Fire

Listening to Phoenix by FOB and can't help but think of Searing. This is the story of one bullied boy's encounter with her.

"You realize how useless you are, right?"

I stifled my sobs, seeing as someone had noticed. "What are you talking-" I looked up and my heart sank.  A brawny girl was looking down at where I cowered.  Half of her black hair was shaved off the side of her head.  If that and her stature weren't enough, she had pure white contacts on, making it look at first glance she were blind.  Even so, her eyes felt like they were looking through mine, straight to my inner person.  More terrifying, the contacts made it much harder to decipher if she was more looking with the intent to kill me or just verbally abuse me like the others had.

"I saw what happened." She went on as I stayed quiet. "By being like this, you're only feeding their ideals more."  She nodded up curtly. "Stand up, you wimp."

I stayed sat down, still unsure of whether she was going to give me a back-handed pep talk or just a back hand.

She rolled her eyes (I assume) and went to grab my shoulder.  She was surprisingly quick, able to pull me up before I could even flinch.  As soon as she let go, I pressed back into the school wall I was sitting against.  I was really expecting her to hit me.

Snickering sounded at my left and I noticed that a few of the kids who had bashed me were standing little ways off, watching.  The mysterious girl followed my line of sight to the group.

"Don't you pricks have something better to do?"

"Psh," said the senior, "like what, homework?  Or," he chortled some more, "should I say, homo-work?"

His friends cringed and shook their heads, his "humor" being too dumb for even them to appreciate.

Still, I bristled at the call back, but I saw the girl smile as she giggled and responded coldly, "No, I was more thinking of picking on someone who was less likely to run off in a corner and cry."

The guy was full out laughing at her now. "If you're referring to yourself, I'll have to pass.  I'll get kicked off the football team for beating up a chick."

A few in the now-gathering crowd let out "oh"'s of surprise, while the girl just started laughing.  Except unlike the jock's, hers was much more maniacal and dark. "Oh, I don't think getting kicked off is how you'll leave football."

Before anyone could say anything more, she kicked him square in the nose.  Blood was everywhere before he knew what hit"kicked?"him.  It was so epic.  And terrifying, since I was still kinda sure I was next.

After calling her an unprintable name, he proceeded to dash for her.  She spotted it and dodged, also tripping him onto his belly with a thud.  She proceeded to twist his arm behind his back so far he let out a squeal that made me vicariously embarrassed.

"Wanna try that again?" She asked, bending his arm even further.

"No! I'm sorry, ah!" He squirmed to get her off, which was much more difficult than the girl's size would have one believe.

"Good." She let go and stood, still pinning the boy down with her foot.  She looked like a lioness defending her kill.

A few in the crowd started giggling, but with one look with her limestone eyes swiftly shut their mouths. "Now do me a favor and don't be such a worthless piece of trash."  She took her foot away and watched as the wide-eyed boy scrambled to his feet.  He looked at her for a bit, as if contemplating his next move.  She jumped at him and he ran with his tail between his legs all the way to the parking lot, his friends running after him.

Even I laughed at that, I have to admit.  As she turned back to me, however, again it was deathly silent. I wondered if my own heart had stopped, it was so quiet.

"So?" She said, expression as blank as her eyes.

I swallowed. "S-So, what?"

She extended her hand (I flinched, but only internally). "Come with me."

I could feel everyone's eyes on me. "W-Where? And why?  W-What do you plan to do to me?"

"For Pete's sake"" She grabbed my hand and started dragging me away from campus.

"W-W-Wait!" I tried to pull back but her grip was inhumanly solid. I grabbed my backpack before it was out of reach.

The kids were staring, but were too scared to follow her.  I'm sure they'd love to see me get beaten, though.

She dragged me for a while.  We were heading in the directions of a small wooded area and instantly I started fighting again.  I am not getting murdered today, not when I still have to feed Sweetie, our ragamuffin!

"I don't know what you're planing to do to me, but I am not going anywhere further with you""

She yanked my into the brush, covered my mouth, and twisted my arm back (I'm more flexible, so even if it was as far as the senior got it, it didn't hurt as bad).  At this point I'm starting to panic.  Not only am I being forcefully lead to some unknown, secluded area that's likely a murder den, I dropped my backpack with my slow-as-snails-but-still-relatively-expensive laptop when she shoved me.  If I'm killed, my parents don't have that kind of insurance.

"Quit shaking wimp, you're just making this harder." She eventually snapped.  As if I can control myself right now.

It was a good five more minutes of anxious walking before we reached a cave opening.  Oh, yay, not only was I going to die in a murder den, but a cliche one at that!  In all honesty, however, I could feel my strength start to seep out of my body, like a piece of laundry drying on a wire.  We journeyed until we were in deep enough that she had to strike a match to see.  How she did so without letting go of my mouth or arm I can't tell you.  I studied my surroundings.  It was hopelessly dim, the yellow of the match barely touching the rocky, eroded walls of the murder den.  The floor wasn't wet like I for some reason thought, but our footsteps echoed so ominously it sent shivers all through me.  As we reached a more level, open space, she threw me in the direction of the cave wall.  

I turned to face her and saw my backpack drop at her side.  It didn't fall as if she shoved it off of her back or kicked it the whole way.  It was almost as if it had floated all this way, following us.

