Into the Fire

by Victoria Smith

  “What difference does that make to me?” He turned his head, so he didn’t have to see her face.

  “None. I guess. Except maybe you have to ask yourself what really happened. My grandfather and I spent a lot of time talking about it. Why would the fire be covered up like that? Especially when the government uses random house fires to get people to do what they want? Not to mention, they would have made a big deal about using your abilities to do bad and how they are trying to prevent this kind of thing, blah, blah, blah.”

  Luke scoffed.

  “Think about it. Does anyone know the house burned?”

  “No. We lived in an old farmhouse in the country. We didn’t have neighbors. The house was demolished, and they started building a new neighborhood. I swear the ashes weren’t even cool.” He shook his head and moved to stand.

  Olivia put a hand on his shoulder to make him stay. “Don’t you think there’s more to it? Why get rid of the evidence? There are more abandoned, broken, and burnt-down houses than you can count. They would have used it as an example to control people. Something else had to have been going on.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.” He tried to shrug her hand off.

  “I don’t care if you don’t believe me, but at least think about it.” She let her hand drop, the gap between them greater than just the physical.

  “She ruined our lives.”

  “And I’m not her.” Olivia moved back. “Hell, you have gifts yourself. You know the emotional turmoil and pain that comes with making a mistake, or accidentally hurting someone. Most of us only want to use our gifts for good. Why do you think there isn’t anyone left alive that was involved in the revolution? They couldn’t stand what they’d done.”

  He stared up at her, her words soaking in and making more sense than he’d allowed himself to accept. “I know you had nothing to do with the past, but a part of me wondered, still wonders, if you’re weaving some kind of damn spell around me.”

  Except the time apart hadn’t changed how he felt. He wanted to be with her, despite everything.

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Because no matter what I do, I can’t get you out of my head. I’m drawn to you no matter how repulsed finding out you’re a firestarter made me. Letting you walk away was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I couldn’t stop thinking about touching you, wanting you. I seriously thought it had to be something of your creation because this has never, ever happened to me before.” He locked gazes with her.

  “I thought the poison was creating those things for me, but when the antidote didn’t take them away, I didn’t know what to think. With everything that happened with Sandy, there was no way I could believe you wanted me. I’d shut that part of myself down long ago to save my sanity.” She shook her head.

  “I don’t know. But I don’t want it to end. I know we can’t stay here forever, and I know the future is uncertain.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed. “But maybe we should stick together and see what happens?”

  ~ ~ ~

  Jillian let out an exasperated breath and faced Theo. “We don’t have time. If we don’t get out of here soon, we’ll be as dead as those people in the shed. We don’t have to clean the house.”

  An hour ago, a severely injured couple had stumbled onto the porch of the house they’d been squatting in. There was nothing that could be done. Their injuries were too extensive. They’d died shortly after arriving. The deaths hit Jillian as hard as they had Theo, though Jillian did her best to ignore her grief.

  The people who lived had apparently disappeared into thin air. The home appeared as if the owners had stepped out for a minute, except for the container of rotting food on the counter obviously chewed on by the cat dead near its empty food dish. Their vehicle was even parked in the garage. Jillian and Theo were no longer safe. She had expected it, just not this soon. They’d barely had time to clean themselves up and search the fridge for something edible, let alone sleep.

  “We have to go.” Jillian shoved her filthy clothes back into her bag.

  “Okay.” Theo shuffled from one foot to the other. “Can I pee first?”

  “Yes, then get your stuff. We’re going now.” Jillian hefted her backpack.

  Tears ran down Theo’s face. Jillian touched his cheek.

  “We’re going to be fine. I promise.”

  Theo nodded, slamming the bathroom door behind him and taking far too long to wash his hands. Who knew if the dead couple had been correct in their estimation of time? She took Theo’s bag and slung it over her other shoulder while grabbing jackets off the rack by the back door. Theo followed, his steps heavy behind her.

  After shoving the bags in the station wagon, she slammed the door and started the engine. Maybe it was her imagination, but the heavy scent of blood hung in the air, coming in the vents to fill her senses with the sickening odor. She glanced over at Theo as she turned out of the driveway. Theo’s eyes were wide and scared.

  She hadn’t seen him this upset and worried for a long time. Since that night. A flash of something, an image of their mother, appeared in her mind. Blood covered her face and hands. She’d doubled over and vomited a puddle of red. Jillian’s eyes burned. She wanted to close them, but the darkness meant she had to pay attention to where she was going instead of allowing the self-pity.

  The details of their mother’s death were something she tried not to think about. She’d tried to tell herself she didn’t remember the night of torture and forced submission. Truth was, she did. In living detail. The memory of the startled expression of pain and misery in her mother’s eyes as she watched Jillian being beaten, the way she’d cursed the soldiers hurting her and silently urged Jillian to get Theo to safety came back to haunt her at the oddest times.

  Jillian had left her mother to die. She’d done nothing to save her when she might have been able to. She should have at least tried. It was her fault. All of it.

