The Underground Palace

Chapter Thirteen - Don't Think Twice

Oliver rubbed his hands together and took a deep breath.  This was it, the fate of the Seven Children was in his hands

'Don't think twice about it, just do it,' whispered Neo.  Oliver breathed out and focused.  Fire.  It was beautiful and mesmerising to watch but incredibly deadly.  Guntur back at the farm detested his power.  Many times he had threatened to kill Oliver for even thinking about fire.

Everyone's ready.  Kirsty was standing outside Alex's room, ready for the cue.

It was time.  Concentrating, Oliver clasped his hands together and reached into the back of his mind to focused on the anger.  He willed his anger forward and concentrated on the flames he knew he could conjure.  And just like that, flames burst out from his finger tips and formed into a sphere.  Neo grinned and took a step back away from the heat.

'Now that is cool.'

Oliver stepped forward and carefully coaxed his flames out onto the pile of towels stacked neatly on top of each other in the linen cupboard.  Immediately the entire stack of towels lit up in flames and Oliver and Neo quickly backed out of the room.

It was Neo who had thought of the idea.  A stupid idea, Oliver was now thinking.  After the children escaped from the Underground Palace and Alex emerged in a mess a few hours later, they were taken to the nearest hospital, which was a two hour drive away.  Richard's men were everywhere and Alex's room was guarded 24/7.  There was no way the children could walk out of the hospital without anyone stopping them, unless there was a distraction of course.  

The flames hissed and spat.  They leaped from towel to towel then jumped over to the other side of the small room, causing the hospital bed sheets to immediately catch on fire too.  Neo grinned and glanced at Oliver who looked petrified.

'Remember what I told you.  This is the only way we can get Alex out and save the others.  This closet is nowhere near any patients so the hospital will have time to evacuate everyone.  Your power won't harm anyone.'  Oliver slowly nodded and turned his back to the fire.

'Lets do this.'  Neo took a few steps back and looked down the hallway.  A few nurses were gathered at the bottom of the hallway.  

'There's a fire!' shouted Neo.  'Quick!  There's a fire!'  Nurses turned puzzled, then saw the smoke and panicked.  A fire in a hospital was something that only happened in movies.  One of the nurses ran to the nearest fire emergency point, broke the glass with her elbow and pressed the button.  Immediately the fire alarms sounded and the sprinklers rained down.  

***

Immediately the hospital went into panic mode.  People were shouting and running, beds were being rolled out of rooms and taken outside.  Alex was lying in her bed watching the chaos around her.  A nurse ran up to Alex's room but the three security guards stopped her.  They started arguing.  Alex needed to be evacuated but the men had orders from Richard to stay put.  Kirsty sprinted around the corner, her face full of panic.

'The fire is nearly reaching us, we have to move Alex now!'  The men hesitated.  'Do you want the Ruler of Good's daughter to burn in a fire?'  Obviously not.  The men sprung into action and entered Alex's room. They went to grab the bed and unlock the wheels.

'No, I can walk!' insisted Alex.  Riding on the bed gave her travel sickness.

'Wheelchair okay?' suggested one of the men.  Alex nodded and swung her body around so her toes touched the cold floor.  The man went to grab a wheelchair standing in the corner of the room when Kirsty raced him to it.

'I gunshot being the driver!'  The man frowned as Kirsty pushed the chair over to Alex then helped her slowly climb into the chair.  Alex was still weak but at least all the resting she had done today had done some good.  The three guards, Kirsty and Alex made their way out of the hospital room, the panicked nurse now nowhere to be seen, probably went to help evacuate another patient.  The corridor was thick with smoke.  

'We need to hurry,' said Kirsty.  Alex agreed and covered her mouth with her hand.  The smoke tasted awful.  Her gut instinct was telling her that Kirsty was up to something.  She seemed far too calm and almost ... happy.  They went through the double doors on the left, straight through the next doors and turned left, following the exit signs.

'Hold it!' the men shouted.  Up ahead Neo and Oliver stood together facing them.  They stood with their legs slightly apart and backs straight.  They both had those thin metal rods in their hands.  Alex could feel Kirsty's excitement radiate out from her body.  What had the Seven Children done?  There was an awkward pause as the guards eyed Neo and Oliver and vice versa.

'Boys, there's a fire, we need to evacuate now.'  Neo stepped forward.

'We know,' he said.  Oliver stepped forward too.

'I'm the one who started the fire,' said Oliver.  Within seconds, Neo and Oliver lifted their thin silver rods and flicked them at the guards.  They were asleep before they hit the ground.

'Yes!  This is so cool!' exclaimed Kirsty whilst spinning Alex's wheelchair around in circles.

'Let's get going, is Thomas ready?' asked Neo.  Kirsty stopped spinning and closed her eyes with concentration.

You ready?

Yup, hurry.

'Yes he is.  Let's go!'  Alex looked up at Oliver and gave him a small weak smile.

'You used your power?'

'Yeah,' he said quietly.  'We had no choice.  It's okay though.  Even though we're on the other side of the hospital, I have complete control over it.  Even now I feel it slowly shrinking.'  Alex grinned and squeezed Oliver's hand.  All of the Seven Children were growing stronger and more powerful with every second that flew by.

'Let's go,' said Alex.  Together, the children hurriedly made their way to the back entrance of the hospital where the loading dock was.  Luckily everybody was evacuating to the front of the building.  Parked at the loading dock was a 4x4 and sitting in the passengers seat was Thomas.  He jumped out of the car and helped Alex into one of the back seats.  Once everyone was in, Thomas jumped back in and placed the car into first gear.

'What's with the Brits and their love for manual cars?' asked Thomas bewildered.  Neo laughed.

'Just drive mate, we need to get out of here fast.'

'Hang on,' requested Oliver who had his eyes shut with concentration.  Seconds later he reopened them and looked relieved.

'The fire is out.  All of it.'  Together the children whooped, cheered and high-fived one another.  Thomas pushed down on the accelerator and the car sped off back to the Underground Palace.

**************

I've really enjoyed writing scenes with Kirsty in it, what do you think of her?