Ch. 105: On Fire

CHAPTER 105
Kyle~
I was swinging around and getting smacked into something hard. My stomach hurt. It took me a minute to realize I was smacking into another person. I was in the dark, being swung around. Fireman style carried? Through what? By who? My stomach was digging into a shoulder, the shoulder of the one carrying me.
I looked over and saw another person there - Ally. And that meant it was likely Nick here carrying me.
I tried to talk but found my throat a little off like I hadn’t talked in some time.
I had to clear my throat before I asked “What are we doing here?”
“Nick! Hurry!” Ally called.
That’s when I really started getting smacked around. Nick was running up the stairs after Ally and I was getting bounced so much I didn’t risk talking, knowing I’d likely just bite my tongue.
We ran through something - a door. And then some sort of building, old school. Downton Abbey era? No. Much older and much more gloomy. Outlander, perhaps? What a strange dream. Then we were outside and I couldn’t look anymore with all this upside down bouncing without throwing up all over Nick so I just shut my eyes. Ugh. Not a dream.
After more time bouncing I found myself getting gently tossed to the ground. The grass.
I rolled and cracked my neck, about to say something smart to my ‘fireman’ when Ally snapped her head to me and held up a finger to her lips.
I sit up very slowly and all my nerves are on edge.
What is this place? A dark forest in the middle ages? Are we in someone’s subconscious?
Nick moves in his predatory way checking all around us before joining Ally and I in our hunched over huddle behind a thick bush. Suddenly he freezes, and I see Ally turn her head to find what caught Nick’s attention.
It’s a person. We are too far away for me to make out much else. It’s too dark. It’s a person and they are walking- and they’re gone. I blink again to check but no, my eyes are fine.
“We should get out of here,” Nick finally says.
From the regular level of his voice I know that there’s no one within hearing distance. Wolves and their hearing.
“Grab my hand,” Ally says as she stands and follows Nick down through the forest. We walk and walk and then Ally holds up her free hand as her amulet glows, and she puts her hand through-? What? It’s gone.
Nick pushes through holding on to Ally and I’m last, going into the invisible wall to Goddess-knows-where.
And we’re in a field.
“Okay - does anyone care to share what the hll just happened?” I ask at last.
“I was going to ask you that question,” Nick growled in reply, puffing his chest.
“Boys!” Ally insists. We turn our heads to her. “We’ve got bigger problems. We need to go.”
She pulls up her phone screen to show us tons of texts from Evan.
Nick pulls out his phone to see 8 missed calls.
“Sht,” Nick says and hits ‘call’ to call Evan back.

Jake~
Something was wrong. My hair was standing up on all ends. Rachel. Something wasn’t right. She was in pain.
‘Mate. Get to mate,’ Aamon roars.
I didn’t even think about it.
I ran.
My body was on fire. I was fire. My vision swam. I tripped on a log. I was fighting Aamon for control of my body, of my vision. I was losing. Was this it? Was this the moment the Goddess was planning for? I wish I had asked. She wanted me to wait longer to survive the change, but was this long enough?
I’m up. I’m charging through - trees. I nearly crack a tree in half, a redwood or pine, it cracks. I’m charging further and my claw scrapes my side. Claw?
I hit the ground again, stumbling on something. I can’t function like this, my eyes keep fading to black. It doesn’t seem like even Aamon can see when it goes dark like that.
And then another body slams into mine.
“It’s not time Alpha!” Evan screams at me, trying to hold me still as I thrash.
I threw him off. The bones in my legs start to crack and I yell out.
“No! The Goddess says it’s not time yet!” Evan yells again, body-slamming me against a tree trunk.
The ground shook as a tree crashed to the earth. My right arm snapped and my skin screamed in a stretch.
“Ev!” I yell out and dig my claws into the ground. The grass in the earth catches fire and burns.
I can’t stop this.
‘Aamon, stop it - the Goddess-’ I started to call out to him.
‘Mate! Mate needs us!’ he cuts me off in an insistent tone.
I try to pull myself together. My claws retract then burst out again making me scream. Loss of control. Pain. I couldn’t begin to pick a main reason for my scream.
And then Evan throws something crazy at me. The trunk of a tree. For a spilt second I think how crazy that is. We aren’t that strong in human form.
But then I’m hit by the tree and flying through the air. My head hits something hard and I feel blackness taking hold of my consciousness. If I could give in to this.
“Goddess danit! Pick up! Pick up!” I hear Evan yelling as he storms at me again.
And then Aamon slams forward and I’m on fire. Actual fire.
I stand up to meet Evan face to face, only to realize I’m somehow taller than him. His totally stupefied face and the way his cell phone drops out of his hands - he’s shocked. And I look at my feet and hands. I am living fire. I would stop to think about this more but then pain rips through my spine again and I can feel my face breaking - a snout forming.
Evan shifts and charges at me.

