Fifty-Four- Marina

Chapter 54

Marina

I've stabbed three Fire Children through the heart with icicles, and they've all burst into ash, but more just keep coming. I'm weakening, exhausted. It takes a lot to get them to be still so I can kill them. I'm burned and bruised and scraped. And Wren is keeping an eye on me, exactly how I told him not to. He almost lost a hand for it, too.

A Fire Child has me pinned to the ground, it's white hot hands burning into my shoulders. And then I'm covered in ashes. A pointed branch is poised where the beast was.

“Thanks Bry!” I call, whirling to help Ray who is fighting two at a time. One Fire Child swings it's ax at her, and she ducks just in time, but it still nicks her cheek and blood wells from the line. She mutters a string of swears at it while I take some water and freeze it. Ray takes her dagger and stabs it through the heart.

Then I'm on the ground, and I'm not really sure how I got here. My face is pressed into the grass and I struggle to turn it, crying out as I feel my skin searing under the beast's touch. My wrists and ankles are held down, and I can't control anything. But I hear the monster's heart thudding wetly. Sounding like its covers by cotton balls. And I know, I don't need hand movements to freeze it's blood. Drop it's body temperature down to below freezing, it will be dead in an instant. And as the thought crosses my mind, the burning is gone.

I get up, now I know I have more of a chance, I can do it from a distance. Ash is struggling against three, but luckily not burned. Immediately the three Fire Children stiffen and then turn to ashes. Ash nods at me, and goes to help Nox. A few monsters run toward me, and then they're gone, their ashes swirling in Airborne's tornado.

But there's still so many, hundreds upon hundreds march forward into the fight, and I realize they can do this forever, but we will eventually become exhausted.

Four Fire Children send fire blasts at me, but I swirl water around me, protecting me from it. But steam rises and soon all the water has evaporated, and the fire still plows toward me. Time seems to slow, my brain becomes sharper, it processes things quicker. I see Wren land a kick in a monster's side, and then scramble toward me. I watch in wonder as his hands connect with my side, I feel the impact of the ground, and I watch the flames fly over head, both of us on the ground.

A Fire Child picks Wren up and hurls him toward a tree, where he slumps, unconscious. Then one turns to me.

Time goes back to it's normal speed, all this happened in a matter of seconds.

Fire explodes into my body, I feel searing pain, and then nothing.

“Daddy! Daddy!” I yell, twirling around on the tile floor of my kitchen. “We're gonna be late for dance class!” I yell. Daddy walks down the stairs and scoops me up.

“We'll be fashionably late, my little ballerina.” He says, reaching for my hair.

“Don't mess up my bun!” I squeal, laughing.

“Don't you dare mess her hair!” Momma scolds, leaning against a wall, putting on her work shoes, smiling.

Today is my first ballet class, and I'm really excited. And I lost a tooth last night, and I woke up to a whole dollar under my pillow! He sets me down in the driveway and I run to the car opening the door and clambering into my booster seat. Daddy straps me in and drives to the ballet studio. Suddenly I'm nervous. What if I'm bad? What if the other girls are mean?

I clutch Daddy's hand as he leads me into a room. All the walls are covered in mirrors. A metal bar extends across one, pictures of ballerinas cover the tops of the mirrors.

Five other girls my age stand in various areas of the room, talking together.

“Bye honey.” Daddy says, picking me up for a quick kiss. Then he leaves and I turn to face the teacher. She smiles at me and I know I'll like it here.

We're driving home after my first class, and I tell Daddy all about it. The day is sunny and cheerful. We reach home and I twirl around in the hallway to the bathroom for my bath.

We're driving home after school, I'm stressing about how much math homework I have. Sixth grade is harder than expected. At least I have art class to look forward to, and ballet tomorrow.

We're driving home after junior prom, I've just received my first kiss. I can't talk, I'm too happy, and I don't want to tell Daddy. I walk into the house filled with boxes.

We're driving along a waterlogged road, the ocean menacing and grey. And then a truck barrels into us.

I'm driving with Wren to the party, feeling him look over at me every so often, but all I can do is try to stop the memories from flooding me. The blood, my screaming, the tears. Wanting to die.

Then suddenly, I see them. They're standing in darkness, so close. I could reach out a hand and touch them. So I do, but my fingers go straight through.

“Momma.” I whisper, my voice catching. “Momma, why did you leave? I love you!”

“Wake up.” She says. But her mouth forms a different answer.

“Daddy! Please come back!” I sob.

His mouth says, “I love you, but I can't.” But the words that come from his mouth are, “Wake up.”

Wake up.

Wake up.

Wake up.

“WAKE UP! FOR GOD SAKE MARINA! WAKE UP!” A voice screams. I blink open my eyes, bleary with tears. I hurt everywhere. Then I see I'm hanging over a pit of fire. Oh my god.

My body is burned and blackened, oozing some liquid, I can't tell if it's blood or not. Then I remember what happened.

“IF YOU HAD JUST DONE WHAT I TOLD YOU TO, NONE OF US WOULD BE IN THIS POSITION!” I scream at Wren, my voice hurts, like I've been screaming or crying a lot. I realize we all hand over separate fire pits.

My mouth tastes foul. Like chemicals. They must have made me drink a serum. I know what I can do, but the only way to save the others is to destroy myself. With my mind, I control a Fire Child. He walks robotically to the rope holding me up. I squeeze my eyes shut, and hear the ax whoosh through the air. And then I'm falling.

when the tides are in,

you cannot see inside

but it is pulled out again

showing the rubble in it's wake

I have to let the tide out.

Author's Note

Now, I know I've already done the Call Me Maybe tune, but I couldn't resist.
Hey, I just killed Marina,
and you might hate me,
but I promise it'll get better,
but review me maybe?

Reviews

[Sylvana]

You know, because of Marina's last words, I have the feeling that Wren is going to feel EXTREMELY guilty.