Sea Of Flames

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When I wake up I’m on a bed in a white room with nurses running around everywhere. I sit up and the pain in my side is gone. Orvil is sleeping in a chair not far from my bed. I whisper to him. He sits up suddenly and stares at me.

“Good morning.” He says to me

“Good morning.” I say back. He gets up and sits next to me on the hospital bed. He strokes my hair forcing me to look at him. “What happened to Robyn?” I ask

“He was kicked off the ship.” He says “for violence.” He finishes

“What about me? I slapped him.” I add

“Gavin said it was okay since you were protecting yourself.”

“I probably would have been even worse if you hadn’t saved me.” I say. We exchange a warm smile. 

“Oh my gosh Paralee are you okay?” Pidge runs in. her usual blonde ponytail is gone.

“What happened to your hair?” I demand. Her hair is now a vibrant red colour.

“We played truth or dare.” She explains. It suits her sassy attitude.

“Yeah. And guess what?” says Amabel while walking in. Her hair is now black. It’s not very drastic but its sill different. “I had to dye my hair too.” Amabel crosses her arms.

“I like it.” I say. We laugh. All seems fine.

“Before I forget Wym said he wanted to talk to you.” Orvil says

“Where is he?” I ask

“He said he would be on deck.” He replies

I stand up and leave the room waving to my friends as I leave.

I scan the deck for my brother I don’t see him. But I catch a glimpse of his dark hair. I sprint to him calling his name as I run. He turns around, his gaze dark at first. It softens as he realizes it’s me.

“Orvil said you wanted to talk to me.”

“I did. Come with me.” He grabs my arm and drags me around the corner into a dark hallway. Our shadows are long in the dim light. “Have you been having dreams.” He asks, his hands move a lot when he talks, making it hard to concentrate. “Not like regular ones like weird ones.” He explains.

“No I haven’t, why?” Wym is slightly scaring me. I don’t get it. Dreams aren’t supposed to be realistic. They must all be weird in some way.

“Well I have. Ever since the day I stepped on Ignis.” I go stiff. It all seems odd.

“Well, what are the dreams about?” I ask

“Just fire, and in the background screams.” He says. He leans against the wall behind him. He shifts his head into the light. I see the dark circles under his eyes.  Just the way he looks I can tell he’s not sleeping. “Its not just one screams its many. And whispers.” He slides down to the ground and he buries his face into his knees.

The idea of hearing screams all night long horrifies me. No wonder Wym is stressed. I hear him sniffle. I look back at him and see a shiny tear rolling down his cheek. I sit next to him on the hard wood floor of the boat.

“This is really bothering you, isn’t it?” I prompt him. He nods. I sigh and pull him into a hug. I don’t know what else to do but it feels right. I can tell something is wrong with Wym because he doesn’t pull away or resist. Out in the distance I hear a thumping sound. Not like a heartbeat or a drum. A rhythmic movement. Footsteps. I look to Wym who is starting to stand up so I do too. The steps become louder and we move down the hallway back to the sunlight.

My eyes adjust to the bright light. Wym is walking to the dorms along with a boy I don’t know. He walks like everything is alright.

“Can you help me?” I hadn’t even noticed the boy walking up to me. He has short blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He smiles at me. I haven’t seen him anywhere. He is carrying a large brown bag. “I just got here and I need help finding my room.” He says. “I’m Niklas.” He puts out his hand for me. I shake it.

“I’m Paralee.” I say. “Follow me to the rooms.” I make my way to the stairs and he follows, not far behind.

“I’m new.” He says while we go under. “There was an incident with another boy and they had room for me.” I stop. Niklas will be taking Robyn’s place. I lift the hatch and go under. He follows me.

“Your bed is somewhere in this room. Just ask one of the other boys.” I say sliding the door open.

“Thank you Paralee.” He says and goes inside closing the door behind him.

***

My eyelids close as I start to fall asleep. Everything is dark at first. I start to see an orange wave dance in the dark. Almost like a ribbon in the wind. It starts to change colours like fire. A shrill scream rises and dies out. I thrash side to side as heat pulses through my sleeping body. A low voice starts to speak above the screams.

“There’s a fire in us all

That nothing can put it out

It's heat can heal us

Or make us die

As tears fall the fire grows

Not even love can help us from this fire

It may change us

Or makes us stay the same

Pain makes the fire in others grow

For if the fire gets to big

We lose ourselves

So the only way to make die down

Is to never be anyone else

This fire is always with us

but it never shows

The Fire” it says

The screams start again louder than before. I wake up and sit upright, gasping for air. I look around, the dream still fresh in my mind. I jump down from my dunk and put some shoes on. I have to tell Wym about this. It can’t wait until morning. In that time I could forget.

I tiptoe towards the door. Each step I take makes the floor creak a little. I pray to myself that I don’t wake anyone. Now I know what Alder meant when she said creeping up on me was hard.

I slide the door shut behind me and pull my sweater tighter around me. I turn around to see Wym in front of me.

“What are you doing here?” he hisses at me

“I had a dream. Like the ones you said you have.” I answer whispering.

Wym grabs my arm and drags me up through the hatch and onto the deck.

“What happened in this dream?” he demands.

“There was screams and fire, like you said, but there was also a voice.” I tell him

“What did the voice say?” he asks. Wym’s eyes widen and he suddenly seems worried and interested.

I repeat the poem to him, surprised that I remembered it. His eyes widen even more than before. He goes stiff, almost falling over. I catch him in time and he look at me with glazed eyes.

“I had the exact same dream.” He tells me. I almost fall over too.

“What do you think it means?” I ask slowly sitting down.

“I think it’s a warning. “He says sitting next to me. “It said: There’s a fire in us all. And towards the end it says. So the only way to make die down is to never be anyone else this fire is always with us but it never shows.” He looks to me as if to check if I understood. “I think it means someone we know isn’t being themselves. We don’t see it. But they have this fire; this hate Inside of them.”

“So you mean to say, someone is plotting against us.” I ask

“Yes.” He finishes

I can’t think. My mind spins. My world comes crashing down. I pray to myself that it’s not Orvil.