Burn Me Down

Closed Eyes

Control it.

Don't look.

Don't feel it.

It's all in your mind. Do not look.

The fire within Elise blared. It kindled in her toes and soon surfed up her body before she could humble herself.

"This will get bad. Keep your eyes closed. Don't look, Elise." Joey's thin fingers clasped around Elise's arms, assuring her he was there if things happened to take a turn for the worse. "You're getting hotter by the second." There wasn't much he could do, though. Once Elise grew upset, the only options was for her to release it. At fifteen, she'd not yet learned to control the fire.

She felt the vibration in her chest, a sure sign she was losing the small bit of control she was trying her best to hold on to. Her brother pointing out her increase of body temperature allowed her to focus on his. He was as angry as she was, his hands were even shaking. But Joey was at an advantage, he can see. He can look.

For Elise, with the uncertainty, and anger riling inside her... If she looked, just one peek through her eyelids she'd―

"Look at what you did, Elise! No matter where we go, you're always destroying everything! Why can't you get this right?" Myla shouted, crying as she did. "I swear, Joey and Elise, if it's the last thing I do, you're going to pay for this!"

Elise eyes shot open and peered out with red vision, unable to control the result of seeing.

Myla erupted in flames as Elise hollered, pained by scorching raise ejecting from her eye sockets. Myla screamed and begged for help as she twisted and spun, patting herself, in an attempt to settle the blaze on her skin. It darkened as she burned. Burned as a fault of a fifteen-year-old girl who'd not yet learned to control her body.

"Elise, close your eyes! Stop this!" Tim demanded, fear lacing his tone. "Stop it!" he shouted, a hint of threat taped to his order. The threat, however, was dry. Everyone was afraid of Elise, no one could control her, all them too uncertain of getting too close.

A hand clamped down over Elise's eyes.

They each yelled, "Stop!" Her brother's voice rung out louder than the others.

Myla ceased to scream, and panted and groaned. Her aching moans stole the air from her overheated lung. Elisa Knowing she'd hurt another person cut her deep in the guilt gut. It was never her intention, and she was sorry not just for the victim but because she knew they'd come. She'd led their enemy right to their base and the only way to escape was to run.

Elise rose her hand and placed it over Joey's.

"We need to leave," Joey whispered near her ear, slowly pulling his hand from beneath hers. "We can't stay here anymore."

Elise knew the new town they'd arrived at less than a month ago would no longer be there home. She'd not even learned the name of it yet. But the state she knew, Colorado.

Joey grabbed her hand and led her away from Tim and Myla. She hoped they'd be okay and that they knew she was sorry. And she would have said so, but they were running. Before they knew it that place would've been crawling with those that seek to steal the lives from their bodies, the breath from their chests, the blood from their veins. And Joey and Elisa must never get caught.

Don't feel it, she continued to remind herself. Do not look.

Joey pulled her in a walk to somewhere Elise wouldn't know if she could see.

Her life was clouded in darkness. Too afraid to look out at the world in fear she'd burn it down. She couldn't control it. Her anger consumed her like honey in a honey comb. She couldn't fight it. She'd never beat it. Every time she opened her eyes, it was red, the ref of a furious fire, blazing to kill and destroy everything... And as she gets older, it was getting worse. It was getting harder to control and becoming more powerful.

It controls her.