Consuming Fire

Chapter 95

Ryo stared at her superhero suit in absolute horror. The last time she went back, she changed the history of her family and everyone they influenced. Her brother Yung never let her forget it. He blamed her for their sister's death, and in time she understood why. Changing the future meant changing life as it should be.

But suddenly, without her permission, her body had moved itself back in time.

Ryo believed wholeheartedly that everything happens for a reason. Just a minute ago, she was standing under a canopy of palm trees talking to Hunter about this exact situation.

We can't explain how or why, but when we get to the end of the war it will all make sense.

She reached out and touched the silky, thin material of the beautiful suit Ella had made for her. The shimmering, dark colors reminded her of the flashes she saw whilst travelling through space. Suddenly, she was slipping off her clothes and zipping up the suit, gazing at herself in the mirror.

The weight of responsibility fell heavily on her shoulders. She knew what she had to do. The author of her story placed her very carefully in this moment, and now it was time to change things. To save them all.

A plan fell into place inside her mind as though someone had slipped it in there. She was thankful not to feel weak from so much teleporting through space – now time, as well – and was suddenly strengthened by the excitement pumping through her blood. Ryo understood her duty to bring them all back. And maybe, even, to win the war.

First order of business ...

"Mikayla," she said aloud.

Ryo closed her eyes and pictured the containment room. In a second, she felt the weight of gravity lift and then yank her back again. She opened her eyes in the corridor outside Mikayla's cell.

Ryo needed to find a way to keep Mikayla inside the room, and if she already had Jet, Hunter, Marcus and Zac's power – which Hunter told her she did – then it would be nearly impossible for her not to get out. Knowing this, Ryo snuck into the next room which was like a storage cupboard filled with office supplies and some random weapons. Of the many weapons, they kept a container of tranquilizer fluid with syringes in the cupboard. Zac had told her so.

Ryo inserted a reasonable dose that would keep Mikayla under for at least a few hours and then teleported directly into her room. For a moment, Mikayla gazed at her in surprise, then came to the quick conclusion that Ryo's power would be the best of all to steal.

"Hey Ryo," she smiled, doing well to keep her demeanor casual and not give away her escape plan. "What's up?"

"Oh nothing much," said Ryo.

"Nice suit. What's it made of?"

Ryo glanced down at her arm and pretended to look thoughtful when she knew that Mikayla was three strides away from her. Mikayla took the bait, but before she could reach out and touch her skin, Ryo – quick as a flash – thrust the syringe into Mikayla's neck and pressed on the plunger. Even though Mikayla had drawn her teleportation into her body, Ryo still had excellent reflexes. The girl went out like a light.

She dragged Mikayla into the corner and tipped her over, making it look like she was asleep. Then Ryo went to the hanger.

The Captain's men were loading the Red Cherry and Joshua and Zac were standing near her, talking. Chantal strolled past them in her ridiculously high heels.

Moments later, Hunter walked toward her. "Hey," she smiled. "Good luck."

Ryo was struck suddenly with a wave of tears. She knew what Hunter was about to go through, and she couldn't stop it. That part of time was out of her hands. It pained her, but Hunter was stronger than any of them. If there was one thing Ryo knew for sure, it was that Hunter would walk away from this war with her head held high, no matter who she left behind. That was the type of fearless, courageous leader she had become.

Throwing her arms around Hunter's waist, Ryo muttered, "be strong, okay?"

Hunter sniffed, stroked her silky black hair and chuckled. "Coming from you? We'll all be fine."

"I know. Oh, and by the way, I saw Eli sneak onto your jet just before. You'd better kick him out – he'll get killed."

Hunter's eyes went dark. "I will. Thanks Ryo."

They parted ways and Ryo boarded the Red Cherry, taking her seat beside Yung. She was shocked to feel the stab of pain as she looked at each of their faces. Chantal, a bullet through her skull. Imogen, knocked to the ground and bleeding out. Her brother Yung, crushed under concrete. Zac's smiling face devoid of humor in a pool of his own blood.

They all didn't know the horrible fate they were about to meet.

"Are you okay?" her brother muttered to her in their language.

She turned to him. His eyes displayed an understanding only they shared. He knew something was wrong.

"Did you see?"

Yung referred to their term for her travels in time. Though they were not frequent, it had happened once before. Ryo shook her head. He could not know. But he would know, eventually. Until then, it was her burden to bear.

The flight was exactly as she remembered. She kept thinking about how she was going to save them all, trying to calculate the exact time in which to act. It was harder than she imagined; even though it was a habit of hers to remember specific times of events, this was much more difficult because the situation they faced was still something of a blur. At least she knew that Hunter would most definitely arrive in Washington first, because her jet was smaller and faster than theirs.

When they touched down outside the base and the Secretary of Defense met with them on deck, Marcus tapped into the security system and brought up the camera showing the inside of the room.

This time, Ryo really paid attention. She didn't feel afraid to teleport directly into the bunker, but there was something blocking her last time – a telepathic force that she'd never encountered.

Now she was given a second chance to figure out why, and it became obvious the moment she opened her eyes a little wider.

Beside the President and his group of colleagues huddled in the corner, Ryo could see a figure standing up against the wall that she remembered from the cabin. A girl in a white dress who had been badly burnt in one of the doctor's experiments. Ryo watched her interactions with General Chang closely. She passed gazes with the President as well, but never once said a word.

It quickly became obvious that this girl had a telepathic power, and the General was using her to get the nuclear codes directly from the President's mind. It wouldn't be more than an hour before their country was in serious trouble.

Dr. Wolfe must've figured out how to use Ravenadium. He created an Impossible. He created Fearne.

This made their situation that much more desperate. Instantly, Ryo's mind kicked into action. She was ready. She accepted the challenge and she marched down the ramp into the entrance with names bouncing around in her mind. Names of those she was going to save.