Evan~
I was dreaming about something sweet. I couldn’t name it but the relief my chest felt - it was like I was suddenly weightless after carrying the earth on me. And then I was by a lake. And a woman was there. Otherworldly.
She spoke in a kind voice and I came closer. Only for her panicked eyes to meet me. I asked her what was wrong when she quickly told me that my Alpha was going to shift and that his body wasn’t ready. She pleaded with me to stop him.
So when my eyes shot open I ran. I knew I had spoken with the Goddess. Xavier confirmed, and he somehow knew where to go. We jumped right into beating on him like before. But it wasn’t enough. Right when I started to worry I wouldn’t be enough, Xavier ordered me to pick up the tree trunk and throw it. I hesitated, I can’t pick that thing up, not in this form, and even as a wolf it would be hard enough to lift it!
But he yelled again a roaring ‘NOW!’ and I did it.
‘What was that?!’ I shouted at him. How can I do this?
No time to do much thinking though. Nick and Ally weren’t answering their phones or any of my ‘911’ texts.
“Goddess danit! Pick up! Pick up!” I scream out.
And then - fu-.
Jake has turned into a giant fire. I can make out the outline of him. But it’s like he’s made up of a million candles. Or more like a million flame throwers.
Well sht.
He rages at me and shift to run at him.
My skin is burnt horribly but I push further and further. He keeps coming at me. I get a clean shot and send him flying. He hits another tree. They’re really going to have to do some replanting here.
He runs at me and now it’s my turn to fly. As soon as I hit something I’m up and chasing him. He’s still trying to get somewhere. I shift back. This physical distraction isn’t working anymore.
“Jake!” I yell over the roar of flames. “We have to get you back down!”
He throws a boulder down the hill, taking out several bushes. The fires spread.
“MATE!” Aamon’s deep powerful grumble radiates through everything.
“Aamon, you’re going to get you both killed!” I yell, throwing a short tree at his back. “Simmer down and I’ll take you to her! I’ll bring you to your mate!”
Jake’s face becomes visible through the blazing fire.
“Yes! I’ll take you! But you need to cool down or you’ll die! And if you die she’ll have to go on without you!” I start screaming every logical thing I can. Goddess, this should be Nick, not me. “That would be bad! Rachel would be in more danger!”
His flames shoot up higher.
Sht. I guess that was the wrong thing to say.
Jake’s face is covered in fur again and then flame.
“You have to simmer down or you - you’re condemning Rachel to - she could die!” I’m losing him. “Jake! You have to simmer down to help Rachel! You want to help her, right?”
The flames flicker.
“You have to cool down to help her. Do it for her. I know you’re strong enough!” I add. Please let this work.
The flames dwindle, and his fur retracts. After a few breaths he shrinks a bit in height.
“I don’t’ - can’t hold-” Jake stutters to me.
“Let’s go!” I instruct him as I run towards the cars.

Some minutes later I am following Aamon’s verbal directions as we get closer to - a hospital. Jake/Aamon are still burning in the seat next to me but somehow they are not burning the upholstery. At least I hope not.
“Here,” their unified voice says.
“Okay, I’ll go in and see what I can find out. You…” I scan his stiff back, his clenched fists, his rising and shrinking flames, “You just hang in there.”
He doesn’t say anything as I jog into the hospital in front of me. Thankfully we have connections here. Mainly, Mitchell’s mom. I call her as I head inside.