Chapter Twenty-Five: Aspen
Chapter Twenty-Five
~ Aspen ~
I let go of Gracie and pushed past Will and E, determined to find Jax and Grey. There was no way I was letting them get stuck in that forest after everything. It would be my fault for suggesting this stupid place. I heard faint voices calling my name, but I wasn’t going to stop for anything. Not when there was an innocent family, including a baby, at risk. My eyes stung as I ran into the smokey tree line. I brought my arm up to cover my mouth and nose, but it did little to help.
Visibility was practically nonexistent as I moved further in. My clothes felt sticky as the raging heat wrapped around me. I kept moving. It was the only thing I could do. Since I was practically running blind, I let my instincts guide me. Suddenly, I heard voices. They were far away, but they were there. I moved in their direction as fast as I could.
That’s when I saw them. There was Grey, Jax, and the family that E mentioned. Grey and Jax were desperately trying to pull a huge tree off a man, while a woman who I’m assuming was his partner sat beside him cradling their baby. I made my way over to them and knelt down to help.
“Aspen?” Grey almost dropped what little leverage he had on the tree. “What the hell are you doing? Get out of here!”
“I’m helping!” Smoke invaded my lungs and I let out a series of coughs.
It was hopeless. Even with the three of us lifting the heavy tree wasn’t moving an inch. The man beneath it was beginning to give up hope. My anxiety was rising as the flames seemed to close in on us. I could see that Jax was about to call it, and I panicked. How could we leave him? With his baby and wife right here? That just wasn’t an option. I urged the Earth to help. I didn’t even know if I was praying or what, all I know is I was calling out for something helpful to happen.
Just then, a root beside us began to grow. It twisted until it was under the large tree and continued to move upward. All I could do was watch. I had no idea if I was behind it or not, but I willed the root to grow until the tree was lifted off of the man. He squirmed free, shockingly uninjured, and grabbed his family. They ran toward the clearing, and we weren’t far behind. I was still trying to process what had just happened as we made our way out of the fire. My lungs burned painfully, my eyes watered and stung like crazy. But it had been worth it. I helped save that family, and that was all that mattered.
In a matter of seconds, we were free. The family collapsed on the ground in front of us and people quickly swooped in to help them into the building. I stopped in an attempt to catch my breath, but I was rudely interrupted by a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Grey, a mixture of anger and pride swimming in his eyes. He was filthy, covered from head to toe in black ash. From the corner of my vision, I noticed that Jax was tackled to the ground by an excited Gracie, but I couldn’t look away from Grey. I was about to ask him what his problem was when he suddenly pulled me into him.
With both of his hands on either side of my face, he crashed his lips onto mine. I let out a sound of surprise but felt my eyes flutter closed. My hands had a mind of their own as they gripped the sides of his shirt to bring him closer. Just as quickly as it had begun, it was over. I blinked to clear my head as he moved back only a couple inches.
“That was so stupid.” He muttered, and I wasn’t sure if he meant the kiss or me running into the fire.
I didn’t have time to ask as Gracie moved from Jax to Grey, pouncing on top of him in relief. He chuckled and pulled her into his arms, whispering apologies as she cried into his chest. I felt my cheeks redden as I realized what had just happened. Grey kissed me. But why? He had been so hot and cold lately. Maybe he’d only done it because he’d barely escaped death. That could make people do crazy things.
I decided it was best to let them have their moment and moved toward the building. I passed E, Will, and Jax, who all had half-shocked, half-amused looks on their faces. My plan was to walk right by them, but E blocked my way.
“Are you crazy?” She asked, but I knew she really meant ‘are you okay?’. The relief in her voice told me that much.
“I think she’s just fine.” Jax quipped, a smirk dancing on his lips.
“We will never speak of this again.” I sent him a steely glare and went on my way.
I had no idea why Grey had done that, and I didn’t really care to find out. Doing anything besides hate him would complicate things way too much. We were both here to survive and that’s it. There was something big coming, I could feel it, and we needed all of our focus on that. Any distractions could become deadly, and I wasn’t taking any chances.
Once I was inside, I felt a small smile pull at my lips. Everyone was settling in amazingly. I could tell they appreciated the warm air and running water. It was obvious that most of them had showered in the locker rooms downstairs and I was happy for them. They deserved way more, but finally experiencing even the smallest of luxuries was a start. I moved through the offices, making sure they had what they needed.
I knew this building in and out. Aside from the field trips I’d attended with school, I’d practically lived here with dad. I had always been interested in his work. I thought he was helping people, and I wanted to join his team even from a young age. He humored me for the most part and let me come here with him when he had his weekly meetings. I spent my time wandering around and coming up with things to entertain myself.
In the coming days I would help everyone adjust and make sure they knew where everything was. Luckily, there was a plethora of supplies left behind, including non-perishable food. I still wondered why, but that investigation would have to come later. At that moment though, those people were my priority. And I was planning on doing everything I could to make up for all the wrong Dad had already done.