Fire and the Death

Chapter 1:

She was staring again. She touched her fingers to the thick glass separating her and the world she could never touch again. She sighed while pushing her red and orange hair out of her crimson eyes.

"Phoenix," Someone said behind her, sounding worried for her state of mind. She didn't even have to turn around in order to know that it was Raven, her snarky 'roommate'. She wasn't allowed to see anyone else in the facility, after all.

"Don't call me that." She spat, resentment was dripping from her voice and dissolving into the air. "My name is Lana, not Phoenix."

"I'll call you whatever I like," He grunted. "They told me your name was Phoenix, so I'm sticking with it."

"I've only been in this room a week. Let me get adjusted to the fact that I'm going to be locked in here for the rest of my life." She blew a strand of orange hair out of her flaming eyes in annoyance.

"You're just lucky that they put you in here with me. We're 'bird-buddies'." He snickered, Phoenix whipped around and snarled,

"I am not a bird, you are not a bird, and we are not buddies. Do you understand?" She clenched her fists and flames were sparking and lighting up her entire hand.

"Cool down before you burn us both to death."

"If they're correct in the fact that I'm a Phoenix, I'll just get back on my feet. But if you're a raven..."

"Okay, okay, I get it." Phoenix cocked her head to the side and plopped down onto her knees. "Is the hair natural, or did you just want to emulate your true soul through your hair?"

"Natural," Phoenix glanced his way to actually study him closely for the first time. His hair was shades of dark blue, purple, and black. If you squinted hard enough you could find silver and copper highlights, but they were anything but prominent.

"Same as you. You got wings?" Phoenix looked to her bare back and saw the charred slits for her wings. She nodded. "Me too." She crossed her arms over her chest and for the first time she realized what the halter shirt and the shorts were for.

They could use her as a weapon.

"Can I see them?" He stretched his arms over his chest and his wings eased out of the slits of his baggy muscle shirt. They were black and midnight blue, almost thirteen feet long as the tips of the feathers grazed the white walls of their room. The wings went well with his mocha colored skin.

"Now you show me yours."

Phoenix brushed her hair over her right shoulder to let the wings shoot out of her body quickly, wanting the pain to be fast and quick. She was careful to keep control of the flames as she did not want to catch the room on fire. Raven whistled.

"Those are... really cool."

"They're annoying, that's what they are. My back is completely burnt because of them." She retracted the wings and turned around to show him the side effects of the fire wings. Her once tanned skin was burnt to a chrome color and a rough texture.

Phoenix didn't know why she was showing Raven, she had only known him for a week. But he knew what the torture of powers really was, she could see the darkness swirling in his veins and into his eyes.

"Are..." She began, "Are there... others, in here... like us?"

"Well, there aren't anymore bird people, but there are other people with powers. I think there's one that can turn their skin into diamond, one that can scream like... really loud and really high, like eardrum shattering high... I really don't know too many of them, to be honest, I rarely get out of here."