  ~ ~ ~

  Olivia wiped her hands on a dish towel, tossing it over her shoulder as she rushed to the door. A loud buzzing filled her head. She tried to pinpoint the sound. Luke did the same, shielding his eyes from the setting sun. The treetops moved, snapping off and crashing to the ground. Something huge moved through the woods.

  Toward them.

  Chapter 15

  A cry for help came from outside. The trees. Matt sat up as a loud crash rattled the cabin. Ignoring the protest of weak muscles, he got up and forced himself out of the room and to the front porch where Olivia and Luke stood.

  “What the hell was that?” he asked, leaning against the doorjamb.

  “Don’t know,” Luke said without turning around. “Something bad. I’m sure.”

  “I’m not so sure.” Olivia stepped off the porch and faced where the sound had come from.

  “Don’t. Olivia. We don’t know what’s out there.” Luke reached for her, but she stepped away.

  “Dude, she’s right. I don’t think it’s here to hurt us.” Matt pushed off the door frame and followed Olivia. “The trees are comforted. They’re hopeful and they forgive the intrusion.”

  “You’re both wrong.”

  “Come on. I don’t think we are.” Olivia tucked her handgun into the back of her jeans and held out her hand to Luke.

  Each step Matt took filled him with pain and nausea. His head was on fire. He tried to swallow, but razor blades filled his throat. Maybe he should have stayed in bed.

  As they reached the dirt road, Olivia turned and placed one hand over his heart and the other on his head. He looked at her face as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Warmth filled him, along with a static electricity he vaguely remembered. The pain eased, fading completely by the time she stepped back and opened her eyes.

  “You’re a train wreck.” She smiled up at him.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” He tested his body, surprised at how good he felt.

  “How many things can one person have wrong with them? You might still be a little weak, but
that’s no wonder. Your immune system was so compromised. That was an honest bacterial infection. You had strep throat. It probably snuck in after we got the poison out. You’re good now.” She shook her head before turning away.

  Matt wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but before he could catch up to her and ask, more crashing noises split the air. Luke glanced at him, his forehead wrinkled up in the way it always did when he was worried. Olivia crossed the weed-covered road and disappeared into the trees, Luke right behind her. Matt followed at a slower pace, hating that Olivia had been right about him feeling weak.

  A sharp pain stabbed him in the heart. The pain wasn’t his. Jillian. She was hurting, and it wasn’t physical. He stopped, leaning against a tree for its strength as he tried to touch her with his mind.

  He felt the connection with her. Her startled awareness filled him like a soothing rain, and he closed his eyes to soak up as much of it as he could. God, he missed her.

  She didn’t block out her trauma as he expected. Instead, she opened it further, so he could see. The images in her memories were brutal and horrifying, as was the way she blamed herself for the things that had happened. Was she trying to push him away by revealing how much of a monster she thought she was?

  He pushed back, imagining her resting against his chest with his head on hers. She stilled, the erratic beat of her heart calming. The ache in his heart finally eased as she faded. He could still sense her and feel her. Her strength and the strength and hope in the trees bolstered him. He tucked it away and followed Luke and Olivia, feeling stronger than he ever had in his life.

  ~ ~ ~

  They were both crazy. Whatever was waiting for them wasn’t here to help. It was here to hurt. Luke couldn’t shake the sensation, no matter how much reassurance Olivia attempted to send his way. She was confident and that should be enough for him. But it wasn’t.

  Olivia stopped, and in his inattentive state, Luke almost knocked her over. He grabbed her shoulders to keep them from both falling. She rested against him for a moment before turning to face him.

  “I’m really sure, Luke.” She touched his face. “Aunt Jane predicted help would come. My cousin.”

  “I’m not.” Luke grabbed her hand, holding it against his cheek when she would have pulled away. “It smells very different.”

  “This is a healing place. A good place. Nothing terrible can come here.”

  “That doesn’t mean it won’t try. We have no idea what’s waiting for us.” The trees still moved violently.

  “We don’t, but I’m positive whatever it is means us no immediate harm.” Her confidence filled him, though the cynical part kept belief from completely taking over.

  “Then let’s go find out what it is.” He leaned in to kiss her as Matt thumped him on the back.

  “Dude, get a room. We have work to do. There’s no time for making out.” Matt winked at Olivia as he passed.

  Olivia rolled her eyes, holding back a pine branch for him to go through first. The area was decimated. Trees had fallen in a circular area with the ground in the middle blackened and burnt. There was no debris, no life, and no crashed space ship, not that he really expected one. Things were weird enough without adding the possibility of alien invasion to the mix. He chuckled, mostly to himself, but Olivia turned with a raised brow.

  “There.” She pointed, ducking into the woods and heading to her right.

  He followed. His confidence in her grew. Matt lingered behind them, seemingly preoccupied and just plain slow. Luke tried to open their connection, but Matt had him blocked. Wondering what the hell was going on inside his brother’s mind, Luke tossed a stick to get his attention. What he wanted to do was hang back and find out what Matt was up to, but he couldn’t let Olivia meet up with whatever was ahead alone.

  There was something in the trees. Luke saw the shadow before the image revealed substance. What the hell?

  ~ ~ ~

  Jillian swerved around the bloody corpse sprawled in the road.

