From the Ashes

7

"If you don't resist, no one has to get hurt." The man at the front of the cluster speaks up. His hair is the color of a rotten orange. "We're not here to kill you, just take you." His face is set in a permanent grimace and his cold, green eyes glower at the teenagers in front of him.

Nothing about what he says puts them at ease. "And that's supposed to make us feel better?" Tony retorts, not letting his fear be evident in his steady voice. He stands firmly to the right of his other friends, who share mixed expressions to match their mixed emotions.

Daisy stands completely still next to Jensen, her eyes studying every action of the strangers in front of her. One of her hands is gripped into a fist and her breaths are shallow.

When he feels her body begin to shake, Jensen grips her tighter and pulls her closer into his side. He does his best to keep his expression blank as he thinks of possibilities to get out of the situation. But he comes up with nothing.

The seeming leader of the men, the orange-haired neanderthal, shrugs his shoulders. "It doesn't matter, because either way, you're coming with us," he demands while re-positioning his gun so that it now points in their direction.

Tony glances over at his friends and makes a split decision. "No thanks," he says and holds out arms. Waves of fire leave his hands, completely shielding their vision.

The flames cluster, forming a blazing wall between the enemy groups.

"Watch out!" One of the soldiers yell.

One of them cocks his gun and shoots at the fire. However, the bullets disintegrate into ash on impact.

After a few seconds, Tony lets down his arms, and the three teenagers sprint to the car without having to be told.

The soldiers stumble in a daze as the fire leaves their vision. On the henchmen point at the running kids and shouts, "Don't let them get away!"

They hold their guns up as they charge forward.

"Go!" Daisy screams in a panic, her voice cracking. She jumps, or rather, throws herself into the passenger seat. The engine sputters as she slams her door shut and Tony turns the key in the ignition.

Jensen turns around in the back seat to see three guns pointed at the car. "Tony!" He yells and ducks under the window, out of sight of the lethal weapon. "We're gonna die!" His voice cracks from the high pitched tone it takes.

A slurry of bullets break through the back glass.

Daisy screams and ducks.

"We're not going to die today!" Tony shouts.

Tony swiftly puts the car into reverse and slams on the gas pedal. The car lurches backward and collides with the soldiers, causing a loud thump. 

Outside, the grown men yell and their guns are knocked out of their hands as their thrown to the dirt.

With a jolt, Tony hits the breaks. The car jostles for a second at the result of the sudden jerky movements.

Daisy screams again and Jensen yells out a slur of interesting, and colorful words that would make his mother wash his mouth out with soap. 

"Hold on!" Tony says.

After switching gears, the car finally lurches forward this time, leaving behind three dust-covered men. The shout in frustration. 

"This is just the beginning!" The teens hear a man scream out right before they speed away.

The car drifts and swerves dangerously off the dirt and gravel, and onto the main road.