Consuming Fire

Chapter 29

One evening, Joshua asked Fearne if she could try to contact Jenny in her dreams. Joshua hadn't heard from her at all and he worried every day that something horrible had happened and she was in trouble with the FBI. Fearne agreed to try, and while Joshua waited on her bed, Fearne went into a deep unconsciousness to find Jenny.

It seemed like only a minute before suddenly, Fearne started having some sort of seizure. Her body twitched, making it look like she was being possessed. A line of blood dripped from her nose and Joshua didn't know what else to do but call for help.

Will, Hunter and Mosi came running. The rest weren't far behind.

Will panicked, shaking Fearne. "What the hell happened?!" 

"She was ... I asked her to find Jenny in her dreams and she was-"

"You did what?"

Will looked at him murderously. Fearne stopped twisting and lay still, asleep. The heat in the room was so great that Mosi started pushing the others back into the corridor.

"She doesn't normally do this," said Hunter. "What really happened?"

"That's all that happened, I swear it."

"Bullshit," said Will. "She's damaged enough already and you had to selfishly put herlife on the line-"

"Enough, Will!" Hunter snapped.

He turned to her and glared. "You don't understand what's happening to her. Remember when we were escaping from ICE and she started frying Jet's mind with her abilities? It had the same effect as this."

"What are you saying?"

"Her power is too dangerous. It's taking over her mind and weakening her at the same time. She can't use it like that, unless it's an emergency. Which this clearly isn't."

Joshua stared at Fearne in shock. Why had the young girl not told her that her power was taking control of her? And not in a way the Iceman manipulates his own mind, but in a dark and demonic way that cannot be stopped.

"I'm sorry Will," said Joshua.

"Just leave."

Without looking at either of them, Joshua stormed from the room. If he couldn't find Jenny then he could at least try and find a way to help Fearne stop her power from taking over her mind.

As Joshua stalked from the room and into Dr. Rosenthal's office, he started worrying about Jenny. If Fearne couldn't reach her, did that mean something had gone wrong? Was she safe? Was she alive? It was like being separated from Hunter all over again.

Joshua thought he could find answers in the doctor's study – some kind of training technique to help Fearne stay in control of her mind power – but a part of him wasn't motivated. He decided to go outside and spend time with the younger ones, who were stretching out in the sun by the lake. It was a beautiful day – a rare one in this cold month. Despite Joshua not doing well in sunlight, he enjoyed listening to them laugh.

"Have you guys seen the sunscreen?" asked Benji, who had only just recovered from severe sunburn after falling asleep by the lake on his first day.

"You used it all," said Marcus. "What did you do, eat it?"

"Hey. Skin cancer never takes a holiday," he said.

"I hope Fearne will be okay," Chantal moaned as she wrapped her arms around her knees. Joshua could see how much Chantal cared about her family, how she fit the motherly role to perfection.

"She will," Imogen nodded firmly. "She's braver than all of us."

"Will said it happened before, at ICE?" asked Joshua.

"This dickhead Jet tried to stop us from escaping," said Chantal. "He killed one of the younger boys, and Fearne lost her shit. I'd never seen her like that before. She nearly blew his head open."

Joshua's stomach squirmed. It was hard to imagine someone as gentle and kind as Fearne killing another human with her mind. Then again, he did horrible things with his power when he was angry or tried to protect someone. This was just further proof that Ravenadium flowed in all of their veins and not just his and Hunter's.

Which explained how Jack so easily turned to the dark side.

But if there was a way to cure his and Hunter's demon, there was a way to cure Fearne's. And he had to find it. If not for Fearne, then at least to mend things between he and Will.

As Joshua headed back into the cabin and up the stairs to the office, he heard the sounds of Hunter and Will shouting in Fearne's bedroom. He stopped at the top of the staircase and listened.

"-did everything I could, but I had no other choice."

"I know that," said Will. "I'm not angry that you almost got me killed, okay, I'm angry at myself. I feel useless. All I'm ever good at is sacrificing myself."

"But that's what heroes do."

"Hunter, I'm sick of watching everyone I care about get hurt and not being able to do a thing about it. That's not what heroes do."

"Then we find a way. We'll get stronger again, learn to fight. Mosi and Marcus can teach us. I'll help you heal."

There was a pause. Joshua bit his lip, waiting.

"Just please do me a favor and talk to Joshua. I know you think it's his fault but ... bad luck follows him around."

"Yeah," Will sighed. "That seems to be his excuse for everything."

Hurt stabbed Joshua in the heart and he walked across the hallway into Dr. Rosenthal's office. He sat down and put his head in his hands. Will was right. Everything seemed to be his fault. If he wanted to help Fearne, it would be best just to leave her alone.