Seekers of Fire

Chapter 11 - New Allies

Waking up with a bad headache, an explosive pain in his chest and his hands handcuffed was not how Drake intended things to go. The worst part was that his favourite shirt was in fiery tatters and his chest was half exposed. He looked to his right and noticed that Amelia was right beside him sleeping with her head resting on his shoulder. Her long, red hair was a mess and there was a wound on her side. It looked like someone or something had scratched her with huge claws.

But why are we in a police car? Then the image of Crimson Carnival in fiery ruins came to mind and he understood. Right. We're probably being arrested for arson or something.

Not daring to say a word to the two officers in the front seats of the car, Drake attempted to recall what had happened just before he had been knocked unconscious. His heart skipped a beat when he replayed Rachel's death in his mind. She had been burned to a crisp, and it was all his fault. But for some strange reason, he could not properly recall seeing her dead body after the incident. Then again, his memory was a little fuzzy.

Drake stared at the windshield and saw that they were now driving through a quiet and lonely road in the night. Where are they taking us? Is the police station that far away? he thought grimly.

He tried to block out the pain he could feel in his chest, which was now caused by both the fireball and Rachel's loss. Nevertheless, rage and despair continued to build up inside him and he knew he was going to lose control again. The first time he had lost control of his emotions, his school friend had ended up in the hospital with severe burns.

Drake tried to think of good thoughts. Thoughts of when his family used to go fishing when he was younger and thoughts of when he and Amelia would just spend hours talking and eating in the local fish and chips shop on Saturdays. But then his mind drifted to memories of his father coming back past midnight from work because of his stupid boss. And then memories of the argument he recently had with Amelia when she had confessed her true feelings.

That was enough to remind him of Rachel again, the girl he had failed to save. His hands began to tremble, and his chest tightened as the full weight of her death began to register in his thoughts. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes. He felt the familiar warmth surround his fists and he knew there was no stopping him.

Drake's emotions had gotten the better of him again, and this time, he was going to hurt not just his best friend, but the two cops in front. He could feel explosive power cover his whole body now as if threatening to go off like a bomb. It was the same power he would usually feel on his fingertips when he was about to throw an explosive fireball, but with the same sensation happening all over his body, he knew it was not going to end well for anyone in this vehicle.

With the last sense of rationality in him, he tried to calm himself down but to no avail. His entire body now burned with raw power and dark emotion. He was going to combust the whole area in flames like a suicide bomber blowing up a building. The only difference was that Drake knew deep down that he was going to survive the explosion after and wake up realising he had killed two cops and his best friend. After all, he was the only one with some resistance to explosions.

Suddenly, the car swivelled to the right and crashed into a tree on the side of the country road. The impact was strong enough to jolt Drake back into his senses and wake Amelia from her sleep.

"W-What?" Amelia questioned as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.

The driver cursed loudly and stared out the window. Following his gaze, Drake looked out and noticed that there was a small pool of lava on the part of the road they were about to go through. The cracks on the road surrounding the pool suggested that the occurrence was recent as if someone had caused it.

That was when a dark fog rolled in. It was like a thick, black mist that surrounded the vehicle until nothing could be seen. Drake stayed frozen in place as he tried to figure out whatever was going on.

The two police officers opened their doors and headed out of the car with guns in hand. Within seconds, Drake could their hear angry grunts as well as a few gunshots. Soon, the dark fog began to dissipate, revealing two lifeless bodies on the side of the road. They belonged to their captors and his heart began to race. Who—or what—could possibly be out there?

They heard footsteps and soon enough, two figures came into view. One of them had gotten hold of the car keys, unlocked the vehicle and commanded them to come out. Not wanting to end up like the police officers, Drake and Amelia quietly slipped out of the car and the same person went behind them and freed their hands with a key.

"Thanks," Drake said as he wiggled his sore wrists.

"No need to thank us. We were just carrying out our orders," the girl who had freed them said.

Even in the night, Drake could make out her physical features. She was Asian, of short stature with long, wavy black hair that went past her shoulders. Being a guy, Drake could not help noticing that she had a large bust and hips but her most striking feature was her unnatural purple eyes that seemed to glow in the dark.

"What orders?" Amelia asked with a scowl. She had her arms crossed and Drake could tell that she did not trust them one bit.

The other person—a big dude—stomped on the ground and outstretched both hands towards the pool of lava in the middle of the road. To his surprise, Drake watched as the lava sizzled and cooled instantly into igneous rock. So, if he can control lava, that means the girl...

"Why, orders to come and save you of course," the girl said with an exotic accent. "But don't worry, you'll have the opportunity to thank our boss soon enough. As a matter of fact, he sent us to come bring you to him. He has a job for you both."

Drake noticed the way Amelia kept staring daggers at the mysterious girl and decided to intervene before it got out of hand. "Were you the one that caused that dark fog?"

The girl turned away from Amelia and smiled at him. "Indeed. But how rude of me, I should introduce myself. I'm Lillian and this is Magma," she stated as she pointed at the big guy who was now walking towards them.

The guy was a towering figure and had muscles all over his body. He was bald and had dark brown skin and eyes. Needless to say, Drake kept a mental note to never get on his bad side. After all, getting beaten to a pulp was not on his bucket list.

"Nice to meet you, Lillian." Drake extended a hand towards her and she shook it with a grin. "My name is—"

"Drake. And your friend here is Amelia. We know," Lillian interrupted. "We've been keeping watch on you two for the last few days after reports of supernatural occurrences in your area."

Amelia took an angry step forward. "You mean you've been stalking us?"

Lillian gave her a smirk. "You could put it that way."

Drake bit his lip. The last thing he needed was to see his best friend get into a fight with the people who had saved them. "So, what did uh, Magma do to the cops? Are they going to be okay?"

The dark-haired beauty laughed as if amused by the question. "Magma merely steered them off course with the lava. I'm the one who took care of them," she replied with a glint in her eyes. "Don't worry about them. They're not dead if that's what you're wondering."

Did she take out two armed cops by herself? he wondered with astonishment. "I see... that's pretty impressive."

Drake felt Amelia tense beside him but before she could respond, Magma placed an arm on Lillian's shoulder and the girl quickly grabbed both Drake's and Amelia's arms with a hand.

"Time to go, can't keep the boss waiting." Lillian closed her eyes and darkness swirled around them like a hug.

Drake could then feel himself travelling through the shadows at hundreds of kilometres per hour with the three of them still holding on to the mysterious girl. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as the intense speeds were starting to make him feel dizzy. This was the second time tonight that he felt like he was going to throw up.