Glowing Embers

N

"Oh my god," Willow breathed as she examined her fallen friend. "Whitney! Can you hear me?" Chase knelt down on the ground next to Whitney.

"Are you okay Whit?" he asked nervously, shaking her body softly. Willow couldn't help but admire his strong hands and his determined face. She watched as his eyes anxiously stared at Whitney as he attempted to wake her up.

"She's unconscious," Andromeda stated, biting her nails with worry.

"No shit Sherlock," Chase replied, rolling his eyes and returning his focus to Whitney. Andromeda huffed and, crossing her arms, impatiently began tapping her foot. Grace moved him out of the way and sat beside the girl. Chase backed up and stood next to Willow. "I think she's bipolar or something. I can't imagine why Archer ever fancied her," he whispered to Willow. She smiled, and turned towards Chase.

"I just really hope Whitney's okay. She's been my best friend since day one," she keenly told him. He patted her shoulder.

"If she's stayed alive this long, she's in the clear," Chase reassured Willow. She couldn't help notice the attractive features on his face. He had darker hair than Archer, and it was slicked back. His eyes were a piercing green, and his smile was confident and contagious. Willow shook her head rapidly. Was she really falling for dead Archer's brother?

Just then, Whitney abruptly sat up. She appeared out of breath, and was sweating like she had just ran a marathon.

"Who are you people?" she inquired cluelessly. Willow raced over to her friend and squatted in front of her.

"Whitney! It's me, Willow. Your best friend. Are you okay?" she queried hastily, Whitney swiftly collapsed back to the ground, and Willow disconcertingly glanced at Chase. Whitney's head was bobbing sideways and up and down. All of a sudden, her eyes popped open and landed on Willow's.

"Willow. We need to run. They're not who they say they are," she managed to stutter. Confused, Willow glimpsed at Chase, but he was already one step ahead of her. He whipped out a knife and swung it rambunctiously. Grace screamed and Chase whirled around to face her, holding his knife out in front of him.

"Chase, they're not who we need to get," she warned him, holding up her hands. Chase smirked and turned towards Andromeda.

"But you are," he stated to her eerily. 

"What?" Andromeda questioned with panic. Willow grabbed Whitney and began to run away, watching the scene from over her shoulder. Chase shoved a knife in Andromeda's stomach, and Grace pushed her to the ground.

Grace, perceiving their departure, called out to them, "Keep going straight. You'll get there soon." Chase and Grace then darted away, leaving Andromeda on the ground.

"What. The. Hell. Was. That," Willow breathed in puzzlement. She turned to her friend. "Whitney, what's going on? Are you okay?"

"You keep asking me that. I'm fine now. But I think I was getting visions or something. One minute I was fine, and the next there were pictures and scenes zooming in my head. People were talking. Then I felt controlled by something. I saw a scene of Chase and Alice talking to a group. They wanted to kill Archer. I knew we couldn't trust them. Then I woke up," Whitney explained, catching her lost breath.

"But they seem to trust us," Willow murmured. "I don't know what's up. It's all really weird."

"I'm trying to piece together stuff. Is Archer a good guy or a bad guy? I can't really tell," Whitney stated, stroking her chin. "Whatever," she finally stated, "it doesn't matter now. He's dead. And Grace told us to go straight. So we're going there." Willow glanced at Whitney in mock suspicion.

"Another vision?" she queried curiously.

"No. Just a gut feeling this time," Whitney responded laughing. The two girls continued their run while watching their surroundings.

"I still have my sword. It's in my back pocket. Do you have any fish?" Willow asked as they jogged.

"Yeah, still two more. I now just realized how hungry I am. We've barely eaten anything to conserve it all. But Grace said we're close, and she's the one who saved our lives, so I'm gonna trust her on that one. In other words, bon appétit sista," Whitney replied, rubbing her hands together in delight. Willow grabbed the fish from Whitney's pocket and sliced it in half with her sword.

"I'm getting tired of raw," she stated jokingly.

"Too bad. It's all we have left. Unless we want to eat each other like those creepy cannibals," Whitney responded, giggling softly.

"Delicious," Willow added. "Oh, and Whit, if you ever don't feel well. Visions, headaches, anything, just let me know. I just wanna make sure you're okay."

"I've been getting scenes and stuff. It's like a slideshow in my head. But I can control them or something. I'm not really sure. But I'm okay, well, I think," Whitney explained confidently. Willow faced her friend.

"Well, what are you seeing?" she eagerly asked.

"I'm seeing, uh, well, you. And, oh my god. Is that, is that Chase? You two are kissing. In some, some building. There are other people. Wait, I see me. I'm watching, and, uh, smiling. But my hair is longer. Am I seeing the future or something?" Whitney pondered inquisitively.

"Probably. But me with Chase? Gross! You better be kidding," Willow replied, scrunching her nose to portray disgust.

"I'm serious. And I can believe it. The way you looked at him made me gag," Whitney playfully teased. Willow nudged her friend and laughed. "And now I'm seeing you again. But you're fighting. With a different weapon. I don't know what, though. Um, Will, have you been noticing any new strengths lately?" Whitney queried, glancing at her friend.

"Well, I feel a lot stronger. But I thought that was normal," Willow responded slowly.

"Not on a raw-fish-every-two-days diet. I don't know what's going on, but we're getting new talents," Whitney told her.

"Hmm. Interesting," Willow stated reticently. "Wait, Whit, what's that?" she asked nervously, pointing to two figures in the distance. Whitney followed her gaze and gasped.

"My friend, I think we just found x."