Flipped

1.16

I felt the recoil of the shrieking figure in front of me.  I'd never heard a louder scream in my life.  The heat plastered me, but there was nowhere to move backwards.  I was already against the wall.

The other figures around us didn't shirk away at all, but they did stop moving and focusing on us.  I was too shocked to realize what that meant. 

But Ava spun around and copied me exactly.  She looked dead at one of the figures, and raised up her hand. 

Flames!  Starting by its feet and quickly, with crackling intensity working its way up to the head.  It gave a second piercing, haunting scream. 

The rest of the figures started running towards us. The one was closest to Ava on her right strode towards her, and before she could do anything touched its hand to her arm, almost in a gentle way.

Ava's eyes went wide and she gasped.  As the hand moved, I saw burned, charred flesh.  

I shot a look at the figure.  It was a pastor who had been the hall-patrol at school last week. 

He moved to make contact with Ava's other arm.  She ducked away and raised her hand again as he burst into flames.  The shriek was even louder than the others.  Meanwhile, the two other figures were balls of flame and I could feel my face burning with the intense heat.  

There was no more hesitation.  The figures starting gliding towards us, all of them, the whole circle, some slightly behind the others, but all trying to touch us, to burn us.  

"Chris!  Get up!" Ava yelled as she turned, focusing on another section of the figures coming at us, and setting one more in flames.  

I shot a glance  at Taylor.  She seemed okay and I had to get up.

I lept to my feet.  Three figures were two paces away.  No time to think.  I held my hand up at one of them and burned one. And another. And another.

There were so many. One of them came up right beside me and touched my neck.

"Ahhhhh!!" I yelled as red searing pain consumed my neck.  It was horrible!     Everything began swimming all around me.  It was like I had hit my nose - hard - on something and I buckled over. The pain left me with no choice.

It was going in for another attack - this time on my arm!  My nerves were already fried and I couldn't take it.  I just started yelling non-stop. I saw Ava notice and go after my attacker.  Its flame started, and it fell back a little.  But the searing heat made my charred flesh hurt even more.  I crawled sideways, trying to get somewhere- anywhere - colder.

I could see Ava hitting figure and figure.  There were now over ten balls of flame and everything was hot all around us.  "Ava!" I yelled as loud as I could, "We need to get out of here now!"

The one positive thing, I noticed, was that the figures themselves didn't like flames.  They wanted to stay away.  None of them were close anymore - they were standing around the edges, a few paces in any direction, waiting.

Small comfort knowing that if we didn't get away now we would be burned to a crisp.

I forced myself to get up. I went back two or three paces, grabbed Taylor, hoisting her to her feet.  Then I half-led, half-dragged her away.

Ava saw what I was doing, and followed me.  "Ava!" I said, pointing her to the figures ahead of us, keeping their distance but ready to strike. 

Ava came up and flamed the shadow woman.  All of the other figures seemed to keep their distance from the flames. 

              We started jogging away from the clearing, towards a row of trees that marked the path to a fork that led out of the part and onto the street.  

And as we ran, the figures followed.  Slowly, methodically, silently.  Ava stayed behind, her eyes glaring.  She'd fry any of them that got too close - so they - barely - kept their distance.

It seemed to take forever to leave.  Down the path, around the corner to the exit. The whole time, they followed.  

Taylor had gotten her wits back about her, and started to walk on her own.  She was limping along side me.  She looked back and her eyes gleamed. "How long will they follow?" she said, with a threatening glare. It was obviously a rhetorical question.

As we kept walking, we saw them begin to turn back.  More and more, turning back and losing us.  Until finally, we were all alone again, and almost outside the park. 

Thankfully Ava and Taylor lived in the same neighbourhood, so I could just walk home, but it would still be a long walk.  Our bikes were back in the clearing, and would probably be gone by tomorrow.

But we were safe again.  We had made it again.   

I wish this would have started calming me down.  I really did.  But I have a pretty sharp eye sometimes. I was pretty sure I had seen something as we left which injected a new shot of fear.  But that was dwarfed by the anger I felt.  Visceral, intense, overwhelming anger.