Of course, I was a bit too focused on my inevitable demise to worry about the physics of a dropping backpack.  I staggered back into the wall, trying to get as far away as possible.  I knew I couldn't take her, my arms being as useful in fighting as limp noodles.  I doubted I could reason with her, so there wasn't any use in even trying to talk my way out of this one.  I'm fluffed, aren't I?

She lifted the match to her face and I flinched back even more, looking again into her steely eyes. The flame only made her more intimidating. After we listened to my shaky breaths for what felt like an eternity, she scoffed and shook her head. "You think I'm going to kill you?"

The light of the match didn't reach her mouth, so even though it almost seemed like she was laughing, I wasn't sure.  That and my concentration on not fainting prevented me from answering.

"Relax, idiot, why would I save you from those jerks at your school if I was just gonna kill you?"

She had a point.  Still, I wasn't entirely convinced.  By some miracle I found in me enough voice to relay this to her, "Y-You did bring me to this cave, which looks v-very murder-y."

She seemed to contemplate a moment, then shrug. "Fair enough.  Still, I'm not going to kill you, so you can stop with your shaking."

"Why a-am I here then?" I stutter, trying to calm down and accept that despite her dragging me to a dark cave I'm the weird one for being scared.

Her eyes smile. "I brought you here because I have a proposition." She walks to a wall, holding the match to her side, allowing me to see her at least somewhat.  She brings the match to what looks like a lamp and lights it, giving the room much more light.  She takes the lamp and waves me over.  As I near, I realize she's standing over a wood-grain table with leather-bound books stacked on it.  I can't read the make out any of the words along their worn spines, but they just gave me an eerie feeling.

She sets the lamp down; I startle at the thump. "You remember what I said to you when I first saw you?"

"Um, not really, but I'm pretty sure you called me useless?  I'm used to getting called things, so sorry if I'm remembering wrong."

I feel a large hand clasp on my right shoulder (pretty sure my heart stopped), and hear a guy's voice next to me say, "That sounds like Searing."

I yelp and jump away, but feel the girl's (I guess her name is Searing?) hand on my arm. "Chad, you don't have to scare him!" I could her laughter in her voice, though."

"Then why do you have the lights off?" The dude, I assume Chad, responds, stepping into the light.  He was wearing more rugged clothing, like he got his hoodie out of a trash can.  And he was a foot taller than me, but just a bit taller than Searing.

"Fine, but you ruined the fun!" She let go of my arm and punched him (playfully?), and after I hear a faint click, the cave fills with light.  Plain lights like you would put on a minimalist Christmas tree were draped on either side of the cave walls, illuminating the space.  It was bigger than I thought, almost 40 square feet.  Desk tables lined the entire left wall, while only the far end of the wall I had pressed up against in fear a few minutes ago had a desk.

"U-Uh..." I start to back up, very concerned for my safety now that this hard jock is in the mix.

"Relax, kid, still not going to kill you." Searing turns and locks her white eyes on me. "You remembered right: I said you were useless.  You're welcome."

"Th-Thank you?" I say, then shake my head, "Wait, what does that have to do with the proposition?  Also, how long has he been here?" I point to Chad. "Has he just casually been watching me from the shadows this whole time?"

They laugh.  I think I've been kidnapped by psychopaths.

"Alright, listen, loser," Searing begins, "Chad was in the same position as you are." She nodds to Chad, "Why don't you give a little testimony?"

"Sure." Chad stands up a little straighter. "So, like you, I wasn't exactly the most popular person.  I got beat up, bullied, the whole shebang!" I waved his arms for emphasis, and I realized he would be gesticulating like this the entire speech. "I don't know why people've gotten onto you, but for me it was my poverty.  My family has zero money, and I'm basically supporting us single handedly.  I don't make the best grades since I'm working to put food on the table, and I hardly pay mind to what cloths I'm wearing.  If I can get them on, I'll wear them." I realized as he spoke that he adopted a sort of attitude of someone telling something they're really upset by but are trying to play it off like it's casual.  Searing seemed to sense this and put a hand on his shoulder. "Anyway," He went on, "Searing found me and offered me exactly what I needed." He paused, looked expectant.

I didn't think this was the answer, since he was wearing that tattered hoodie, but it was the only answer that made sense: "She... gave you... money?"

He sighed and said, sounding somewhat annoyed, "No, acceptance.  She gave me acceptance.  Isn't that what you want, too?"

Holy heck that got kinda deep really fast. "Oh... well..." Suddenly being so vulnerable in a room of strangers made me implode.  It was true, I wanted to be accepted as who I am, not as something that I'm not, and not as something that people want me to be, either.  But I also do wish I was a better person. I stared at the ground, probably blushing beat red.

"Hey," Searing stepped closer to me and held my shoulder, looked into my eyes with her piercing, yet somehow now caring gaze. "You are a good person, and believing in yourself is going to make you even better."

I'd be lying if her seeming mind-reading abilities didn't made me a bit more scared, but it would also be wrong to say it didn't interest me a little.  I pause, thinking of what's happening.  These two young adults are asking me to accept some sort of agreement, but they're promising a lot.  Everything I want, to be specific.  What's the worst?  It's not like they're a cult or something. 

So, after taking a deep breath, I ask. "What is this proposition?"

Author's Note

It's part of an ongoing story, so some of it might not make sense due to lack of plot summary (despite the fact it's like five pages long, sorry). This is super rough and I'm tired, but still feel free to review, as feedback is appreciated!
Image Credit: pixabay.com
PS: Also this isn't the entirety of what the story is, it's a bit off from it's major points for the fear of changes or regrets.