Nights of Fire

Chapter 1- Whitney

I woke up to see nothing but blue, blue walls, blue bedsheets, blue blinds, blue everything. Of course I chose blue everything, that color just seems to calm me down, settle me. Not today, I thought to myself. Not again.

I slowly got myself up out of bed, reluctantly of course. I stumbled over to my closet to try and get myself ready. I pulled down my white fleece (not caring what was left of the hanger) and slid it over my gray tank top. I pulled myself into my dark jeans, almost landing completely on my butt, my mahogany colored hair blocking most of sight. As you can see I am very clumsy. I tried to tame my curls before I made my way into the kitchen. It didn't take long. I lived in a tiny duplex just outside the tiny village of little chute in the forever frigid state of beer and cheese, oh sorry, I meant Wisconsin, whoopee! I hated it here but my parents are divorced, and somehow my mother won custody, I mean I love her to death but my father's job so much more...steady. I haven't seen him since I was only two. I can't even remember what he looks like. My mom then walked in, her blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders but there was something off, her walk was slouched, her face was red and splotchy, she had been crying. She sat across from me at the small white table. She placed her hands on mine. Oh great. I thought to myself.

"Hey." She said trying to hide the hurt that was behind her voice. I stopped mid-bite to take in her full picture. Her face was not only red but it was puffy, she wasnt just crying, she had been sobbing. I put my silver spoon back in the bowl and looked her in her warm brown eyes. "I um, sniff, finally found somewhere.Everyone there is... sniff... just like you." She tried to smile but I could tell it was forced.

I looked down at my cereal, trying not to break down. "How long will I be away?"

"All year." She paused to look at me. "I might be able to see you during summer break but, it's not like a normal school, they keep you 24/7, 365 days a year until you can...handle yourself." She was crying again, though she was not letting herself go. I could feel myself slipping. I stood from my chair, reaching over the table to hug her. Then I left, right before I gave in. I began to sprint to my room, slamming the door behind me. I slid down it landing on the floor, screaming into my knees. The unbearable heat on my skin burning the carpet under me, singing the wood on the bed, blackening the curtains and forever scarring the walls of my room. My eyes, my stupid amber eyes starting this. I tried to close them, to extinguish the flames but of course it didn't work. I was shouting stop, screaming at the top of my lungs trying to cool down. I tried focusing on water, an ocean, the blue, icy sky hanging above the frosty waves. But then a part of me also didn't want to stop. It wanted to let out all of the pain that was binding me for the last years. I was finally letting go, leaving. I thought of the warm brown eyes that serenaded me as a child, the ones that could see through me and fix me, the things that I would miss most when I left. Not the jokes that were my friendship and I was guessing that I would still have an education there, but my mom, losing my mom just as I had lost my dad, there but not with me. I didn't want it, any of it. I dont want to be different, I don't want to be a blaze or a flame. I just wanted to be normal, not a kid that had to move every few months because she set the whole house on fire. I didnt want to lose it all because of myself, but the thing is, you dont choose your life, it's given to you.

The flames finally went out as I was curled into myself, watching the ashes fall around me like snow. I stood up from my spot on the floor and walked over the ashes of my bed. I pulled out from under it a flame-proof back-pack that was filled with emergency essentials, including some extra clothes, the only things that I never burned. I then walked outside, to where my mother stood, concerned, never scared. I took her hand as she led me to the bus stop that was just outside our little town. We didn't have a car, we couldn't afford one and Mom's job was in decent walking distance. We waited there for about twenty minutes, hands still interlocked, never wanting to let go. When the bus got here, we were reluctant to get on, but we did. We found seats in the back and sat there quietly, holding each other. I fell asleep in her arms dreaming of black flames engulfing the world.

Mom shook me awake, her blonde hair swaying in front of my face, entangling hers with my own. She was crying again, but this time trying much more hard to hide it from the strangers sitting near us. I got up and hastily grabbed my bag while walking off. It looked like we were dropped off in the middle of nowhere, except for a tiny sign that stood to the side of a small gravel path that was surrounded by forest. Though it was faded I could make out the small words painted on it. Welcome to Camp Owanoya: the camp of Trainees. I didn't know what that meant exactly and I wasn't particularly psyched about finding out. I started walking towards the path but then realized my mother wasn't following. I stopped and turned back to her. I ran into a hug, burying my face in her shoulder as I cried. She tucked her head into mine as she whispered in my ear how much she loved me. I didnt want to let go, but I knew that I had to, for her own good and mine. I pulled back and with one last kiss on my head it was done. She was gone. Back on the bus. I turned back towards the sign and stuck my tongue out, childish I know. I walked down the empty path and past the sign. That's when it changed. The haze that was blocking it before was lifted. Suddenly the empty path wasn't empty. The gravel was replaced by brick and the empty forest was now occupied with hundreds of kids. Surrounding a giant campfire in the middle of the road were a small group of log cabins, ginormous log cabins with one white one in the front. Across from that was a massive blue lake and right to that was an enormous marble temple/coliseum thing with kids running in and out of it laughing and talking like everything was dandy with the world. Only one person in this hold world of chaos seemed to notice me. He had jet black hair and brilliant blue eyes that you could see from miles away. He seemed very tall but by looking at him you could tell that he had to be my age. He wore all black clothing but seemed like a happy fellow. He reached his hand out to mine and flashed a winning smile.

"Hi, my name's Richard."