The Fire Lily [On Hold]

Chapter 1: Fights, fire and fear.

A fist flew towards her face. Olive just managed to move out the way but she became overbalanced. Macey knocked Olive's supporting leg out from under her and she fell into a heap on the floor. Macey smirked and walked off. Clare, the medic, rushed to Olive, who had a split lip and a black eye. Clare tended to Olive while she stared after Macey, gossiping with her friends. James, Olive's instructor, came up to her.

She glared at him,
"Why did you make me fight her again, you know I'm going to lose." Olive demanded. She shifted her eyes back to Macey and ignored his answer. Anything he said would be rubbish, James hated Olive. As soon as Clare gave the signal she was finished Olive got up and walked away.

"Olive!" Her friend called after her.

"Let her go," the instructor said with contempt, "You can't talk any sense into that girl."
Emilia rushed after Olive anyway.

"Olive, you can't get angry like that, it's just what he wants!" Emilia chirped desperately trying to catch up with Olive. Olive suddenly stopped.

"What am I supposed to do,
he enjoys seeing me get beaten up," she looked despairingly at Emilia, "Everyone does!"

"I don't," Emilia replied firmly.

"That's because you're my friend," Olive said curtly and started walking away again. Emilia walked with her.

"I'm going to quit." Olive decided.

"You can't!" Emilia said exasperated, "We've had this conversation before, you can't!"

"Because there's a 10 times more chance I'll get attacked on the street," Olive finished Emilia's sentence for her, "I know, but I still want to quit." Olive complained. "James is sadistic, he would beat me up himself if he was allowed to." Emilia didn't reply, she knew Olive was right

••••-••••

It was when she was walking home from her martial arts class that Olive realised how important her classes were. About halfway home Olive realised some people were following her. She felt scared, she could hear her heart beat, she started walking faster. A couple of minutes later she heard a cry from across the street. She looked over to the noise and saw the people who were following her attacking a young boy about her age. She stopped, unsure what to do. Her decision was made for her, as she was watching, The boy locked his eyes on her and mouthed one word - 'Run'. She stood for a split second longer, filled with horror and shock, before she took action on the boy's command. Tearing her eyes from the scene she sprinted towards her house. Soon she heard shouts, grunts and the sound of feet running. She couldn't tell how many but she didn't dare look. Not far from her house she saw it, the smoke. She reached her house, horrified and scared. Tears pierced her eyes as she stumbled away from her flaming house. Fire terrified her, more than anything she had experienced before. Even pictures stabbed her heart with fear. Suddenly, she felt pressure on her back. She tried to stop her momentum forwards but her muscles were frozen. Her vision clouded with red. She felt herself fall through the floor to the basement and fear, pure, unchallenged fear filled every fibre in her body. Her mind was foggy. She felt a pain blossom in her back and it spreads through her veins. It reached her fingers, her toes, her head and she screamed.