In the Beginning

Chapter 8

Not a single car had driven down the lonely interstate road for hours. The sky was quickly dimming from blue to dusky orange, heat fading from the grassy valley like water slipping through the gaps of cupped fingers. Addie tapped her worn out Converse on Remy's knee.

"Go fish."

"Dang," sighed Remy, throwing his cards onto the dusty ground. Kell snorted with laughter. Farther away, Cade and Emma sat talking quietly, possibly making plans. Cade drew swirling circles in the dirt with a stick. Addie wasn't sure if he was just drawing or mapping out a strategy.

In the distance, the fire from the station had settled, still flickering but not roaring with life like earlier. Addie had barely been able to concentrate, worry and tension clenching in her stomach for Ro. It was true, they had to wait for the flmaes to stop before approaching the gas station, but it had been too long. And Ro still wasn't back.

"What if the Grimms captured Ro and brought her back to headquarters with them?" Addie said, voicing one of her thoughts out loud.

"It's been long enough," said Kell. He stood up on unsteady legs, then crossed over to interrupt Cade and Emma's conversation. Addie threw down her cards and followed, with Remy close behind.

"You guys ready to go?" Cade asked, squinting up at them. The sun flashed a warm ray of light like a lens flare before disappearing behind the mountains.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Remy said. He adjusted his glasses a bit nervously, smoothing his hair up. "Ro might need us."

"You can drive," said Cade. He tossed the keys to Remy, who caught them in one hand with a jink. Addie climbed into the passenger seat, and everyone else hopped in the back.

"Do we have any first aid things?" asked Emma, tucking a strand of choppy hair behind her ear. Cade shuffled around the boxes in the back.

"Only some bandages, medicine, annnd," he trailed off, holding up what looked like a sewing needle. "Uh. Um. I dunno. Is this for stiches?"

Kell shivered. "I think I'd rather bleed to death than have that thing come near me."

Emma laughed, snatching the needle from Cade. She poked Kell with it, and he flinched away, wide-eyed.

"Aw, are you afraid of shots too?" teased Emma.

Remy started the truck, and soon they were rolling down the interstate. Daylight had faded away to dull blue, with fuzzy red still on the horizon. The sun had almost gone down; the flames at the station had almost gone out. Addie glanced at Remy with a smile.

She hoped that Ro was ok.

-

It felt like a heavy sheet of lead was pressed on Ro from head to toe. She struggled to open her eyelids, as a faint tickling sensation licked at her legs and arms. It felt like she was lying on her back, hands pinned up by her head by exhaustion. She twitched a finger experimentally.

Good. At least I'm not paralyzed or anything.

The bigger problem came when she tried to move her left foot. Pain exploded in a sharp bolt up her leg, and she gritted her teeth, trying hard not to cry out. For all she knew, the Grimms could still be here. She could hear blood thumping in her ears. It felt like her foot was trapped by a metal beam, something that used to hold the gas station up. Whatever it was, it hurt like hell, and she wasn't even sure if help was coming. She had told the others to wait for her.

And now you're trapped. Fantastic plan.

Her eyes finally opened. Big help that was. The air was fuzzy from heat, shaking in waves - she couldn't even see the anything. The tickling sensation on her arms was from the flames curling around them. They didn't hurt her; just crawled over her skin like water lapping at a sandy beach. Her clothes were charred, gaping holes burnt through her the knees of her jeans, shirt hanging off her shoulder in tatters. Though it annoyed her, it made sense; she was fireproof, but her clothes were not.