Fire & Ice

ch. 8

DANIEL

I couldn't breathe.

Not just because we'd been running and battling for our lives.

I couldn't breathe because in the span of five minutes, I'd watched two of my best friends in the entire world die at the hands of Jordan Keel. The worst part was, I couldn't even think about Amber and Jake right now. Not until we were all safe. Not until I was sure that no one else would die.

Jamie and I sprinted down the emergency staircase to catch up with the others. To get to the bullet train, we had to reach the secret passage on the ground floor below the parking garage. To get into that passage, we needed the handprint of a registered ELITE member to give us access.

I lead us to the entrance and used my handprint, which looked like a normal storage room door. The door to the passage would only open for 10 seconds at a time.

"Hurry!" I instructed as the door slid open. About half of everyone made it through the first time, so I prepared to open it again.

"Wait!" Just seconds before the door slid shut again, a girl looking to be around Jamie's age barely slid through before the door shut.

As she picked herself up off of the ground, Jamie groaned. "How long have you been following us, Payton?"

The girl dusted herself off and walked to stand with another blonde-haired kid in our group. "Where are you going?"

"To the safe house," I answered. The bullet train had pulled in after the cue of the door opening. The automated voice system informed us that we had 30 seconds to board. Then the train would seal and take off to the secret location.

Everyone loaded in, and then we were off into the darkness of the ground, flying at lightning speed towards our destination.

No one spoke initially, reeling from the shock of it all. Eventually, Nat used her phone flashlight, counted our heads, and reported that there were ten of us on board, four boys and six girls.

"You think it's a good idea to have our phones? They could be tracked," she said to me.

"I don't know. We might have to get rid of them. I'm going to wait for Mom to get back in contact with us first."

"How did this happen?" she said, sighing.

I didn't answer, not knowing what to say. Sweat was pouring down my face and my heart was still racing with adrenaline. All I really knew for sure was that Jordan had it out for the Morgan family...or really, he wanted the stones. As far as I knew, he had no idea Jamie and I were the ones who had them all along...but eventually, he would find out. The idea of our parents staying behind wasn't sitting well at all.

"Danny!" Izzy called. She was sitting in the row behind mine. "I think Jamie just passed out."

I turned back in my seat. Jamie's head had slumped over onto Izzy's shoulder, but she was still breathing. "I told her to take it easy. I hope she doesn't have a concussion. Just keep an eye on her heart rate. We'll be there soon."

"Check her for fever too, Iz. And is she bleeding?" Nat asked her sister.

Izzy checked. "She's not bleeding," she reported, "but she's burning up."

"You think that wound could be infected?" Nat questioned.

"Could be."

"She's like a personal heater back here," Izzy frowned, leaning away.

"She's that warm?"

"Yes! Feel her!" Izzy raised one of Jamie's arms within reach, and I touched my sister's fingers. Almost as soon as I touched her, I snatched my hand away. "Ow! Shit!" Her skin was so incredibly hot that it actually left burn marks on my skin.