Fire & Ice

ch. 19

JAMIE

Memories from my childhood continued to comfort me as I fell further and further toward death. My internal flame was shrinking by the second and the pain was going away. Maybe I should stay. Nothing could hurt me here.

But then...I saw myself in a dream, surrounded by my family, all the people I'd wanted to see me succeed. I focused on Danny as he moved toward me on my graduation day. He'd been chosen to pin me...but he didn't look happy.

"Jamie!" he yelled, dropping the pin and shaking my shoulders. "Jamie, you have to get up! Wake up!"

The scene faded, and I was thrown back to an earlier memory. 

I was three now. It was storming outside, and I'd been startled awake out of sleep by the thunder--and by my parents' screaming. I got so scared that I started crying. Then, Danny was there, sneaking into my room. He climbed into my bed and wrapped his arms around me. He was shielding me from the screams of our parents, like he'd always done. 

He kept telling me that everything was going to be alright, but then he started telling me to wake up, over and over and over again-- 

"I won't let you die. I won't!"

My internal flame had been struggling to stay alive, but then, in a burst of light, it erupted, growing brighter and stronger than ever.

All of a sudden, I was no longer falling. I was climbing, skyrocketing up and out of the darkness until...I opened my eyes.

Light was bursting from my chest, and I floated up into the air in the living room. Fiery energy spread through my veins as my body healed completely in mid-air, and I set myself back down, feeling as good as new. 

"Jamie!"

Ethan stood in my kitchen. He was holding Daniel's gun. 

"You're not going to shoot me with that, are you?" I asked. 

"No. That Stormtrooper I just tricked into running down the street might though if we don't get the hell out of here. Oh, shit. Danny."

He rushed forward and knelt down by the couch, and for the first time, I noticed my brother, who had passed out on the floor. Emily was peeking out from behind the couch. 

"What happened to him? Where is everybody?" I was beyond confused. I hadn't seen my brother since...wait, when was the last time I saw him? I couldn't remember...nor could I remember how I'd gotten here. My memory was scrambled. 

"Danny!" Ethan shook my brother's shoulder, but he didn't wake up. He was breathing...barely.

"Danny, come on, wake up!" I tried to shake him too, but he didn't move. 

"Wait," Ethan muttered, lifting my brother onto the couch. "His ring fell off," he realized, sliding it back up onto Danny's finger.

Suddenly, my brother groaned, beginning to come to. His wounds were starting to heal as he regained himself. I leaned over him, holding his hand. "Get him some water," I told Ethan, who ran to the kitchen.

"Danny? Can you hear me?" I asked, and finally, he opened his eyes. "Jamie?"

"Would you please explain what in the world happened?" I demanded.

"Are you okay?" Ethan asked, handing him the water. We watched him sit up.

"I feel much better than before now that you're not dying," he told me.  

"Wait...how did you know where I was? I don't remember how I got here."

He frowned, setting down the glass. "You don't remember? Jordan brought you here, and he was about to suffocate you."