Legend of the Flaming phantom

Chapter 16: Bad News

After about 5 minutes of running, we stopped in an area that blocked off the view of the city with a large rock. Ashley ordered us to pitch up a tent, and when we did, she had us place the soldier in the tent. Every weapon had been stripped from the soldier, and he was bound. After we finished, Ashley ordered all of us to stay out of the tent except for Austin. Ashley went into the tent with Austin, leaving us outside.After Ashley closed the entrance, I turned to Jericho.

"What is she going to do?" I asked.

"She won't do anything," Jericho replied. "She's just there as a precaution in case the man somehow gets loose. Interrogation is sort of a specialty of Austin's."

"What does he do?"

"He uses his mind manipulation to weaken his target's mental state. After that, he can start his interrogation. He never even makes physical contact."

"How many times has he done this?"

"Only about three times. We don't have to interrogate people that often. Don't worry though, Austin has never failed an interrogation."

"Well, there's a first for everything. I just hope it goes as well as you think it will."

Suddenly, I heard screaming coming from the tent. The screams were coming from the soldier.

"I thought you said they were only weakening his mental state," I said.

"I never said it wasn't painful," Jericho replied. "He'll be in pain for about thirty seconds. After that, he'll be vulnerable."

Thirty seconds went by, but the man continued to scream.

"Shouldn't he have stopped by now?" I asked.

"He should have." Jericho said. "I'm going to check on them.

Jericho walked over to the tent's entrance, and I followed him. He zipped the door open. When the door was opened, Ashley looked back at us.

"What's going on?" Jericho asked.

I could barely hear him through the man's screams.

"The first phase should have been done by now," Jericho continued.

"His mental state hasn't weakened in the slightest," Austin replied without looking back at us. "He's surprisingly resilient."

"Of course I am!" The soldier said, teeth gritted.

Austin, Ashley, and Jericho looked at the soldier, eyes wide.

"Austin, stop the mind manipulation," Ashley said.

Austin blinked, and the man relaxed.

"How were you able to resist Austin's mind manipulation?" Ashley asked.

"Foolish girl," The man said. "Did you really think that it would be that easy to manipulate a member of Team Platinum? We're trained better than that."

"So, you're minds have been trained in addition to your bodies? That's annoying, but I have other ways of getting information."

Ashley began radiating SpiritFrost. She looked at the man's arm and the spirit frost surrounded it. The man's eyes widened with pain. He grit his teeth to prevent from screaming. Ashley stared the man in the eyes with a gaze that even scared me.

"Do you know the freezing point of blood?" Ashley said. "It's about negative two degrees Celsius or 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Absolute Zero is negative two-hundred and seventy three point fifteen degrees Celsius, or negative four-hundred and fifty seven point sixty seven degrees Fahrenheit. My SpiritFrost can reach reach temperatures even colder than that, meaning it shouldn't even exist. I don't even know my limits. Would you like to help me find out?"