The Spirit Within

Chapter Five: Stupid Phone

The three ran for their lives. The forest, a light in flames, was thinning. Reina looked back at Cassandra and Russ. "We're almost there!" She yelled. 

Cassandra sprinted even harder than before. She was shoulder-to-shoulder with Russ now, trailing behind Reina. But she felt like she would collapse any second now. The only thing keeping her running was the thought of not being burnt alive, and the creature chasing her down.

Even though she was running as fast as she could, Russ and Reina were now putting a gap between them and her. It was when Cassandra was a few feet away from them when something terrible happened.

Crack! Wham!

A tree a light in flames toppled in front of Cassandra, filling the hole between the three. She halted, falling backwards. Russ and Reina turned around, their eyes flooded with horror when they saw her situation. Cassandra whipped her head back to see the shadow towering over her. It snaked its way in front of her, the flames stopping where it stood. Time seemed to freeze.

The shadow was staring at her with its glowing red eyes. As it stood there watching, the darkness slowly started to shape itself. It molded itself into a bird, the black starting to change to gold. As the "bird" kept staring, Cassandra realized she was looking at a phoenix, its form outlined in fire. It was terrifying, yet beautiful in a twisted way.

It cocked its head at her, then moved closer. Cassandra jumped back, making the creature stop in its tracks.

Don't be afraid, the bird spoke in her mind, I only want to help.

Cassandra slowly stood, knees shaking. "Get away from me," she spat, welling up all the courage she had left.

I don't want to hurt you, only help. Stop rejecting me-

"I said, go. Leave, be gone."

I didn't want to do this. But you leave me no choice. The phoenix reared its head back, and opened its beak. Red flames flew strait at Cassandra. She put her hands up protectively, expecting to be burnt. She stood there, not moving. Seconds passed, nothing had happened, she didn't even feel warm. She opened her eyes, and gasped.

A huge wall of ice had appeared in front of her, but was also encasing the phoenix. Its watery surface showed it had blocked her from being turned to ashes. What more, someone was standing behind the wall with her.

They wore all dark blue, with a matching scarf wrapped around their face. Piercing blue eyes could be seen between the scarf. A sword was holstered in their belt, along with an assortment of daggers, and throwing stars. Not only that, but what looked like a giant canteen was open hanging off their hip. The stranger looked ninja-like in Cassandra's opinion.

"The ice isn't going to hold for long," the ninja's voice came out muffled, but Cassandra could tell it was a guy, "We need to go, now!" He grabbed her arm and started to drag her away from the bird.

She dug her heels into the ground. "We need to get my friends!" She ripped her arm away from him and started to run around the bird, who was screeching inside its prison. She heard the ninja huff, and knew he had followed.

Once she saw Reina and Russ, they went over to her. Reina opened her mouth to say something, but the stranger interrupted. "No time, let's go! That spirit is going to be pissed once its out of the ice." The stranger headed towards the street, which was dimly lit by street lamps. The trio obliged.

He started running down the sidewalk, leading them to a house at the end of the street. Just like all the others in this town, it was painted white, only the yard was decorated with flowers that popped out. The ninja walked down the stone path to the front door. He knocked five times, then kicked it twice.

A light flickered on inside the house. Cassandra could hear hurried footsteps from inside, then the door opened. A woman who looked like she was in her late forty's appeared in the doorway. Her straggly brown hair framed her face.  Once she saw the ninja, she smiled warmly. "Welcome back sweetie, how did the mission go?"

Cassandra guessed the woman couldn't see them, since the stranger was blocking the door. He stepped a side, revealing us to the woman. She smiled even brighter when she saw them. "Come in, come in. It must be cold out there." The woman ushered them inside. As Cassandra stepped inside, something popped into her head.

What am I doing?

Suddenly, her body went from being frozen with fear, into her warrior state. Her head yelled at her to get out of there, her body craving to move. As soon as the ninja isn't paying attention, she thought, I'm getting out of here.

She looked over to Reina and Russ, who seemed to just not know what to do. They were just following orders at this point. But if anyone knew Reina was acting, it was Cassandra. Her eyes always seem to glow brighter whenever she was thinking or planning something. Reina finally noticed Cassandra and blinked twice. She has a plan.

The woman guided them to a room furnished with pure white couches and chairs. They were many of them, basically stacked on top of each other. Blankets and pillows were piled on every chair and couch. A fireplace that was lit sat in the corner, giving the room a warm glow. The noise it was creating made Cassandra more nervous than before.

"Sit, sit," the woman gestured towards the chairs, "You must be tired after all that has happened. I'll go get you some tea." They all sat as the woman left the room. As Cassandra sat, she felt her pocket buzz. She had forgotten that her phone was in her pocket. She reached into her pocket and pulled her phone out so she could see the screen. Letters were scrawled across the screen. 5 missed calls, all from the same person. Mom. Oh no.

Cassandra nudged Reina, who was sitting on the same couch as her. She nodded towards her phone. Reina's eyes widened. Reina nodded towards the door, then towards the ninja. He was looking out the far window, out into what seemed like a side yard.

Cassandra kicked Russ. He mouthed, "What the hell was that for?!" Reina rolled her eyes. She showed Russ the same thing. He shook his head, but understood.

Reina stood slowly, and started creeping towards the guard. She was catlike, not making a sound. Once she was behind him, she started backing to the door in the other room. The guard didn't notice, he just kept staring out the window. After a few seconds, Cassandra followed her lead, Russ behind her. The guard stood still, not moving. Cassandra neared the door, and saw Reina crouched by it. She had a look on her face that said Hurry up! Cassandra went as fast as she could. She was almost at the door when something terrible happened.

Her phone rang.