When Hell Runs Cold

Chapter Nine

Alysia groaned as she got thrown back onto the floor for the umpteenth time. She glared at Nathan who stood above her with amusement in his eyes. "I don't understand how you throwing me around with your powers is supposed to help me. It's just making me not like you."

Nathan shrugged casually, offering her a hand. "Is that what you're gonna say when you're fighting a villain?"

She put her hand in his, letting him pull her up by the forearm. "I'm not fighting a villain right now, I'm fighting you, and you're annoying the crap out of me. I think you're just annoyed because I beat you at your own house." She threw a roundhouse kick at him, groaning again when he easily caught her foot, throwing her back onto the floor.

"You fought dirty." he retorted. "And you're not always going to have pepper spray, and what makes you think your opponent will always be a man?"

"Is that what you're gonna say in a fight? 'You fought dirty?'" Alsyia mocked him, sitting up. "Villains fight dirty. I'm a thief. I fight dirty."

"Was a thief." Nathan corrected.

"Excuse me? Once a thief, always a-" she swept his legs out from under him,"-thief. I'm not going to stop being a thief just because I'm temporarily working with you."

Nathan quickly leaped up. "You don't need to be a thief." He threw a punch, which she quickly dodged. "Already seeing some improvement."

"I don't see the point of this. You're just giving me bruises at this point." Alysia complained as Nathan used his powers to knock Alysia down. "Will you stop that?!" She exclaimed. "Even if I could use my powers, wind trumps fire."

Nathan sighed, before sitting on one of the training mats, crossing his legs. "Sit."

"Are we meditating now? This is kinda stupid. Two seconds ago you were throwing me around the room, and now we're meditating? Mood swings much?" Alysia sat down across from him hesitantly.

She copied what he was doing, and crossed her legs as well. "So what exactly are we doing?"

"Close your eyes." He ordered, shutting his own eyes.

"Fine." She rolled her eyes, doing what he said. "Okay, I'm closing my eyes. Now what? You're not going to like punch me, are you? Because that's kind of rude and ungentleman-like."

"Just shut up and keep your eyes closed."

Alysia opened one of her eyes, peeking at Nathan. His forehead was creased, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Close your eyes, Alysia. I can feel you staring at me."

She muttered a few profanities under her breath, before closing her eyes again.

"What were you feeling when you first used your powers?" he asked.

"Uh, I don't know. It just kinda happened. Why does this feel like therapy?" Alysia asked, wrapping her fingers around the edge of the training mat. "You don't seem like the therapist type."

She heard Nathan sigh, "What did you feel right before you jumped in front of Kingston?"

She thought about that night, recalling the terrified looks on Kingston and Blair's faces. The surge of adrenaline, her flight-or-fight instinct activating. The heat at her fingertips. "Adrenaline. It was adrenaline."

"Were you scared?" Nathan asked.

"No. I wasn't scared when I jumped in front of the kid."

"Did you feel anything different?" He demanded.

"How exactly is this helping? I feel like I'm being interrogated. I'm not a criminal, I'm here willingly."

"You are a criminal." Nathan deadpanned.

"Technically, so are you. But really, I don't see how this is helping." Alysia muttered, keeping her eyes shut tightly.

"What triggered your powers?" Nathan questioned.

"I'm not heartless, I didn't want Blair to lose Kingston. Her husband's already a jerk. It wasn't fear, it was adrenaline."

Alysia's irritation grew the more he spoke. It seemed as if Nathan was repeating the same questions over and over again, trying to get a rise out of her. Unfortunately, it was working, making her blood boil with anger.

She felt a tingle at her fingertips which she ignored. Instead, she continued to complain to Nathan. "Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are? You're just repeating the-"

Nathan cut her off. "Alysia, look at your hands."

Alysia opened her eyes, meeting Nathan's blue ones, before averting her gaze to her fingers. "Holy crap." she murmured.

She grinned at the tiny flames that were forming at her fingertips. They were small, but they were there.

***

"You will not believe who I saw at The Busy Bean today." were April's first words as she rushed out of said café and towards Alysia.

Alysia raised an eyebrow at her friend before replying. "Who?"

April lightly punched her arm in excitement. "Guess!"

"Douchey Trevor." Alysia guessed. When April shook her head, she sighed. "Violet?"

"Nope, I blocked her." April replied, kicking a small pebble down the sidewalk, stepping over the cracks. "I'll give you a hint, you know them."

"Like personally know them?"

"Yeah! I'll give you another hint, it's a she."

"Do we like her?" Alysia questioned, trying to decipher something from April's facial expressions.

"We really like her." April grinned, and Alysia let out a slight gasp when she saw the glint in April's eyes.

"No way. Jules?" April questioned, and April nodded furiously.

"Yes! Jules from the foster home." April squealed excitedly.

Juliet Anderson has been in a foster home with April years ago, and she was also what April considered her first love.

The trio had been inseparable throughout middle school and high school, always having each other's back. Although April and Alysia had a great bond, April and Jules could bond over similar experiences.

In high school, April and Jules became a couple, quickly rising to one of the power couples at their school.

But then she got adopted.

The pair had lost contact with Jules, not hearing from her for years. The once inseparable trio was reduced to two members.

Alysia smiled at the grin on April's face.

But maybe, just maybe some things were changing for the better.

Thanks for reading this chapter of When Hell Runs Cold! Remember to vote, comment and share if you enjoyed it! It means a lot seeing notifications pop up!

QOTD: If you were to be any animal for twenty four hours, what animal would you be?

I don't know what I'd be honestly. Maybe a quokka? They're super cute!