Ashes

Chapter 5

"Goodnight, Kit!" I yell downstairs, before changing into black leggings and a top and getting into bed. 

It's Tuesday night. Jurassic World or whatever he's watching now should be over soon. He'll check on me, go to bed, and an hour later I'll go right out the front door again. 

Back to the weird, fake crime scene that's been haunting me since I passed out at it.

It helps that Whitney's off visiting her cousin who's just had a baby girl, and Kit's too trusting to ever set the alarm and too oblivious to think anything of anything. 

I swear, even if he saw me run out into the night, I could tell him it was girl's issues the next day and he'd just stop talking.

11:33 and I'm out, running down to the docks where the others are already waiting. Tom Blue doesn't really enforce strict parent policies, and Shelton's and Hi's parents are obsessed with going to bed earlier, Shelton's because it's scientifically y proven to be good for your brain, and Hi's because his mom read it in a parent's manual once somewhere. 

We board Sewee in silence apart from the sound of Hi's wheezing and grumbling as he bumps into things on deck. Yet another reminder of how much more HD and less difficult life was when we could flare.

Talking of-

"Maybe we should try to flare here? Where no one can see us?"

Not my most popular suggestion.

"You crazy? Last time we all blacked out!"

"Tory, I know your brain gets a bit whacked sometimes, but if we black out on a boat in the middle of the ocean, we will probably die. Well, you guys will. I'm made of superior cells. Hey, let's do it actually! I'll be the sole survivor, I'm sure to get documentaries at last!"

"You can't drive the boat, doofus."

"It won't matter." Hi, warming to the scheme. "You guys will die, that's plenty of food till rescue comes."

"Guys! Just shut up, I'm serious. We need to sort this out."

They look at me with something way too close to pity for my comfort. 

"Tory-". It's Ben who speaks. Of course. "I want to flare as much as you do. You know that. But, these ones - they could have killed us the last time."

"So what, we passed out? It's happened before! We thought we would die the first times, too!"

He shakes his head. 

"We both know this was different. We were out for eight hours, Tor. Eight. And that was just the two of us. God knows what will happen if we try to do it at once, together."

"But they're there, Ben! I know it! We just have to try!"

"It's too dangerous!"

Hi and Shelton are looking at us nervously as our voices escalate into the night sky.

"Why can't you trust me on this!"

"I could say the same thing to you, you know."

"For God's sake, Ben, we could flare again. Be a pack again. Not some lame group of friends, and only that because of location!"

I can sense I've gone too far this time. Ben looks at me for a long moment. When he speaks again, it's low and level and dangerous.

"That's what this is, then?"

I don't answer. Don't look at him. I won't apologise for saying what we've all been thinking. 

"You know, Tory, sometimes I wonder if-" he hesitates, jerks his wrist between us, "this would ever have happened if it hadn't been for that dog in the first place."

I still don't answer. Because, really, would it?

Ben looks at me for a long moment, then speaks so angrily it almost makes me jump.

"So that's it, then, is it? It's over? Because my eyes are a different colour than they used to be?"

I can't help rolling my own. He sees.

"Or maybe it was all just a joke from the beginning."

"I wasn't even talking about you, Ben! I just wanted to flare again! Is that too much to ask?"

The words are barely out there when there's a bang nearby. Someone yells from the bow.

"Look out!"

Hands shove me out of the way and push me to the deck. Something buries itself in the mast I was standing by just a moment ago and stays there, gleaming faintly in the blackness. All I can do is stare. An arrow? What the? Some psychopath wanted to kill me with a freaking arrow?

"Hi, where did it come from?"

Ben's turned away from me, shouting at Hi, his hands still on my waist and his scent still in my lungs.

Hi doesn't answer me. He's not even staring out to sea. He's staring at Ben.

Gently, ever so slowly, I slip my hand up Ben's neck and turn his head to face mine.

His eyes are glowing a bright, unbeatable blue.