Chapter 4: Jakki
I ran back to the alley where Rachelle was hiding. I knocked four times on the dumpster and she crawled out from behind it. I ran over and helped her up, dusting off her jacket.
“What did you get?” She asked excitedly, trying to look inside my oversized bag. I stepped back and smiled, being overdramatic.
“Wait. Until. You see this.” I flipped the bag where I was hiding my stolen items upside down. Hot dogs, Hershey’s chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers fell out. Rachelle laughed and picked up the marshmallows.
“S’mores!” She exclaimed. “We can make actual s’mores!” She grabbed the rest of the stuff and put them on our table we made from old thrown out pieces of wood. I grabbed some smaller pieces of wood and some paper. I put them together and made a small fire to cook our food. I found some twigs and helped Rachelle get started on heating her hot dog.
It’s been a few weeks since the house fire. In that time, Rachelle and I have been roaming the streets and stealing whatever, and whenever, we can. We haven’t had to beg for food yet, but we were able to get some blankets and jackets from some kind people who noticed us. I’ve also been trying to control my fire. Since I had these powers, I thought I might as well use them to my advantage.
I only practice at night, while Rachelle is asleep. Little things, little fires, I was able to control, but when I practiced harder and newer things, I stayed away. I didn’t want to risk scaring, or hurting, Rachelle.
After we ate our hot dogs and s’mores, Rachelle laid out her blankets and pillows. I looked around to make sure she was safe and nobody was lurking around before lighting a small candle for a night-light until I got back. I found a street that looked mostly abandoned, still close enough to be able to hear Rachelle if anything bad happened.
I made a few small flames, warming myself up for the big stuff, and slowly started making them bigger. I let the flames crawl up my arms and swallow the sleeves of my jacket. I concentrated hard before letting the flames die down.
Looking down, I smiled and pumped my fists in the air. I probably looked like an idiot, so luckily there was nobody around to see me. The sleeves were completely intact. Not even singed. I practiced it a few more times before I tried to do something even harder, and more fun.
Lifting my arm to shoulder-height, I let a flame appear on my hand. Slowly, I willed it to take shape. It took a few minutes, but I concentrated hard enough for it to morph into a bird. I closed my eyes and thought about the bird lifting off of my hand and flying around, circling around me.
I opened my eyes and saw my flame was gone. I looked around, still concentrating, but I didn’t see where my bird went. I knew it was still there- I could still feel the energy of the fire. I turned completely around and saw my little bird flying up into the sky. I lost concentration and it disappeared, but I didn’t mind. The bird actually flew away!
I practiced for a few more minutes, making different and bigger shapes, making them fly up. After a while I decided that I should stop and go back to Rachelle and sleep. I made my way back when I noticed footsteps slowly coming up behind me.
I stopped and listened, but I didn’t hear anything after that. I started walking again and, after a few moments, those footsteps came back to.
I clenched my fist and made it hot, without making a flame, ready to face my stalker. I stopped cold when I heard a female voice say three words that made me shiver.
“I saw you.”