Nothing Burns Like the Cold (Phan)

Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER WARNINGS: Violence, vomiting, in-depth detail of pain, blood

In complete and utter spontaneity, the group exhaled, preparation for what was about to come. Phil glanced around the group, noting that there were at least two-hundred people siding with them, faces he had never even seen before, kids from many different high school classes and even some wearing the middle school clothing (including a white blazer and yellow tie). In one movement, they all began to push forward, making their way into the school to confront the Principal and dangerous ability teacher.

As if in complete and utter sync, like the entire class was one huge entity, the air became thick with sudden war. Phil's eyes widened at the sight of so many different powers coming together, soaring through the air in a mass of swirling, crackling, and- was that glitter? Phil rolled his eyes at Tyler's power, dipping his fingers into his own water bottle. As if glitter could do any damage (although he supposed it would hurt like a bitch if it got into your eyes).

He couldn't see Dan, and his stomach was twisting in anxiety, but he pushed those thoughts away as a man appeared in front of him. It was as if he had just appeared out of nowhere. It didn't even occur to Phil that the idea was completely possible in this place, but he couldn't think of anything at the moment when there was a huge man in front of him holding something that resembled a gun.

Was this the school's security? And they were willing to shoot a student?

Phil shuddered as his fingers came in contact with the coolness of his water, feeling the smoothness of the liquid come up to meet his touch. He drew his arm backwards, keeping his eyes on the man as he dodged forward, only to meet the cool attack of Phil's whip made from water and quickly freezing ice. It was nothing he had ever done before, the water holding little ice crystals in place to allow the weapon to resemble that of a whip, completely mobile but still managing to do damage.

With a yelp, the man stumbled backwards, holding his face in his hands as blood began to pool through his fingers and onto the floor. Phil didn't have time to feel bad about it, instead turning around and leaving the man where he was curled on the ground, clutching his nose. During this war, Phil had made a prior agreement where he refused to kill anybody. In fact, it was one of the major rules they, as a group of classmates, had set. They just wanted to force Axel and Principal Glickstern into submission, not to kill anybody who came in their way. To kill people would be to stoop to their level, and that was the major thing they didn't want to do.

He waded through the mass of fighting, trying to slip through as quietly as he could while looking out for their two targets. They seemed to have completely disappeared along with Dan, who was nowhere to be found. Phil's anxiety increased when he made eye contact with PJ, who gave him a concerned frown before turning his attention away from Phil and back to the guard, vines growing from his fingers to wrap around the person's arms, tearing the gun away from their grip.

Phil turned away then, shivering at the sight of his close friends head-to-head with armed guards. He couldn't help but feel guilty that this was all his fault, that people were getting hurt because of him. If anyone died, it would be because Phil had initiated this war. Everybody in this fight was now under his conscious and that meant he had to bear the weight that someone could get hurt because of his actions.

But he couldn't think of that now, for the damage was already done. And besides, he couldn't afford to think when there were guards throwing themselves at him with all their might, pushing guns in his face and trying to taunt him with the possibility of death. He wasn't scared though, no. Not when he had something to protect. Someone to protect.

So he moved on, his fingers growing cold from tucking inside his bottle of water, but he tried not to pay attention to it. He could only focus on the people attacking him, trying to move them out of his way so that he would be able to find Axel and Principal Glickstern to stop this utter madness. The loss of students' lives was not a fair trade for the act of keeping a stupid dangerous ability class for their own personal gain.