Frozen Fire - Volume One: Fragments

2: Amber Marvel

She never told the girl her name.

She was always reminded of it whenever the memories of that day flooded her mind.

Grey skies hung above, thunder echoing throughout the sky. Harsh rain, numb fingers. Amber could recall it all as she ran towards them. Three boys, all a year older than her. She could hardly remember how they looked. The three of them had been picking on her for some time and had decided to play a little prank on her. Amber chased them into these woods, private property of a family who moved there recently.

The estate was surrounded by forestry, dark and shadowed trees cloaking a luxurious manor that hid at its centre. Amber had overheard some older students talk of how they snuck onto the property, getting a brief look at the manor. Apparently it seemed like it was from some fairy tale. Amber wondered why someone would choose to live in such an extravagant place for it to be hidden amongst the gloomy pine trees.

Amber remembered running, adrenaline pumping through her veins as the downpour muddied the ground beneath her. She remembered them stopping and taunting her, forming a little triangle to trap her. She remembered seeing the manor in her peripheral vision, but too concerned with the individuals surrounding her.

Amber remembered all of it taking place in the early years of high school. She hadn't unlocked her Skill yet. She hadn't had her growth spurt yet. She towered over them by the time high school had ended but at that moment? To them? She was nothing but a short, weak girl dependent on her older sister.

They cackled, throwing her purple backpack to each other as she desperately chased after it. For their own amusement, they kept her running between them. Every time Amber got close to whoever had it, they'd toss it to another, above her and out of her reach. Her lungs burned from running after them, from dashing to each of them. One of them, who she recalled being their leader, stopped and hung the bag above Amber.

With every jump, arms outstretched to try and grab the bag, she could hear the muddy earth beneath her feet squelch. "Please!" Amber said as they laughed.

"Look at her!" They laughed again.

"She's trying so hard!" She didn't remember their faces. Nothing more than glowing eyes and shadows.

"I bet there's something important in there!" Another one said.

"Is there?" The one holding the bag asked, a grin on his face before he shoved her. Amber grunted, falling back onto the mud as they laughed again. As he unzipped the bag, she tried to get up.

"Stop!" She protested, but the other two grabbed her, holding her back. With wide eyes, she struggled in an attempt to set herself free. The contents of her bag were emptied, the mud staining all of them. Random pieces of homework, notebooks for her various classes, all of her stationery. But one item caught her bullies' attention.

They cackled again. "Oh wow, you really are just some overgrown kid aren't you?" His tone was glacial whilst in their hands was a plushie of a purple cat. A gift from June. "You collect these things or something?" He said, examining it and swiping some of the mud off of it with the sleeve of his uniform. She was suddenly aware of how soaked and muddy her own school uniform was.

She attempted to struggle again, only for one of them to hold her tighter. She winced, if the grip got any tighter, she was sure something in her arm would break. "P-Please," she said, weaker. "Just... just let me go," he stopped looking at the plushie, instead looking at Amber, disdain evident in his icy glare.

"Or what? Your sister will come and save you? Little Powerless June?" He walked closer, kicking her in the stomach as she keeled over. The other two let her go. He put his foot to her head and pushed her face into the mud below. Amber cried, half her face meeting the cold, damp ground. The other two stifled laughs.