Seekers of Fire

Chapter 8 - Crimson Carnival

Drake was at a loss for words. He had just called Amelia and learned that she was heading towards Crimson Carnival to search for her father. But it was getting dark and he did not feel good about letting his best friend take on those corrupt fire elementals by herself. He buried his head in his arms and groaned. What am I going to do? he thought to himself, even though he already knew the answer.

"Hey, are you okay?" a voice suddenly asked.

He looked up to find Rachel staring at him with those gorgeous chocolate brown eyes—eyes he would not mind being mesmerised by if it were not for the dire situation his best friend was now in.

"Something just came up." Drake avoided looking at her directly in fear that he would be tempted to stay at the beach with her longer. "I'm sorry, I have to go," he said as he began to walk away from the sea, which was now reflecting the beautiful colours of the sunset.

He felt Rachel's hand grab his arm almost immediately. "Wait! You're not making any sense. Please just tell me what's wrong?"

Still avoiding eye contact with her, Drake's mind raced as he quickly thought of a plausible explanation. "My best friend's in trouble and I'm afraid she'll need my help tonight. I don't have much time to explain—"

"Then let me help. Let me come with you," Rachel suggested.

Drake scratched his head and made the mistake of looking up again. His dark brown eyes met hers and he found himself not being able to resist her pleading eyes and pouty red lips. Those lips... if only I could... he shook himself out of it.

"All right, but we have to hurry," he said with a sigh. Part of him was delighted with the idea of going to the carnival with her. But another part of him could not help wondering if he had made a grave mistake dragging a normal teenage girl into this.

Rachel smiled, grabbed his hand and took off. "Well, C'mon! Like you said, we don't have time to waste."

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"Wow! That was a lot of fun," Rachel admitted as she attempted to get off the roller coaster.

All Drake could feel was the world still spinning around him and his stomach giving him a tough time. He tried to get out of the roller coaster but nearly toppled to the ground. Rachel rushed to his side and placed his arm around her for support.

"Are you okay?" she asked with a giggle.

Drake felt like throwing up. "I'm feeling great!" His vision was starting to return to normal but walking straight was still a bit of a challenge. He wondered how Rachel had ever convinced him to go on that horrifying machine.

"You don't look so good though."

"I'll be fine. Just, never make me go one of those big rides ever again."

"But we haven't even gone on the three largest roller coasters here yet."

Drake frowned. He no longer felt dizzy, but his stomach was still churning a little. "I think I'll pass. How about we go visit the house of mirrors next?"

"That sounds boring." Rachel did a twirl in search of their next destination. "Hey, how about we pay a visit to the fortune teller?"

"I'm a Christian, so I'm not keen on that either."

"Aww c'mon Drake, please? It's just a bit of fun and you don't have to believe any of the bollocks they say."

She was looking at him with those irresistible puppy-dog eyes again and he knew he could not win. Well, I guess it's okay... I mean, I don't have to believe any of this fortune telling stuff right? "Okay fine, but if I start to feel strange, I'm living right away."