Rollins rambling on about his team’s prowess, and I could hear my fellow students as they punctuated the coach’s every other word with loud cheers, but I could no longer see them. I couldn’t even see Nate, and he was standing barely two inches to my left. It was like someone had dropped a black shroud over my head. I could’ve believed that was exactly what had happened if it hadn’t been for the bonfire. I could still see it perfectly, smack-dab in the center of the field, struggling to gain momentum and burst into the kind of two-story high flames you see at college football rallies in old movies.
And then it did just that.
The brilliant flash of light momentarily blinded me. I blinked spots from my eyes and tried to focus on the flames, which by nowrose high above the vacant lot, far above the heads of the gathered students. When I could see properly again, the flames had turned a brilliant yellow-green and seemed to be spinning around.
That’s when I saw the people.
Not the people around me—there was still nothing but darkness as far as I could see, except for the fire. I’m talking about the people
inside
the fire; the people who screamed pitifully to be set free as their bodies, freakishly elongated and contorted by the spinning flames, burned alive.
I started screaming too.
I frantically pawed the space beside me where Nate should have been, but my fingers found only empty air. I groped and stumbled, but there was nothing around me but darkness. I was alone. There was nothing there except for me, the fire, and its victims.
There was no one who could save them except for me.
I opened my mouth to scream again, but then a hand touched my shoulder and I whirled around.
“Nate!” I shrieked.
But it was not Nate. Standing behind me, the only person whose face was visible in the surrounding blackness, was Lucas Stratton.
4
——
His Girl Friday
L UCAS ’ S GREEN EYES HELD ME momentarily paralyzed. They were all I could see; as far as I was concerned, they were the only things left in the universe.
Then I became aware of a hand on my shoulder. And then another hand, on my other shoulder. And then I was shaking. Or the hands were shaking. Or we both were.
“Addy! Addy, come with me!”
The hands stopped shaking me and started pulling. My legs reluctantly moved to catch up with my top half as the hands pulled me away from the fire, away from the people being burned alive. Away from—
“Nate!” I screamed, fighting to turn around and get back to him. But the hands kept me firmly on course.
“Nate’s fine,” Lucas’s voice said, as we reached the edge of the vacant lot. “Turn around. See?”
I turned.
It wasn’t dark anymore. The fire was tiny again, and Coach Rollins was bellowing into his microphone, still being cheered on by the gathered students.
Nate was near the edge of the crowd, exactly beside where I’d been standing moments earlier. Had it been only moments? He turned in my direction, a curious expression on his face.
“Wave goodbye,” Lucas ordered. “Smile so he knows you’re okay.”
I looked over at him strangely, and he shrugged.
“I just don’t want him to think I’m kidnapping you,” he explained.
“Is that what you’re doing?” I asked. My throat seemed strangely dry all of a sudden.
“Of course not, Addy. I’m taking you home. Now, wave.”
I stood frozen for a moment longer, entranced at the sound of my name on his lips. Then mechanically, I raised my hand. I could feel the corners of my mouth go up, ever so slightly, as I tried to smile.
Nate waved back, still looking confused.
“We’ll take your car,” Lucas said, guiding me toward the parking lot with one hand underneath my right elbow. Without hesitation, he led me straight to Gran’s Oldsmobile. “Keys?” he asked.
I handed them to him. He opened the passenger door for me and I sat down numbly. The lone thought in my head was that this was only the second time in quite a while
And then it did just that.
The brilliant flash of light momentarily blinded me. I blinked spots from my eyes and tried to focus on the flames, which by nowrose high above the vacant lot, far above the heads of the gathered students. When I could see properly again, the flames had turned a brilliant yellow-green and seemed to be spinning around.
That’s when I saw the people.
Not the people around me—there was still nothing but darkness as far as I could see, except for the fire. I’m talking about the people
inside
the fire; the people who screamed pitifully to be set free as their bodies, freakishly elongated and contorted by the spinning flames, burned alive.
I started screaming too.
I frantically pawed the space beside me where Nate should have been, but my fingers found only empty air. I groped and stumbled, but there was nothing around me but darkness. I was alone. There was nothing there except for me, the fire, and its victims.
There was no one who could save them except for me.
I opened my mouth to scream again, but then a hand touched my shoulder and I whirled around.
“Nate!” I shrieked.
But it was not Nate. Standing behind me, the only person whose face was visible in the surrounding blackness, was Lucas Stratton.
4
——
His Girl Friday
L UCAS ’ S GREEN EYES HELD ME momentarily paralyzed. They were all I could see; as far as I was concerned, they were the only things left in the universe.
Then I became aware of a hand on my shoulder. And then another hand, on my other shoulder. And then I was shaking. Or the hands were shaking. Or we both were.
“Addy! Addy, come with me!”
The hands stopped shaking me and started pulling. My legs reluctantly moved to catch up with my top half as the hands pulled me away from the fire, away from the people being burned alive. Away from—
“Nate!” I screamed, fighting to turn around and get back to him. But the hands kept me firmly on course.
“Nate’s fine,” Lucas’s voice said, as we reached the edge of the vacant lot. “Turn around. See?”
I turned.
It wasn’t dark anymore. The fire was tiny again, and Coach Rollins was bellowing into his microphone, still being cheered on by the gathered students.
Nate was near the edge of the crowd, exactly beside where I’d been standing moments earlier. Had it been only moments? He turned in my direction, a curious expression on his face.
“Wave goodbye,” Lucas ordered. “Smile so he knows you’re okay.”
I looked over at him strangely, and he shrugged.
“I just don’t want him to think I’m kidnapping you,” he explained.
“Is that what you’re doing?” I asked. My throat seemed strangely dry all of a sudden.
“Of course not, Addy. I’m taking you home. Now, wave.”
I stood frozen for a moment longer, entranced at the sound of my name on his lips. Then mechanically, I raised my hand. I could feel the corners of my mouth go up, ever so slightly, as I tried to smile.
Nate waved back, still looking confused.
“We’ll take your car,” Lucas said, guiding me toward the parking lot with one hand underneath my right elbow. Without hesitation, he led me straight to Gran’s Oldsmobile. “Keys?” he asked.
I handed them to him. He opened the passenger door for me and I sat down numbly. The lone thought in my head was that this was only the second time in quite a while
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