Embers & Ice

Chapter Eight

God please, Jenny prayed as she sat inside the freezing laboratory after possibly the worst day of her entire life. Make him stop talking.

She had swallowed a total of five cups of the strongest coffee Joshua could handle making – apparently he can’t touch things that are hot, the freak –  so she was running purely on an insane amount of caffeine. And still, she was falling asleep.

“I just don’t get it,” Joshua moaned, rubbing his forehead for the thirtieth time as he paced the lab. “How did she do it?”

Jenny sighed loudly, hoping this strange human being would find the answer soon, or she might literally go bananas. But he was oblivious. He had finished telling her everything she needed to know – even a little more than she wanted to about Hunter’s mother and the fact that Joshua hadn’t ever been with a woman, which didn’t become obvious until she went to comfort him and he fell backwards in fright – and now he was trying to figure out Hunter’s secret with figures and hypothesis.

He’s got this all wrong, she thought. Does this man have any humanity, or is he some sort of alien?

“Maybe the secret lies in the mountains,” Joshua whispered, his pale eyes wide. He was clicking his fingers as if he could summon the thoughts that way like a dog. “I’ve never even come close to figuring out where Ravenadium came from-” He tapped the glass tank and she peered at it from her chair. “It’s not even from Earth, it’s-”

“Alien, yeah, I know.” Jenny dragged herself to her feet and over to the tank. “You mentioned it several times already. All these years and you’ve never tracked down its origin?”

“Of course I have, I lived beside the mountain for over a year.”

“No, I mean its original origin.”

Joshua snorted sarcastically. “Yes, as a matter of fact I talked to the alien king on Skype last night.”

Jenny ignored his comment. “Then you’re in a bit of a pickle, aren’t you?”

“I’m aware of that, thank you. That’s why I need your help.”

“So you freeze me and kidnap me and keep me locked in your lab? Why not just tap on my classroom door at school and ask for a favor?”

“Sometimes I… overdramatized a situation just to avoid conversation. I blame my powers.”

“Why isn’t Hunter nearly as insane then?”

The room fell instantly colder than usual, and Jenny knew that it was Joshua’s doing. Her heart sank.

“That’s precisely what I’m trying to figure out,” he said through his teeth.

“Well–” She tried to be brave and avoid eye contact at the same time. “I think I might have an idea as to why Hunter was stronger than you.”

“What is it?” he asked eagerly, taking the other chair and placing it opposite her.

Jenny bit her lip. “Would you make me another coffee first?”

Eyeing her suspiciously, Joshua took the empty mug. “You’re sure you want another? Your pupils are very dilated.”

“For your information, I’m trying to stay warm. I’m not a tea person and it’s not exactly balmy in here.”

Joshua’s face dropped. “I… I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware… my body temperature is naturally cold, so…”

He fumbled around with the air switch by the door and for a moment, Jenny’s heart softened. As much as she knew this man was insane and very awkward and malicious enough to fake hers and Eli’s deaths just to prove how protective he was of Hunter, she had already seen his softer side. It was naïve and somewhat gentle. She was so interested in how this man functioned, that at times she forgot he had put her to sleep and was holding her prisoner in his tiny laboratory, and that he had the power to manipulate ice.