The Gift of Chaos

18 - Finding the words

The Iceman was the same size as the others, and was swinging Lucas under his arm. He looked so small and fragile I was afraid he'd break like glass. His face was streaked with tears that tore at my heart. The Iceman stood before the school entrance, which no longer had a door.

"Riley!" Lucas called fearfully.

"Let him go!" I shouted to the Iceman.

I meant to run forwards, but Scott caught my arms and held me back. Of course, I fought against him, despite knowing he was only trying to help.

"Don't! It might hurt Lucas!" he whispered in my ears.

"It will if I don't help him!" I retorted. "How did that thing get a hold of Lucas anyway?"

"The barrier must have faded," Scott said.

His face suddenly blanched, his eyes tripling in size. He caught my arm and looked at me:

"Lucy and Mary! Tommy!"

The colour drained from my own face as I understood what he was saying. If the barrier had broken and the Iceman had grabbed Lucas, what had happened to the others?

"You go find them," I told him, my eyes fixed on Lucas. "I'll free Luke."

Scott's eyes grew even wider, so much I thought they would pop out for sure.

"Riley-" he began.

"Go!" I shouted.

He didn't argue any further and hurried towards the building. I was tempted to throw a new rock at it, but was afraid of hitting Lucas. I looked up at the Iceman who was holding Lucas.

"Riley! Help me!" he called, his voice trembling.

"Hang on, Lucas!" I shouted back, though I had no idea how I was going to get him down...

I stared up at the Iceman.

"What do you want?" I asked it.

There was nothing else for it. I grabbed a large chunk of wood lying on the ground, then ran forwards, ducked under his reaching arm and clambered onto his back. It was freezing and my skin stuck to the ice, but I ignored the sting. Moving away from his free arm, I managed to reach his shoulders, which I clung to with one arm.

"Let go of my brother!" I yelled.

Grasping my bludgeon with both hands I swung it at the Iceman's head. It clanged loudly, and he dropped Lucas, who let out a cry of pain as his injured leg hit the ground. I meant to jump off, but now that he had both his hand free, he was able to grasp me by my coat. He yanked me off him and flung me over his head.

"RILEY!" I heard Lucas scream.

I hit the floor hard and gasped as the wind was knocked out of me by the force of the shock. I groaned, rubbing the back of my head. I tried to blink the spots out of my vision. When my sight cleared, however, I saw the Iceman glaring down at me.

"Riley, watch out!" called Lucas's voice.

The Iceman lifted its fist and pointed it at me. I had to think quickly. Rolling aside would keep me safe for now, but I had to find a more durable solution. I just hoped I'd have time to move if my idea failed...

"Fire!" I shouted.

I threw my arms upwards just as a spurt of flames shot through my arms and towards the Iceman, who backed away howling in agony. They were only small, but they were enough to get the Iceman away. I rolled aside and got to my feet before rushing towards Lucas.

"You okay?"

"My leg hurts..."

"Hold on, I'll get you out of here." I said and heaved him onto my back.

I quickly hurried into the building. I found Scott and the others gathered in a corner.

"Scott, grab Lucas!" I shouted.

He didn't pause to think and hurried over and helped him off my back. I spun around and turned to the door.

"Shield!"

It took a lot more effort for me to summon the shield this time. I still had no idea what these abilities were about, but if they could help me fight off the monsters, I was glad to have them. But I was feeling more dizzy than ever. I hoped it would hold out at least a few minutes so I could try and finish the story... hopefully it would put an end to this mess.

"Come on, let's hide in the basement," Scott said, carrying Lucas on his back. "This way!"

We raced out of the room, the roar of the Iceman ringing in our ears. Soon enough, though, we were safe in the basement. It was cold and uncomfortable, but it would have to do.

"What now?" Scott asked.

"You and the girls try and barricade the door. I have to try and finish the story," I said. "I'll start by depicting what we experienced... hopefully that'll give me some ideas..."

So we all set to work. I didn't once look up from my book, doing my best to ignore the growls we could hear outside and the thundering footsteps.

"Wha... what's that?" I heard Lucas asked.

"That'll be the Reinbulls," I said, scribbling away. "they're the heaviest."

"What...?"

"Never mind," Scott replied. "Okay... the door's blocked. I don't know how long it'll hold, thought..."

"We need any extra second possible," I said. "... Okay. I'm at this exact spot. The characters are in the basement, hiding... what next..."

"Can't you just give them superpowers or something?" Scott asked.

"... I doubt it'll work... unless... wait, that might work!"

I kept on scribbling. The ideas were bubbling one by one in my head. Now all I had to do was find the words to string them together..

"Uh, not to rush you or anything..." Scott said beside me.

"I know, I know, but if you keep interrupting me, we'll never get anywhere," I said sharply.

There was silence after that, except for the frantic scratching sound of my pen on the paper. I kept waiting for the words I was writing to vanish, but they weren't. At least I had that going for me.

"Hurry it up!" Scott said. "I can hear them coming.

"... I'm almost... done... I just need to finish... this... sentence..." I said through my teeth, working to keep my concentration. "Okay. Now, if my idea works, we need to get to the roof."

"The roof? Are you crazy?! If the monsters follow us there, we're toast!"

"D'you have any other ideas?" I asked.

"... No..."

"You four, stay down here," I told Lucas and the others. "We'll be back soon. But whatever you do, don't get out until we come and get you. Understood?"

They nodded. Scott and I looked at each other.

"You don't have to come with me," I said.

"Yes, I do." he said.

And before I could say or do anything else, he cupped my face in his hands and pressed his lips to mine. Almost reflexively, I found myself kissing him back, my arms reaching around him. When we pulled back, he said:

"Let's do this."