The Children: The Beginning of Our Story

Chapter 16 Themis - Starting Fires

Themis leant over Adron's shoulder in attempt to get a glimpse of the book in his hands. The book's pages had yellow with years of use. The cover was old and brown, the edges slightly crinkled with it's age. She watched Adron flick the pages, looking for the right one.

He shivered in the corner of the cell, swallowed by the ink black darkness. "Set me free." The hero called, but there was no reply. "I have done no wrong deeds." Called the hero, his voice echoing off the walls of the cell, never to reach the ears of another soul.

"What are you reading?" Themis said as she peered at the words on the page.

Adron jumped in fright and slammed the book closed. "Nothing." He said as sweat dripped from his face.

Themis smiled at him softly. "It seems very interesting." She said.

Adron looked at her for a moment as he calmed his thoughts. He slowly opened the book at found the right page. "Y-you can read it if you want." He said uncomfortably.

Themis ruffled his frosty white hair and made herself comfortable beside him.

Quanteen looked up from her book and gave a sour look before returning to her story. Themis and Adron read the book until the mother star sett sending its golden glow across the tips of the forest. The story was about a hero who woke up in a cell with no recollection of the sin he had performed. Adron lifted himself from the floor and joined the others in the pile of cloth. Themis felt her eyes droop as dreams gently grasped at her consciousness. Her dreams were filled with blistering cold. And unbearable cold that filled every corner of her mind. There was red on the snow. Bright red. And then nothing. Themis woke from her dream in a haze. She stared up at the ceiling of the shack, watching the cobwebs in the corners sway in the wind that seeped through holes in the timber. Themis listened to the slow creaking of the forest. She could here Elder Alvis' croaky snoring and Agatha's mumbling about some sort of pony in her sleep. She had heard all of these things before, but something was different. Themis tilted her head up, trying to distinguish the noise.

Ripping paper?

Themis' eyes darted over the pile of cloth in the corner. Only three Albinos lay asleep. Panic struck her like an arrow as she flicked her head around the room. Quanteen's small figure was slumped in the corner surrounded by a small collection of books. Themis heaved a long sigh, glad to see all of the albinos safe. She looked closer at a book sitting on Quanteen's lap. The sound of ripping paper seemed to resonate from the book. From underneath the cover emerged a small creature. A frignitive. The same frignitive Quanteen had held in her hand the day before. It must have made its way into one of her pockets. The Frignitive scrambled up her arm and sat comfortably on her shoulder amidst her hair. Themis lifted herself from the ground, careful not to wake any of the sleeping Albinos. She made her way towards Quanteen, flinching ever time the floorboards creaked under her weight. She tapped Quanteen lightly on the shoulder, trying to wake her up.

"Q. Quanteen. Wake up."

Quatneen's eyes fluttered open and she rubbed sleep from her eyes. She turned to the small frignitive on her shoulder and choked on a scream.

"How did that thing get in here." She said in a panicked whisper. Themis shrugged her shoulders as she took the frignitive from Quanteen's grasp.

"Either way we need to return it to the caves."

Quanteen stood up and Themis shuffled back to make room for her in the tight space. Both girls crept towards the doorway with all of the stealth they could muster. Themis pulled back the cloth in the doorway letting in the frosty night air. It filled their lungs and made their skin prickle with Goosebumps. They stepped out onto the old creaking deck that groaned under their weight. Themis stared out into the ink black sky, swirling with the dark clouds that blocked out the stars. Her view slowly sunk down to the dark, ominous trees that shrouded the planet in darkness. From them sprouted a small plume of smoke that crept into the sky. Themis squinted her eyes to get a better view.

Definitely smoke.

Quanteen grabbed her arm and shook it violently. "Do you see that!?" Quanteen stared at the smoke, gaping in awe. "Do you think someone is out there?"

Themis nodded slowly, her curiosity had taken control.She scaled the ladder as fast as she could and bolted towards the smoke torrent.All of her senses drew her towards it. It was something she couldn't possibly ignore.She heard Quanteen's footsteps crunch in the soft snow behind her. The trees whisperedas the wind stung their faces. Trying to warn them to return home.