Sub Zero

Chapter Six

Mom finishes the shed today. "We'll paint it later." She says with an exhausted sigh. That was the last thing she said to me before she slinked into the house.

I don't even wait for her to go into her room, in which she spends most of her time. She doesn't care if I go somewhere. I'm just afraid that she'll follow me.

I pretend to take a casual stroll through the quiet neighborhood. The sun beats down on my back, and I begin to worry about dehydration. Heat is my weakness, after all. The hot pavement seems to sizzle in the scorching sun. I begin to feel dizzy. "This was a bad idea." I curse to myself.

I was never good with heat, but this is different somehow. I feel as if I might collapse. "Suck it up!" I tell myself. "The warehouse is right there! Just a few more steps..."

But I can't make it. I realize this too late. I collapse into a dehydratedn
heap. Before my vision goes black, I see two dark figures approach me.

I wake up with a splitting headache. My lips feel so dry that they could crack open if I tried to smile. Suprisingly, my   throat is wet, so at least I'm not dehydrated.

I realize that I'm in complete darkness. Where am I? Am I alone?  As if to answer my question, I hear a girl's voice. "You finally wake up, Sleeping Beauty?" She says sarcastically.

I try to move, but realize that I can't. Something's restraining me, and all I know is that I have to get out of wherever the heck I am. "Relax!"  I hear the girl snap. I feel her hands on my wrists- wait, is she freeing me?

  I feel the bounds slide off of my wrists and I'm immediately relieved. My first instinct is to try and run from whoever she is. Although, It's as if she's reading my mind. "Try to make any moves, and I'll tie you back up. Wouldn't that be lovely?" Her voice drips with venom. I decide to hate her.

In a flash, the room that I'm in is flooded with light, and I'm momentarily blinded. I hate feeling vulnerable. As soon as my eyes adjust, I see the girl.

Her hair is a red reef of curls, beautiful and wild. Her eyes are a bright shade of sage green, and shielded by long black lashes. Dark freckles seem to be splattered across her small nose, but in an elegant way. Suprisingly, she's very short, which makes me wonder how I got here. Then I remember the other taller figure.

The girl looks me over with a smirk. "You look awful. Like, totally horrible."
"Where am I?" I demand, ignoring her insult.  She rolls her eyes.

"The same place that you were when you blacked out from a heat wave caused by, yours truly."  I cock an eyebrow at this. "You caused that?"
I try to sound innocent, but it comes out like, "Wow, I didn't know you had the talent to master stroke producing heat! 'Cuz, I mean, powers are completely normal."

"Naw, I just said that."  She replies sarcastically. " Why, can you do anything better? I doubt it, you're just a rookie."
"What do you mean, a rookie?" I demand.
"Hush!"  The girl hisses. She had come closer to me, and she clamps her hand tightly over my mouth.

"Indie? Is she awake?" I hear a voice call from behind somewhere behind me.  The girl, who I assume is Indie, glares at me in bitter alarm. The person (who sounds like a boy) doesn't wait for Indie to answer. Instead, I hear a door  open. I gasp. I'm staring at the gentleman at the hardware store.