• T W E N T Y •

"They wanted a monster. I decided to give them one."

• • •

"Rage? Rage? You seem to be distracted," William notes with a frown, leaning forward. "Are you alright?"

I paste on a believable smile and reply, "Yeah, just lost in thought, I guess."

"Penny for your thoughts?" Kolton asks with a teasing grin.

Shaking my head, I respond, "Sorry, darling. You'd never be able to pay for my thoughts. Great thoughts such as these come at a high price."

"Oh?" Gage says with a raised eyebrow.

I stick my tongue out at him, knowing exactly what he is getting at.

"I'm good at keeping secrets if you want someone to talk to," Asher reminds me mentally.

I shoot him a thankful smile but shake my head slightly. I can't tell him or any of them about this. Besides, I already know that Asher is good at keeping secrets. He is hiding something, I know it.

You know what? Screw it. There's the chance that I could be taken any day now. It's been almost a week since I got that first card. I have gotten three more since. I know that I am powerful and could probably defeat this bony lady, but the chance is still there that I get captured and never see these boys again. I need to know what Asher is hiding. To start, I'll follow him home today.

That came out slightly wrong. But I'm still going to.

"So what is your assessment?" Gage inquires, making me jump slightly.

"Huh?" I ask, focusing on reality once more.

The fire in the cabin grew slightly as I jumped, but now the flames have returned to their normal size.

With a sigh, Gage repeats, "What is your assessment? Of our progress?"

"Oh," I say, blinking a bit. "Well, it hasn't been very long so it wouldn't be shocking if you hadn't made any progress at all. However, you guys have been doing well, remarkably so. Gage your control over the water has improved and you are able to create even more water than before. Darkon, you are doing well with finding the different rocks and your stone skin is much stronger than before. Boaz, I look forward to seeing you improve and grow comfortable with your own power. William, you still need to work on ways to attack with the plants and ways you can use your power in battle; however, you have done a better job of not letting their talking distract you."

Boaz grins mischievously at the thought of the plants talking. I sigh inwardly, knowing what he is thinking. Quickly, I continue so that Boaz doesn't say what I know he is going to.

"Asher, our success with the mental connection is huge. And, on top of that, you've gotten better at controlling the animals," I continue. "Nekoda, your skill with creating weapons out of ice has improved tremendously. Kolton, you are doing great with concentrated blasts of air and I am sure that you can use that in football if you work hard enough."

"Thank you, Rage," Gage says with a rare and genuine smile. "And I think we can all agree that it is thanks to you that we have improved."

"Oh, definitely," I agree with a nod of my head. "Y'all were sloppy and your skill development was lacking greatly."

"Aww, you flatter us," Kolton replies flatly, giving me a look that simply said, 'come on.'

"Rage," Nekoda groans. "You had to ruin it."

"I stand by my previous statement," I declare, raising an eyebrow as if challenging them to continue.

Gage rolls his hazel eyes and decides, "I vote we go do something. Ideas?"

"We could go..." Kolton says before drifting off in thought.

"Why don't we go to the movies?" Nekoda suggests. "There's a new movie out that I've had my eye on."

"I like that idea," I add. "I've always wanted to watch a movie."

They all begin to stare at me.

"What?!" I demand.

"You mean you've never seen a movie, Flames?!" Boaz exclaims.

I shrug. "It can't be that uncommon. I'm sure there are tons of people who have never seen a movie."

"What about school?" William questions. "I thought that teachers played movies in class sometimes."

I snort, "Certainly not the school that I went to."

My old school was incredibly poor, a reflection of the area it was located in. There was no way the teachers would be able to afford that. Not to mention, teachers focused on schoolwork and teaching students. You know, doing their jobs. They were oddly interested in making sure that we had the opportunity to leave and go to a large town.

"But you mean you haven't seen one?" Darkon says, astounded.

Asher looks at me, his dark brown eyes wide. "Even I've seen several movies!"

"Even you?" I repeat, catching him.

"Nevermind," Asher says somewhat nervously.

"What movie?" Gage asked Nekoda, drawing the attention of the room away from me.

I watch Asher warily, determined to find out what is going on.

The boys figure out what movie to watch and settle on the one that Nekoda picked. Apparently, it is a new superhero movie that Nekoda had all the comics for. I couldn't care less what movie we watched. I'm kinda excited to be watching my first movie.

I want to do as many things as possible before they come for me. As confident in myself and my powers as I am, I can't shake off the dread and the premonition that I will be captured anyway.

"Rage? You coming or not?" Kolton calls.

Startled, I look over and see that they are all beginning to file out of the cabin. Blinking quickly, I stand up and follow them out to the movies.

• • •

I drop the note to the ground where it lays. The words stare up at me.

"Rage, Rage, Rage... I'm coming for them. You can't stop me. You think you're so powerful, don't you? Perhaps you need a demonstration of my own power... —Kitrina"

The card bursts into flames and quickly fades to ashes which I furiously scatter into the air.

