The Flames that Engulfed Us

Chapter 23: We're Winning, Never Mind

"Sky. Wake up. Sky. Sky!"

The world spun around me, and I could smell everything. Every sound had a sharpness to it. Lincoln's skin against mine felt so distinct. So wonderful.

I was detached from everything. I felt Lincoln pull away from me, heard it as he stood. I smelled the perspiration on his forehead, sliding down his face.

"I'm going to kill you son of a—" His voice was far away, so perfect too.

I heard something make a sick cracking, and a thud. Lincoln yelped in pain, and I almost opened my eyes, but they were so heavy. My limbs all weighed so much.  It was a similar feeling to how I'd felt when I died, but now I knew something was going on around me.

Something was going on that Mr. Devil's footsteps, distinguishable because of their light grace, were quick and rapid, moving in a rhythm with Gary's. They were grappling with each other, not mortally, but for one to subdue the other. I was aware that Gary was coming closer to me, but Mr. Devil was still making noises away from me.

"Sky," Lincoln yelled, sounding desperate.

I snapped my eyes open, and the light hurt them. I wanted to close them again, but I saw Gary advancing towards me. Why was it so bright? It hadn't been like that before.

I lifted my fingers to my face.

"I'm glowing," I observed, sounding remarkably bored by that fact. I wasn't. I just didn't have any energy to articulate how much it freaked me out. Glowing isn't something I should have been doing, and yet there I was.

Lincoln was moving towards me. So was Gary. I felt warm. I didn't just feel warm, I felt like my skin was probably burning alive. Gary reached me first, gripping my arm. The coolness of it was a relief, but he recoiled. I had burned him. I forced myself to sit, ignoring the ringing in my ears.

"I hurt you," I stated in the same tone as before.

I wasn't going to stand. I wasn't going to pursue him. The fact that I could was satisfying, but I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't hate him. I only feared him, which is related to hate, but not quite the same. At least not for me.

Gary backed away from me. He backed into the Devil, which was a mistake. His arms were pinned behind him in a matter of seconds, and I dimmed. I looked down at myself as I did it, watching as detached as could be. I wasn't controlling it.

Lincoln's arms wrapped around me, and I didn't see any reason to put more effort into supporting myself. He let go, and I flopped back onto the bed. He laid next to me.

"You're seriously so awesome."

"I don't know how I did any of that, and I don't think I could do any of it again."

Gary struggled, making the Devil grunt with the effort. Lincoln propped himself up, carefully watching them. I didn't really care. Then Gary went still and stood with dignity. I knew that wasn't a good sign, but I was too tired to care. Lincoln gripped my hand in his, just as my vision turned red.

I thought the point was that he couldn't hurt me anymore. It didn't matter. I felt my skin heat again, and as the warmth shot through me, the pain eased. I wasn't gone, but it was just at the level of a normal headache. I could function with it. The only downside was, I had started radiating again. I looked over at Lincoln, who was successfully incapacitated. Lincoln's mother looked like she was barely holding on to her consciousness. Gary pulled out of the Devil's grasp.

This wasn't the way it was supposed to go. I was supposed to win because I was nice and virtuous. I knew it wouldn't work that way. Gary played dirty, and that gave him every advantage. Gary moved towards me, so fast I could barely register it. He pulled a knife from somewhere inside his suit.

Make one move I don't like, and the Angel you seem to like so much will have to carry her own head with her. I can show her how much better it is to be alive so she could still die.

The always helpful guy that he was, the Devil looked at me.

"I'll come back and find you with enough support to win."

And then, he disappeared. The knife was still at my throat and all I had in the way of help was my unconscious boyfriend and his incapacitated mother. I had them and a promise I didn't believe in. And I could glow. Who on Earth would bet against me? The answer: everyone with basic common sense.

Gary withdrew the weapon from my throat and stared at me.

He's abandoned you, Angel. That means, I've won. You'll do as I say, and right now, I want you to stand up.

What did it matter? I was screwed anyway. I stood, silently apologizing to Lincoln's tranquil face. I couldn't beat Gary. Snitching had only made this whole thing worse, and now I had to deal with that. Gary moved over and let his blade rest underneath Lincoln's chin.

He looked at Lincoln's mother in the corner.

Get me rope, woman.

She straightened, no longer looking as though she was in pain, and gave me a horrified look. I nodded to her. She needed to get him the rope. The 'or else' was insinuated, and I didn't like it. She needed to get the rope.

She did. I had to give her all the credit in the world. She did. We both did what he wanted. It wasn't a proud moment for either of us, but we did what he asked of us. That was all he really wanted.

All Gary had to do was hold one dagger to one boy's throat, and we were both as submissive as could be. He didn't move as he told us how to bind Lincoln's hands together. I felt sick doing it, but my priorities were mainly just keeping his head attached to his shoulders. There was extra rope left, and Gary had no trouble figuring out what to do with it. As I wrapped it around the woman's hands, I looked at him.

"You're stronger than us, so why go through all this effort?"

I tied the knot and listened as he explained how much effort it would save if we weren't all trying to fight him at once. I could understand that. I let out a breath as the knife went back in his suit, not registering that my hands were still free.

Angel come here.

I complied, my stomach lurching as he was so close. He could kill me with ease if he wanted to. He reached into a pocket somewhere and pulled out chains. Actual chains. I held out my wrists, hating the way they felt so lifeless as they hung there. It was the kind with two shackles and the chain that runs in between them. I was stronger and would either break or now, maybe burn through the rope. But these, as I pulled with all my might, didn't budge. Gary gave me a smug monologue about how they were designed so I wouldn't be able to break them, and how smart he was. He was superior, not smarter. I still maintained the belief that I could beat him there.

Lincoln woke up, groaning as he did so. He saw me and held up his bound hands questioningly.

"We lost," I explained quietly. "We lost, and I'm so sorry."

"Sky, why are you sorry?"

"Because I let him win without a fight, so I wouldn't lose you."

He took a deep breath. "So, this is losing?"

"Yep."