Reflections; a KOTLC fanficion

Chapter 18

The memory was of the day Caroline and Ash stood on the dock. But it was from her perspective. She could see Ash looking at her smiling, then hugging her. His eyes had the same fire as his mother's. But Ash interrupted her thoughts.

What did you do? Caroline could feel his anger from halfway around the world.

I don't know, but more importantly, why do you have my memories?

Ash's anger turned to embarrassment. They wiped my memories from that night. A new feeling replaced the embarrassment. She didn't know if this new feeling could be possible. He quickly added I don't know why.

Caroline knew the answer, but she wouldn't accept it.

I have to go. See you later. Ash cut the connection quickly. That was strange. He never did that. Something more had to be going on here.

Caroline wiped the thought out of her mind. Obviously, her telepathy and empathy were working. She had never heard of someone who could work empathy over a telepathic connection, especially one that was that distant, so that was an improvement.

The sun had now completely disappeared behind the horizon. Caroline had expected it to get cooler, but she was now sweating.

"Is anyone else hot?" Caroline asked. She had almost forgotten that the rest of her friends were here. The telepathic conversation seemed to drain her of her newfound power. Everyone else nodded from the separate sides of the moonlit glade. Mr. Forkle had faded into the shadows.

She was burning up now. Everyone else stared at each other, surprise painted on their faces. Their faces were red and looked like a fever had just set in. Caroline looked down at her hands. They were glowing red.

"Not to sound odd, but is anyone else's hands glowing?" Thor asked. He stood up, showing his glowing hands. A strange hunger was building in her gut. And without warning, the world lit up around her.

Flames surrounded her, but she wasn't burning. The vibrant columns towered towards the sky, trapping her in a ring.

"Caroline!" She could see Thor rushing towards her through the flames.

"Thor! Get back!" Her brother was not slowing down. He looked like he was going to run through the flames. Thor burst through the wall, unharmed. "What?" her brother looked just as confused. The tower receded in height when her fright turned to confusion. If her brother could walk through the fire, maybe she could too.

Caroline walked towards the wall, she knew she could, but fright overtook her making the wall rise. Suddenly, someone took her hand and pulled her through.

When she was through, the flames died down. The rest of her friends stared at her as if she had just fallen out of a building and survived.

Then she realized the reality of the situation. They were now all pyrokinetics and not only that, but they were also immune to each other's fire, not just their own.

She turned towards where Mr. Forkle had emerged from the forest. Caroline stomped toward him.

"You said you wouldn't mess with us! I do not need another unpredictable ability on my plate."

"The world needs a symbol," the elf said.

"Enough with symbols! First the moonlarks, now this? You keep thinking that if the world sees a great sign in the sky, all is well. But newsflash, that's not how the world works. Not anymore. We need action, not stupid symbols," Caroline huffed. "I will do this one thing, then I am officially out!"

"Then I think you are ready." Mr. Forkle dropped a crystal on the ground. "That will bring you to Emerald Fjords. My time leading this world's revolutions is done. I'm tired, and I need to rest. Goodbye for now Miss Foster." He glittered away, and they were left alone.

"That coward!" Eve said. She picked up the shimmering crystal and held it to the light. It glowed with red light, like flickering flames.

"But did we just throw away our best ally?" Thor replied. He took the crystal and cast a shimmering path. This one, though, looked like it was actually made of fire. "He might be right. Currently, the government is our worst enemy. Maybe what the world needs is something like Sophie?"

Caroline shook her head. "We can't just repeat the past. We need something new. That's why I think we should scrap the council. Start with new people, and get rid of the stupid science program."

"We'll decide that when we get there. For now, we just need to stop a war." Kyreen said it like it was no big deal. She was the first to step through the wall of fire, followed by Eve and Christian, then the two Fosters.

When they were back in front of the great big log cabin Caroline called home, Thor examined the crystal closely. "What other surprises has Forkle left behind?" he murmured.

The doors swung open, revealing her parents. "Your alive!" her dad said. He had a smile on his face.

"I'm glad you have so much confidence in me," Caroline laughed.

They took in the familiar oak smell as they passed through the oaken doors. Keefe and Sophie were waiting. Caroline felt uncomfortable, telling them what had happened.

"Mr. Forkle is gone," she said finally. "He left after the experiment was finished. He told us that he was not coming back." Caroline knew that Forkle meant a lot to her great-grandma. She could see it in her eyes.

They discussed the plan, careful not to say the name of the project for Sophie's sake. She seemed to be sensitive to the name,  since the last time Caroline mentioned it Sophie had collapsed—which made her wonder how old the project was.

Her mom interrupted her thoughts. "The council was thinking we could do this tomorrow. Get it over with as quickly as possible." Caroline could agree with that. This was going to be extremely risky, and she didn't want to have extra time to stew over the risks.

"I think we are ready."

Right now she was standing with her friends in the foyer, waiting for a council member to tell them they were good to go.

The group was completely silent, so when the council member glittered into the room, the friends jumped.

The council woman had dark hair and a scarlet dress. Caroline faintly remembered her as the one who could speak to animals. Caroline never really looked into who the council was.

"We are ready. Best of luck to you all," The woman said, glittering away just as fast, leaving a temporary crystal behind. Amelia was sitting with them, but she backed away from them as they held the crystal to the dim light of their chandelier. Moments later they were standing in a dark hallway.

"Everyone knows the plan?" Thor asked. Most everyone nodded. But Eve glanced up awkwardly.

"Sorta?" She asked. "We are rescuing the other experiments and then lighting the place on fire."

"But we need to get Ash first, so he can hack into the system and broadcast a video to the public projection in Eternalia explaining to everyone the corruption of the council. Then switch to human broadcasting and inform the humans about us."

"And remember stealth—up until Ash turns on the broadcasting, then be as loud as you want." Eve nodded, and a smile grew on her face. "Ready? Break."

Everyone went in separate directions, off to raid different parts of the underground complex, but Thor grabbed Caroline's arm before she could run off.

"Don't die. I know this is necessary, but I don't want you getting hurt." Thor let go and Caroline found herself alone in the dark corridor. She walked towards the first door and pulled out a key that the council gave her that would open the MRD's doors. She was disappointed to see that it was a storage closet.

She moved on, and the longer she searched, the more strange it seemed. No sirens were going off. Caroline thought that a complex like this would have more security. And none of the doors she opened had anything of use. They were all storage closets, janitor closets, or bathrooms.

Something was definitely off. And no one was talking through her earpiece—another token the Council gave her. And then she realized. What if the council was working with the MRD? And they had led her right into their greedy hands.