The redheaded woman, Kitrina, reminded me of her name a few cards ago when she started signing them. I don't know what brought in the change, and I'm not sure I want to know.

Last night, the movie has been fun. It was interesting to see a book on a screen, but I think I prefer the paper kind that allows you to imagine as you wish. However, there was an exciting thrill to it. The way that you can hear background music certainly helps.

The movie was about a man who could read minds. It was incredibly interesting.

You know, I heard once that superheroes in the Olsen says had elemental powers too. But that kind of superhero doesn't exist anymore. Just scum. Having a power doesn't make you a hero. It makes you an illegal anomaly.

I came home and finished my homework and my book. After throwing the book against the wall, I ate dinner and headed out to fight. When I got back this morning, I found the note laying on my bed.

Raking a hand through my hair, I breathe deeply, trying to calm the panic that has been growing in me since I found that note.

No, that's not true. I've been panicked since that dream and worried my whole life.

Maybe I'm just dramatic.

There were moments in life where things were fine, great even. Days where I was allowed to play with my brothers. We had loads of fun playing in the barn. At one point, there was a rope in the barn and we spend hours just swinging from the loft and landing in a pile of hay.

We loved to play in the creek together, splashing around and pushing each other in. And they all loved it when I cooked for then, even though I did it every night. They somehow made goulash sound like the most incredible masterpiece on earth. If course it was just empty flattery—especially since they said the same things every night—but it's the thought that counted.

Despite all the great moments, there were hard ones. Ones where I was locked in a box for days on end. Where I was forced to stand on a bucket with a noose around my neck as my fathers took turns throwing rocks at me, a favorite game. But should these days really overshadow all those great ones?

I rub my eyes and resolve to let it go. There's no sense in dwelling in the past.

I love slowly to the kitchen to grab some breakfast when I realize that the fridge is empty. I can just wait and get breakfast school, but I don't want to have to go to the store later. Why out it off, right? Sighing, I grab some of my winnings and cram my feet into my shoes. Heading out the door, I not only lock the door but also check to make sure the locks work.

I'm not sure how Kitrina is getting in, but I don't exactly put much faith in the security of this place.

Shaking my head, I head out into the chilly morning. It is pretty early in the morning, the quietest time of day, I've come to notice. I walk quickly and quietly, my eyes darting around as I look for danger. Since the panic began, I've felt on edge. Well, even more so.

I've never felt safe in this world, but now, it feels like I am exposed, naked to the world. In fact, I almost lost a couple of my fights. Granted, they were hard, just not that hard. I should've been able to beat them without getting an injury. Now, I have a broken rib, bruised side, and a concussion. I won't be able to fight for a couple of days now.

Groaning, I walk into the grocery store. It's the same one that I came across Darkon in. Technically, I'm banned from the premises, but I don't think they'll actually enforce that. Not to mention, the nearest store is much farther away. I'd rather save time and energy and just try to shop here.

Not much longer, I am walking down the same road, going a different direction with my backpack now full of books instead of groceries.

My classes drag on but I am looking forward to lunch.

I burst out of my classroom as soon as the bell rings for lunch.

The teacher is yelling, "Get back here! I didn't dismiss you!"

I don't care, though. I don't even know why I show up. The hallways soon fill as classes are let out for lunch.

"I didn't bump into you! You shoved me!" Nekoda yells, breaking his cool facade as him and Gage get into her another fake screaming match.

I swear, Nekoda enjoys their "fights" way too much.

"Hey, Anger, where ya going?" A gratingly high pitched voice calls from behind me.

"Hello, Subpoena," I reply coolly, not even bothering to stop and a dress her.

"What did you just call me?!" She demands, following me like a deranged ex.

"Nothing, Scaredy-phina," I say, giving her a smile that feels more like I'm baring my teeth at her.

"Ugh! I'm trying to be nice!" She sniffs dramatically.

"Oh?" I reply, raising an eyebrow as I look at her for the first time.

Instantly, I look away, concerned my innocence will be completely demolished if I keep looking at her in that "outfit."

Honestly, isn't there a dress code at this damned school?!

"I came to warn you," Seraphina tells me with a false smile and a bar of her long lashes. "Your boyfriend is cheating on you."

"Boyfriend?" I echo in confusion, stopping and looking her in the eye.

Seraphina smiles again and replies, "Oh, silly, you don't have to pretend anymore. I already know about your secret relationship with Kolton.

Backing away slightly, I say, "Riigghhht..."

"Well, I was with Kolton all day and night yesterday after his football practice," Seraphina tells me with a gleam in her eye.

I snort at that, knowing it's complete bull. None of the seven like Seraphina and Kolton was training with us before we all went to the movies.

"Liar," I say with a roll of my lemon eyes as I walk past her, ignoring her calls and shrieks.

Finally arriving at the lunchroom, I remember then that Victoria had warned me yesterday that she wouldn't be here at school today.

Rubbing my eyes, I sigh and go find a seat with Asher and Darkon.

Today just isn't going my way, I guess.

• • •

Q: Do you like reading or writing more?

A: I used to love reading way more, but now I love writing more.