Fire & Ice

ch. 9

JAMIE

"Whoa. This cliff is so awesome!"

Adrian and I had walked out until we were about five feet from the edge, looking out at the valley. The sun was beginning to set, making the sight even more magnificent. It had been a horrible day, but this seemed like a possible bright side.

"I'm surprised Daniel even let me come out here with you," I muttered, tossing the first phone as far as I could. "I bet he'd throw a fit if he knew how close I am to the edge."

Adrian began tossing. "You two are so cute. We love a big bro-little sis dynamic."

"We're not cute. He's a control freak," I argued, tossing the next phone with a little more force, "and he's a liar."

"Damn, do I need to know something?" He laughed.

I shrugged. My brother's little secret was bound to come out while we were here, and when it did, I was going to be ready with my popcorn and soda to watch the aftermath.

Adrian and I weren't the only ones outside of the store. The weird-looking girl and boy we'd seen coming out of the store moments earlier stood about ten feet away. I could hear them speaking in hushed voices.

"--we shouldn't have come out in the first place," the girl was hissing. "You know Emily can't be seen."

"She also can't starve, María. Neither can we," the boy responded in a gentler tone. "Tomorrow we'll need to keep moving towards the city."

"Wait, where's Emily?"

I saw the girl move back into the store out of the corner of my eye, leaving the boy standing there.

"Hey, he's looking at our Jeep," I whispered to Adrian after I caught the boy staring.

"I noticed," he whispered back, to my surprise. "You finish the phones. I'll walk back by it just in case he tries anything."

"Okay," I grabbed the rest of the phones from him, continuing to chuck them off the cliff. Right as I got down to the last one, the ground began to tremble.

The earth rumbled and cracked underneath me, enough to jar my balance. I fell to my knees, dropping the last phone and watching it slip off of the edge. This was so not the best time for an earthquake!

"Jamie!" I heard Adrian yell as I crawled backward away from the edge of the cliff. But then the ground began falling faster than I could crawl. I felt myself slipping down--

"Help!" I cried out as I fell, but then someone was there.

He caught my arm, yanking me up right out of danger right as the ground stopped shaking.

"Whoa, that was a close call, chica," the boy said. I was surprised by his strong accent and charming smile.

But then, horrifying flashbacks crossed my mind as I remembered my last savior--Amber. She had been smiling too after she saved me.

And then she got a knife shoved through her chest.

The boy's voice brought me back as I struggled to breathe. "Are you okay?"

I said a quick 'thank you' before sprinting off, heart pounding.

I dashed towards the Jeep, trying to forget the look in his eyes, in her eyes--

But then I ran right into my brother, who was just coming out of the store. "Jamie?"

"Let's go. Right now," I pleaded, not looking backward.