Fire

Chapter 1

I stared into the abyss of fire and destruction I had created. I stared in awe at the warriors I had killed, their corpses covered in flames, tempting me to continue murdering those that had done nothing to me. I stared at the burning flowers that surrounded me, the burning leaves on the charred trees. I felt excited, yet terrified. I hadn't known that I was so strong, that I was capable of so much destruction. I glanced over at my fellow soldier that had fallen from the impact.

He slowly stood up from where he had fallen. "You should do that more often."

• • •

I watched my sister braid her long brunette hair. Her soft hands slowly wrapped each piece around each other, soothing my stressed mind. I had finished dressing and preparing for the Calling early, but my siblings were not. My brother was still sleeping, and I knew I'd have to wake him up soon. My father was at work, and God only knew where my mother was.

"Amber, wake up Cole. He can't sleep too long, or he'll be late, and we'll all be punished for his actions."

I got up from my bed and opened the door that stood only a few feet away. I walked passed my parents' room and the bathroom to the end of the long hallway, where my brother's room sat. I knocked on his door, but there was no response. Typical.

I opened the door to be welcomed by the mess his room contained. Plates and glasses were sprawled across the floor, as well as clothing and books. Something smelled awful, like rotten eggs or unwashed socks. I'm a very neat person, and standing in the middle of the dump that was my brothers room made me even more stressed than I had been.

"Cole! Get up this instant!"

He jumped and sat up quickly. "What the hell, Amber? I'm sleeping!"

"The Calling is in one hour. You need to get ready. We can't afford to be late."

"You're right," he sighed. He got out of bed in only his underwear, which I turned away from in disgust. "Where's Adara?"

"She's almost done dressing. You need to start. I'll be back in thirty minutes, and you'd better be done." I left Cole's room, and went toward the delicious smell coming from the kitchen.

My father had made us breakfast, as sweet as he was. His dark hair was messy, and as he saw me approach, his smile widened. He was still in his pajamas, as odd as it was. "Good morning, Amber. Mom is... out."

"Good morning, Dad. I figured she was. This smells amazing!" I smiled and grabbed a plate that he had set out, filled to the rim with eggs, bacon, and pancakes. "You aren't going to work today? You're usually out of the house by now."

"No. I got the day off, since..." My father went quiet, and looked down at the floor. "You shouldn't go."

"Dad, I want to. It's my decision, and it's Adara's, too. We're leaving to save our kind." My smile left my face, and I stared into his hazel eyes.

"It's dangerous."

"I can handle it."

"You might not come back, Amber."

"That's my choice, not yours."

"Amber, you're just a woman! You aren't fit to fight in a war!"

I stared angrily at my father. "That's really what you think?"

He looked away and said nothing.

"I knew it! I knew you thought we were weak!" Adara stomped from the hallway into the kitchen, fire on her hands. "We're leaving, with or without your approval!"

I put my hand on her shoulder. "Count."

Adara took a deep breath, and the whole house went silent as she counted in her head. We couldn't afford to burn our house down, so our family has all promised to control our tempers. Adara has the worse temper of the family, and it wasn't easy to keep her calm. This whole situation didn't help anything; it had just been confirmed by our own father that he didn't believe we could fight in a war because of our gender.

Cole slowly approached from the corner of the hallway. "Is everything okay?"

"No, everything is not okay." She glared at my father intently, and grabbed my wrist. "We're leaving. I don't want to see you at the Calling, do you understand me? I don't want to say goodbye to you."

Just like that, we stormed out of the house, our father screaming angrily at us to come back. We were on our way to the Calling - without our parents.