved away before that big explosion. Somebody could have been injured.”

“Yeah, seriously injured,” I mumble looking around at everybody. For the most part, everybody looks freaked out. Who could have done this? That definitely was not natural. I check my phone and see the time is getting close to midnight. “Oh guys, I have to get home.”

“Okay, I’m ready to go too so I can drive you. Elizabeth, you ready to go too?” Emily grabs her jacket and her car keys.

“Yes, I’m too freaked out right now, I need to get home. Looks like everyone else is feeling the same way too,” Elizabeth says and we notice everyone else is getting up to leave too.

“There might be a bit of traffic tonight,” Emily comments. “We may be a bit after midnight, you should probably text your mom.”

“Good call,” I send a quick text to let her know I’m on my way home but might be a little late.

“Okay let’s get out of here!” Elizabeth starts gesturing for us to get moving.