Elemental: Fire

Chapter 6

A feeling of dread struck through Scarlett. As she ran, she seemed to be slower and slower, and her throat seemed incapable of producing any noise. Before she knew it, something grabbed her from behind, but she didn't scream. She couldn't. A slow fading blackness went over, but the heavy feeling in her stomach never left.

A person appeared in front of her. The girl had extremely blond hair, almost white, and their eyes were very light as well, but appeared blue. She examined Scarlett closely, her white lips slightly parted. A boy appeared behind her, but his hair was short to a buzz cut and had bright red hair with golden eyes. The girl began to scream, her mouth spreading almost to half her face length, and the boy blurrily moved around, but Scarlett closed her eyes.

Shooting up, Scarlett was met with darkness. She could feel the sweat on her back and upper lip. Looking around, the distinct shapes of the beds and furniture came to view with the little moonlight falling in. Swinging her legs over, she grabbed the old taper candle holder and lit the simple white candle. Steadily, Scarlett walked over to the restroom and looked in the mirror. Splashed a little water on her face and tried to remember the dream.

All she could recall was the darkness that overcame her many times and her running through the forest. And that feeling. The heavy feeling in her stomach that never went away.

All these dreams and visions. I might be going mad, she thought.

Looking up at the clock, slowly ticking away in the illuminated restroom, she saw it was quarter to 5. Scarlett turned to the door and opened it to be welcomed by the darkness and an empty school hallway. The large pointed dome windows gave a clear view of the meadow outside and the darkness after it that was the woods. The bareness of her feet could feel the marble floor under them.

I need actual clothes, Scarlett decided.

When arriving at the infirmary, she lit all the torches lining the walls, lighting the room up. After searching for a while, Scarlett finally came across the school's extra clothing, which was rather bland but acceptable. She pulled out a normal pair of jeans and a grey colored tank top, along with the green hunter jacket she carried around in her satchel for extra clothes. For shoes, Scarlett put on some of the school's socks and her own high tops from the day before. After changing, she sat on her bed and looked out at the white strip of sunlight sneaking over the horizon.

All of a sudden, a really large winged creature flew over the window, taking Scarlett aback. Quickly running, she looked as close as she could and up against the window. With a giant thump, you could tell it landed on the wall, shaking the windows. After a few seconds, distant roars could be heard from the roof of the academy. Scarlett ran back and into the hallway. Her large head of hair was flying behind her. The footsteps barely reached the floor as they rose up again against the hard floor. When reaching one of the opening pair of doors, she pushed them open with all her might, sending a large sound through the night.

Running out to the center of the lawn, Scarlett turned around to face the bright menacing green eyes of the creature: a manticore. With a quick turn, the beast faced Scarlett and let out a mighty roar and flapped its wings, sending a huge gust of air. The crows from the forest behind cried into the night and flew away in a group. Suddenly, the creature pounced into the air but kept flapping its wings, somehow keeping its large body up in the air. 

As though controlled, the manticore's green eyes glowed brighter and sent venemous spines toward Scarlett. With one hand at a time, the girl sent large balls of fire at each group of the spines sent, bouncing them back to the menace, which dodged them with skill. Once sending enough of the spines, the manticore landed on the ground, shaking it beneath Scarlett. She quickly regained her balance and set her palms in front of her. 

The manticore clawed and ran at Scarlett, in an attempt to attack her with its own bare paws and claws. Each time the beast clawed, Scarlett slashed one of her hands diagonally, sending a disc of fire that disintegrated to bits when hitting the creature. As much force and fire used against her opponent, these beasts were of the strongest in all the kingdom of Simul. Releasing another roar, the manticore clawed like lightning at Scarlett, barely scratching her collarbone area. 

With a final attempt to defeat Scarlett, the beast leaped into the air, and as fast as the speed of light, it charged at her, mouth open, ready to tear open her flesh. With instinct, Scarlett crossed her arms in an "x" motion above her. Unexpectedly, a bright orange bubble surrounded the girl, and when the manticore hit it with the force of its speed, the foe went flying through the air, legs and wings flimsy as though dead. And hearing a giant "crash" with the ground shaking slightly, Scarlett could tell it had landed. 

Then all she heard was silence. The beast made no attempt to get back up. The beast was dead.