Their Flame {ON HIATUS UNTIL MY WRITER'S BLOCK GETS HIT BY A TRUCK}

Chapter 18: Jack

"I…"

Blood rushes through me as I clench my fists. "I would never hurt Katrina like that. Not even if it meant I could see my family again." Aubrey narrows her eyes, glaring at me.

"But it's just one person. That one girl could restore everything."

"Milwaukee is gone. Everyone on Milwaukee is gone. I have come to accept that. Katrina is my best friend. She is not some puppet that other people can toss around. And I'm not going to let you lay a finger on her."

Behind me, someone chuckles darkly. When I spin around, my eyes widen: Jackson has Katrina's limp body laying over his shoulder, a smirk splayed across his lips.

"Jackson, what the hell are you doing?!"

"You children are so foolish. Just because someone says they'll help you doesn't mean they actually will."

"Put Katrina down." I growl, stepping closer to him. My hands spark hot, delicious fire, ready to destroy anyone who tries to hurt Katrina.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. She is a piece to the overall puzzle, one that we cannot afford to lose. So we'll be taking her with us."

"I won't let you!" The final thread within me snaps, and fire wraps itself around me like an angry python.

I extend my hands, palms facing Jackson as my flames shoot off of me, searing through the air and towards their target. But before my fire can touch him, Jackson extinguishes the licking flames.

Damnit. I forgot about that.

Scowling, I back up a bit. He has Katrina, and got rid of my fire… now what?

"You know Jackson, I really thought you were a good person. But I guess that goes to show that you shouldn't trust someone you just met."

Katrina?

A plum of fire suddenly bursts as Katrina uses her ability to escape from Jackson's grasp. She lands gracefully on her feet, sliding around the man and trotting over to me.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'll be even better once we get rid of these two." I can't help but grin.

"Well then, let's get started."

"I've got Aubrey, you take care of Jackson." I nod and take a step towards the man as Katrina moves in the opposite direction.

"You know. I'm getting pretty tired of you. I say let's finish this so Katrina and I can leave." I crack my knuckles and run forward - if I can't use my fire, I'll use brute force.

I know I'm not very strong physically, so I'll just have to outsmart him.

Ducking under Jackson's swinging arm, I jam my elbow into his side. He recoils for a split second before kicking me in the side. I yelp, drawing back for a moment.

He's so strong. It's unnatural.

Then something clicks as my father's words ring in my head: You will each be able to wield two of your own abilities, something different that you can use independently.

This must be one of Jackson's independent abilities.

Well that makes things more difficult.

Jackson continues to charge at me, forcing me to stay on my toes and dodge his attacks as I try to think of a plan.

Jackson has brute force, but that seems to make him a little clumsy. And I've noticed his attacks have no pattern. He's just throwing punches blindly. If I can find a blindspot, I may be able to incapacitate him.