Playing With Fire

morte

    Emberly woke up in a room she didn't recognize. The boy immediately became alert. She turned her head to see him sitting in a chair next to the bed she was laying on. Another boy was there, too. They were inside some sort of shack that was shack that was turned into a living space. Who are these people? Emberly thought. She sat up, suddenly panicked. She started breathing really fast.
     "Who are you people?" She didn't know what else to say.
     "My name is Evan. This is Josh." Said the boy she recognized. The one with the blue hair. He gestured towards the other person who was in the room. Josh was older Evan, probably in his 30's. "Are you feeling okay? You fainted after I killed the Shadow in the bookstore. I've never seen a Frayer faint at the sight of one before."
     "What?" That is all Emberly could think or say. Josh and Evan looked as confused as she did.
     "You don't know what we're talking about?" Josh asked. He was tan and had black hair. His skin looked as smooth as a freshly paved road.
     "Well, what I know right now is that I'm going crazy, you guys are crazy, and you kidnapped me." Emberly argued.
     "We didn't kidnap you. We saved you. There was an alert of Shadow activity at the bookstore you were at, and I acted on it." Evan said calmly.
     "Shadow?"
     Evan and Josh looked at each other.
     "What's your name?" Evan asked after a moment.
     Emberly hesitated, but she felt as if she could trust them. "Emberly."
     "Emberly?" Said Josh, "as in Emberly Morte?
     "Yes." She simply stated.
     "Your mother was Kira Morte?" Josh asked.
     Emberly looked down at her lap, wincing at the word 'was'. "Yes." She muttered.
     "No wonder you don't know about us." Evan said.
     At that comment Emberly looked up. "What do you mean?"
     "Your mother was a Frayer just like us. We hunt Shadows. Shadows are monsters, demons, if you will." Emberly didn't know what to think. All this time she thought she made that up, she thought she was crazy. She felt tears build up behind her eyes, but she didn't let them out.
     "You're lying." She was getting angry now. "Don't play with my emotions like that."
     "We aren't lying. It must be hard to believe, but we're telling the truth." Josh stated.
     "LIER. YOU LIER." She didn't know why she was getting so mad. "YOU HAVE TO BE LYING. Or why else would you let me live my entire life thinking I was crazy, letting other people think I was crazy!" She said through her teeth as she stood up.
     "We didn't know where to find you. Whoever...Killed...Your mom," Josh said carefully, "put a Hide charm on you. A strong one."
     Emberly walked up to Josh, so they were nose to nose. "I don't know you. How do you expect me to believe you."
     "Josh." Evan said. "She has a point, she doesn't know us. I don't even know what you're talking about. Who's Kira Morte?"
     "Shut up." Emberly said. "Don't talk about her. Neither of you know her. You guys are crazy. That shadow or whatever it is, that was my imagination. You guys must have drugged me or something."
     "We didn't drug you." Josh said. "And we didn't kidnap you. We aren't crazy."
     Emberly's mind was about to explode. "I beg to differ. I'm leaving."
     "You can't leave." Josh tried to stop her.
     "Let her go." Evan said suspiciously. Emberly didn't know what he was planning, and she didn't want to know. She just wanted to get home to Hope, and forget this ever happened. "I'll walk you out." Silently, Evan and Emberly walked out of the building. Emberly didn't look up once.
"I'm sorry for bothering you." Evan apologized.
     "I don't understand what you guys are trying to do, but never talk to me again. I'm going to try and forget this, and you should too." Emberly walked away. No matter how much she wanted to believe them, she knew she couldn't. None of it was really. None of it. It was imagination. How? She has no idea, but it was the only explanation. She got a cab and drove off without looking back. She was exhausted and longed for her bed.