Consuming Fire

Chapter 52

Joshua stormed through the corridors of this bizarre military safe house he'd somehow stumbled into. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, and the anger building inside him was freezing over his heart and making him afraid. He had to stop Fearne from dying. He had to find another way to save her now that their last sample had just been used to give an old man super strength.

He knocked hard on the door that was said to be Ryo's room. She opened up with a sleepy look on her face.

"I need your help," he said.

"I'll take you," she agreed once he'd told her everything. Ryo's normally perky, inquisitive face was sagging and tired, but she was determined to remain strong. "If it'll save Fearne."

Joshua nodded. "Thank you Ryo."

"It has to be quick," she said, taking his hand. "This is dangerous, and a long trip."

"What do you mean?"

"The last time I teleported another person, it was Hunter, and I nearly lost my location. It was lucky I recovered so quickly. I haven't done so much teleporting before. Tonight was also the first time I used my power in battle and ... I wasn't quick enough to save Benji."

Joshua stared at her sadly, taking a moment to pull himself together. "I believe you can do this Ryo. You're one of the strongest people I know, no matter how young you are."

Ryo bit her lip and nodded. "Alright. Hold on."

Joshua hadn't teleported with Ryo before, and it was one of the strangest and most unsettling feelings he'd ever experienced. When he felt the ground beneath his feet and the colors formed actual objects, bile rose in his throat and he ran to the sink in the dark cabin, hurling the contents of his stomach into it.

"Jeez, you're the first person to throw up." Ryo walked to the wall beside the staircase where a pool of blood had started to dry up, and two more were in the entryway. "What happened here?"

Wiping his mouth over, Joshua peered at the empty cabin, hoping they were alone. He noticed a trail of blood coming from the doors leading to the lake. They passed the splat of blood on the wall where someone was clearly shot. The stains matched the story Will told about what happened inside, only there were extra sets of footprints in the blood and darker patterns across the walkway.

"I don't know," said Joshua as he tried hard to fight the motion sickness in his stomach. Blood and bodies he could handle, but rollercoaster rides made him dizzy. "We'd better get out of here quickly. We can't waste time trying to follow blood trails."

"Wait, look-" Something metallic caught Ryo's eye next to the sofa. She scooped up an empty syringe and brought it back to him. He held it carefully, inspecting the canister. At once, he knew that this was what the Agents used to inject Fearne. There were a few drops left, which would allow him to test the liquid and possibly match Ravenadium to the solution if he had the time, and if there was still a sample left.

I might actually be able to save her.

Joshua ran up the stairs with Ryo on his heels and threw open the door to the office. Immediately, his heart leapt into his chest.

It was a complete mess. There was blood smeared over the furniture and on the papers and files Joshua had sorted through.

Ryo gasped. "It wasn't like this when we left it! Hunter dropped the briefcase and it ..."

Joshua fell to his knees and patted around under the desk.

"Did you see any more stones?"

Ryo gripped her hair and shook her head. "I ... I don't remember, I think something rolled over toward the bookshelf but I didn't think it was important-"

"It's not here. The last stone, it's not here." He moved to the desk and rifled through the papers. "All of the files are gone as well."

"How?"

Joshua threw books from the shelves in search of anything that could resemble a clue or an answer but found nothing. Someone had been in there. Someone who wasn't one of them.

"Agents. They took the one thing that was going to save Fearne's life, and if it's Dr. Wolfe who has it now ... we just handed him the most powerful weapon in the universe."