Fire Proof

Prologue

The ground rumbles and the walls shake. I open my eyes to the usual darkness, I stare straight ahead as I get a sense of what's around me. I can hear my little sister's slow, steady breathing coming from the left, where I know her bed is placed. I wait a minute for the shake to come again. It doesn't.

I sigh, closing my eyes and rolling over on my side, placing my arm beneath my head. It was probably an accidental earthquake from one of the small children across the hall. Except it's the middle of the night and that doesn't make sense.

And then it comes again. This time it's harder. I snap my eyes back open. My sister's breathing has sped up. She's awake now too.

"What was that?" Her voice is hoarse; she's scared.

I sit up, glancing around the room even though I can't see anything in the pitch-black. "Azari." I whisper, "light a lantern."

She doesn't answer, but I can hear the shuffle of her bed quilt and the pattern of her feet across the stone. And then a small flame goes up inside a jar, matching the color of my sister's bright hair.

I can see now, the room in a dim glow where I can barely make out our bedchamber walls. Azari starts to walk back to her bed when the ground shakes. This time I hear a boom and I see my sister collapse to the ground just as the lantern falls. Glass shatters and the fire she lit is extinguished.

Now I'm beginning to panic. This is not normal; not some silly game the young Earths tend to play.

"Azari?" I ask, "Are you okay?"

"Ow." She answers. "What's happening? Why does the mountain keep shaking?"

I don't have an answer for her, but it turns out she doesn't need one. I hear the door burst open and I can just make out our mother's figure in the hall light. In her arms is our infant brother.

"Girls! Are you alright?"

"Yes, Mama." Azari answers for the both of us. "What's going on?" I can tell she's standing now. Good, she didn't get too hurt in her tumble.

Mother hesitates, I can tell she doesn't want to tell us. Or at least she doesn't want to tell Azari. "The mountain. . ." She starts. "I think we're being attacked."

I suck in a breath, throwing off my quilt and climbing out of bed. "Do we time to go to the Safe?"

The outline of Mother's head shakes. "Some are down there, but we won't make it. Our chambers are too high up."

"Erant 'iens mori!" Azari wailed. She was close to tears.

"Don't panic!" Mother told her, "It will only make things worse." She crosses the room and puts Baby Jupiter in my arms. She leans in close so Azari doesn't hear. "Take your siblings and run. Don't look back. Keep them safe." She kisses my forehead. "Te amo."

Tears fill my eyes, threatening to spill over. "I love you too." I whisper before she leans down and says something in my sister's ear. And then she's gone, disappearing down the hallway. I know I'll never see her again.

Azari bursts into tears and Jupiter squirms in my grip. I shush both of them, tears running down my own cheeks. I'm only thirteen, but I have to take care of them.

"Aislee," Azari sniffles. "What do we do now?"

"We run." I tell her, remembering what Mother told me just moments before. "We don't look back, okay? We run and we wait until it's safe to come home."

She nods, taking my hand. I grip it back hard. And we run. Out the door, down the hallway in the opposite way Mother went. She went to fight, we're going to run.

The ground shakes again, the strongest hit yet. I stumble, but Azari falls again, pulling me down with her. I cradle my brother and turn so my back takes the blow. It hurts, but I'd rather hit the stone then drop Jupiter.

Loose stones crumble around us and I hear several lanterns breaking along our path. Our attackers are getting deeper with every hit. I scramble up, pulling my sister with me. Jupiter grips my tunic tight in his tiny fists, burying his face in my neck.

The corridor is dark, most of the light sources has broken. "Azari," I pant as we run. "Light our way."

I hear her rip off the tough fabric from the bottom of her tunic and suddenly I can see. Azari is holding a ball of fire in her hand, unfazed.

In times like these I wish I were a Fire, not a Water. It was a fifty-fifty chance though. Jupiter's type is unknown. He's too little. So far, his hair is brown, which indicates Earth. But that could change and based on genetics, it wouldn't make sense.

Another blow comes and the ground trembles. We don't fall this time; it wasn't as hard of a hit. Hopefully that means the warriors are fighting back stronger.

"My legs hurt!" Azari complains, but I know she's mostly just terrified.

"We're almost out." I tell her.

The long corridor finally ends, splitting three ways. Based on the tang in the air, and my memory, I know one leads down, one leads to the main cavern, and one leads towards the surface. Barely pausing, I take the surface tunnel.

More fallen stones are littered across the floor, and now I'm worried. What if too much has caved in we won't be able to go out? Now I wish I were Earth.

Sure enough, we come to a blockade of small boulders. I'm scanning the length of it when Azari lets go of my hand.

"I can fit here!" She calls. I run over to her, and despite the situation, Jupiter giggled as he bounces.

"Does it go all the way through?" She nods, her fiery hair waving. "Then go — here take Jupiter — I'll find another way out."

Her amber eyes are wide as I hand her our brother. "But, what if—"

I shake my head, blue curls hitting my face. "Run, and don't stop. When you reach the surface, head to the woods, out of the mountains. But stay away from Wolves." I am ninety-percent positive wolves are attacking.

The walls shake again and we duck away from more loose stones. Azari's eyes well up and she throws her arms around me. "What if you don't make it out?"

I hug her back tightly. "I promise I'll try, okay?" She nods against my chest and we both jump as another hit comes. "Take care of Jupiter if I don't make it." She nods again and pulls away. "Te amo." I tell her.

"Te quoque amo." She gives me a long, sad look before she turns and crawls through the tiny tunnel. We both know there's a high chance we'll never see each other again.

I let a tear trail down my cheek and I watch the light from her fire slowly fade as she gets farther away. As soon as she calls down the tunnel that she's on the other side, I turn and bolt down the corridor.

I know the tunnels as well as any girl my age. But I'm panicking, and I'm missing Azari's light. I told Mother I would protect them, and now they're alone. I need to get out, they need me.

The walls shudder and the stone beneath my feet split a little. I trip. And I fall. Hard. The wind's knocked out of me, and I gasp for breath as I try to scramble up. The ceiling caves and I'm buried beneath the rubble. And everything goes black.