Four thirty-three

Chapter 34

"BRETT!!!"

"Eddy???"

He grabbed the boy by the arm, hard, snatching him from the crowd of musicians entering the square. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE???"

"I-..."

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO STAY BACK AT THE CON. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SAFE!" Eddy felt something burn his eyes, and it took him a while to realise he was crying. "You were supposed to...," he murmured, the world suddenly far away, his vision going fuzzy around the edges.

"Hey. Hey! Eddy!!" Brett yelled above the growing cacophony, shaking him by the arm. "Look at me! Look at me. It's okay, it'll be okay, we'll..."

"Watch out!!!"

The ground started shaking under their feet, and before they had time to react, a wall of dirt had grown between them and the bullets that had been about to hit them.

"You fucking fuckers!" Ibo yelled, catching up with them. "We're in a fucking war, do you think you two could stop flirting for just a damn sec-...!"

"GRENADE!!!"

They jumped away, Ibo and Eddy taking cover behind a fountain, Brett hiding behind a stone bench. They got lucky this time. The grenade was aimed in the opposite direction. Eddy stood up quickly and ran, hell bent on getting back to Brett's side. Tears stung his eyes, and he could taste worry, bitter in his mouth, overpowering his ability to think. The boy has never fought in his life, he's not ready, please, if he dies I-...

Three guards stood before him, guns aimed at his head. He used the fountain's water to disarm them, immobilising them with big spheres of water that swallowed their bodies. It was a funny sight, three guards squirming on the floor, trying to break free, but he had no time to find anything amusing. Brett was now further away, throwing fire to a group of armed men that were hiding behind another bench, ready to shoot as soon as he gave them the chance.

A bullet ran past his head, and he dropped to the floor. When he looked up, he saw Ibo send thorns that stabbed the guard that had shot at him. Further away, Brett had gotten up and was making a run for it, out of the square and into one of the adjacent streets.

Ibo tugged at his t-shirt to help him get up. "Come on, keep moving!"

"Brett." Eddy said feebly. "We've got to..."

"I know, let's go!"

They ran to where they'd seen Brett disappear, but when they got there, there was no sign of him. Eddy looked around, desperate, and started running, calling for him. It was no use: the sound coming from the square was so strong, he could barely hear himself.

He felt Ibo snatch him by the arm and hide him behind a dumpster. Seconds later, a group of at least twenty policemen ran past them and towards the thickest of the fight.

"Shit." Ibo muttered. "This is a fucking mess, we've got to..."

The dark of the night was suddenly broken by a sudden, bright light.

When Eddy looked up, there was a big fire snake towering over the houses.

The snake grew taller and taller, fuelled by wind coming from heaven knew where, until it illuminated the whole square and the adjacent streets.

Eddy and Ibo exchanged looks, and started running towards the source of the fire.

When they got there, Eddy could barely believe his eyes.

It was Brett. Brett's serpent, fuelled by Phoebe's wind. Brett wasn't skilled enough to make it move, yet, but Phoebe was taking care of that alright. The snake went around the square, creating a wall of fire.