  Theo gasped. “I think he’s still alive.”

  Jillian shook her head. “It’s a trick.”

  “Are you sure?” Theo unbuckled and turned around in the seat.

  “I’m positive.” She hit the gas harder, the sense of impending doom growing.

  “I think he’s really hurt, Sissy.”

  “He probably is, but they won’t let us live if we stop to help. We might have to find a place to hide out for a few hours.” Jillian scanned the roadway ahead, but it was clear.

  Maybe the injured guy in the road wasn’t a trick. Maybe she’d just refused to help someone they could have saved, someone that might have information they could use. Damn. She glanced in her rearview mirror, watching as the injured man got up and turned around to watch them drive off. Jillian took a deep breath. She was sick of questioning her decisions, sick of having to explain her decisions, and sick of the overwhelming relief when she was right.

  “He got up and walked away,” Theo said, still facing the road behind them.

  “I’m not sure how, but he definitely wasn’t hurt. Get your seatbelt back on.” Jillian flipped her headlights off, hoping to get a little farther before they were forced to hide.

  “What does that mean? Why would he pretend to be hurt?” Theo finally turned and buckled his seat belt again.

  “I don’t know. I think we should try to find out what’s going on though.” As much as she hated the thought and hated taking Theo into an unknown situation, she had no choice but to see what she could learn. As soon as she could.

  The dark windows of a service station loomed ahead. Jillian took her foot off the gas, allowing the vehicle to slow without putting on the brakes. She turned into the parking lot and parked the car behind the building, so it couldn’t be seen from the road. There might not be anyone here at all, but if there was, they were on the same side she was. Or at least they were last time she was here.

  She got out and waited for Theo to help toss the heat distortion cover over the car. “Don’t talk, okay? I’m not being mean, but I’m not sure how these guys will treat you. And Sissy might say some mean things, not to you, but to find out what we need to know to be safe. Remember how we talked about being in situations?”

  “Yes. Okay,” Theo said quietly as he came to stand beside her. “Situations. Yes.”

  “Good. Thank you.” She tapped lightly on the back door and stepped back to wait.

  A blue light shone through the grimy glass of the rear door. Jillian stood still. Theo stopped shuffling and pasted a serious look on his face.

  The back door was opened by a young man. “Who are you?”

  “Is Pete in?” She met his eyes, watching as he tried to figure out who she was.

  “Pete’s dead.” His eyes were flat.

  “What about Gino?” Gino and Pete were brothers active in the underground trade market.

  “Busy. Shit’s going down. Go away.” He moved to close the door, but Jillian stuck her foot in the way and slammed her hand against the wood.

  “Tell him Jillian came to collect her debt.” She glared.

  “You’re Jillian?” He stared at her without the belligerence.

  “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”

  “Then come on.” He swung the door wide and disappeared into the darkness.

  Jillian waited for Theo to enter before her. He held back, staying by her side as they followed through the garage area and down the slope of one of the oil change pits.

  The door was hidden behind the ramp. Jillian entered, standing to the side as the man re-sealed the entryway. They were essentially trapped until they were allowed to leave, which didn’t sit well with her, but what choice did she have? Patrols had already gone by since they’d been here. They were looking for anyone, maybe even her specifically. At least soon she might find out about that.

  Gino was at a desk in the back corner, head bent over a map of the area, a phone glued to his ear. Jillian noticed the bandage on his arm.
>
  “What happened?” she asked.

  Gino thumbed the phone off, but before he could speak, the guy who’d let them in stepped in front of them.

  “Assumption and speculation. They came and accused Pete and Dad of all kinds of things. They want information on Olivia. And Luke and Matt. And you.” The young man gave her a hard stare. Jillian wondered if he’d turn them all in for the right price.

  “What happened to Pete?” She glanced around the room, but Gino and the angry guy were the only ones here.

  “Dead. They took his body,” Gino said.

  “Why do they want us? None of us have done anything.” She shrugged, effectively hiding her apprehension.

  “Not according to them. They’re blaming everything on you guys. They want people to turn you in. There’s a price on your heads. Is it true you blew up the border patrol office?”

  Jillian snorted. “Hell, no. Are you sure it blew up?”

  “I was there. Yeah. I’m sure.”

  “Then maybe you did it.” She glared at him. “What else?”

  “Everything—murder, arson, robbery—you guys are being blamed for anything that happens right now. Most folks know it’s a lie, but since everything changed so fast, some are willing to believe. When the complacency drug stopped working, people needed something to grab hold of. They wanted to blame someone, and the four of you are it. Five. Is that your brother?” Gino sighed.

  “Yeah. How’d he get dragged into this?” That worried Jillian far more than the rumors flying about them.

  “They’re saying he murdered six guards. The patrols have been searching for him.”

  “He didn’t do anything.” Jillian squared her shoulders and faced him.

  “Maybe you killed them to save him.” Gino’s son pinned her with an angry glare. “It’s time the rest of us stop paying for stuff we didn’t do.”

  “I agree. I’ll accept your information as payment of your debt.” She shoved her hands in her pockets.