Fire and Water
Ellette awoke to an odd beeping sound. Stupid alarm. It�s Saturday. Not supposed to get up yet. Ellette slammed her fist down on the snooze button. But the beeping continued. She pressed it again and again, but the sound refused to cease.
�Stupid thi-... what?� she picked up her alarm and looked at it. It wasn�t even on. Then... what was beeping?
It was only then that she recognized that her room was oddly warm, and the air was thick and somewhat choking. She walked to the door to see what was going on. She opened the door to see a high wall of flames staring back at her. She screamed in terror.
She slammed the door shut and turned around. A random thought struck her as she looked out the window into her front yard.
I touched the door handle, and now that I look at it, it�s red with heat. How did it not burn my hand when I grabbed it?!
She saw her parents screaming up to her, and her brother stood a bit behind them. Her parents asked if she was okay.
�I�m fine! But I�m trapped!� Ellette yelled down.
�The firefighters are trying to find a way to get to you, honey! Hold on!� her mom called.
�Alright!� Ellette walked over toward the door to check the knob again. As she reached the middle of the room, a quiet groaning noise reached her ears �Hmmm? What was that?� she stayed still for a minute, and listened. Nothing. Oh well.
She saw the doorknob glowing red with heat. She knew the pain she would be in if she so much as tapped the thing with her finger, but for some reason, she wanted to touch it. She didn�t know why, but she wanted to just tap or touch the glowing heat.
Ellette, get ahold of yourself. You touch that thing, and you can say good bye to your fingers.
However, against her thoughts, her hand moved steadily toward the doorknob. Until it was about an inch away from the red glowing surface. She could feel the intense heat radiating from the metal piece.
Finally, her fingers closed the distance between themselves and the doorknob. Her fingers closed around the glowing metal... and yet her hand didn�t burn. Nothing happened.
What the-!! Ellette tore her hand away and ran to the middle of the room. She halted in the center when she once again, heard the groaning sounds. She stood still, and again her ears were filled with silence.
But, then, another eerie sound filled her ears. It was coming from the other side of the door. But... there�s nothing but fire out there.
She slowly made her way back to the door. When she stood in front of it, she could feel the intense heat coming from the door, which was probably going to catch fire at any moment. Despite the heat, she put her palm to it. It was hot, but she felt no pain. She pressed the side of her face to it to listen. She almost jumped at what she heard.
�Ellette Ainsly! Jin Dao! Hinote Megami! Ellette Ainsly! Jin Dao! Hinote Megmai!� An ancient male voice was yelling to her from the hallway.
Ellette ran back toward the window to see how the firemen were doing. But before she could reach the window, she stopped in the center of the room once more. The groaning was louder than anything! She couldn�t take one more step when the carpeted floor beneath her dropped.
Ellette screamed as she was sent flying into the flames in the kitchen. She stood and looked herself over.
W-What�s going on here?! She pushed her hand into a nearby flame, but her hand wasn�t hurt. Her sleeve was incinerated, but her flesh remained pale and healthy.
Ellette began shaking in fear and shock. How could she touch fire and not be injured?! No matter how much the flames licked at her skin, she wasn�t hurt. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew she had to get out of the house.
The teen turned around to look for a way out, but all of the exits were blocked by something like chairs, the table, or just bits of the ceiling, which was now falling apart. Ellette turned her head as something caught her eye. It seemed to be some kind of holographic projection. However, it looked a bit more solid. It was a bit fuzzy at first, but as it took shape, Ellette realized that it was, in fact, a man. He had long jet black hair and piercing golden eyes. They seemed to bore into her as if he could read exactly what she was thinking.
Ellette backed away slightly. She bumped into the bathroom door, and quickly dashed inside. There were flames there too. Ellette wondered how everything had caught fire so badly. The girl looked around a bit before coming face to face with herself. She almost screamed when she saw her reflection of herself in the mirror. But something stopped her. Something was glowing on her forehead. She leaned closer to the mirror to see what it was. It was a flame. It wasn�t moving like the flames that had consumed the entire house, but it was a red fire that seemed to have been painted onto her forhead.
�Ellette!� called a male voice. She didn�t recognize it, so she assumed it was the new man outside the bathroom, standing in the kitchen. �Come out here. I would like to speak with you.�
Ellette froze. For one, how did he know her name? Second, what does he was to discuss with her in a burning building?! Couldn�t he get her out of here first?
�About... what?� she asked slowly.
�I can answer your questions. Like, why you can be touched by the fire and not be hurt.� He answered, now approaching the door.
�Can you get me out of here first?� she called.
�If you wish. But now, you must wait for your questions to be answered. Just know, that this is no dream, if that�s what you are thinking. Let the mark on your forehead be a sign to you that this really happened.� With that, a bright light filled the bathroom as well as consumed the entire house and everything around it.
Ellette sat up in bed, panting heavily. She put a hand to her chest and looked around. She was in her bedroom. This time, no choking feeling filled the room. The fire alarm lay silent in the hall. Her alarm was still not on.
The teen laughed to herself. �That was a really weird dream.� She laughed lightly again. But her smile vanished as something from the dream came to mind. Let the mark on your forehead be a sign that this really happened.
Even though she felt paranoid, she raced out of her room and into the hall bathroom. Sure enough, a red flame glowed on her forehead. Ellette had to swallow the scream that had worked its way to her voice before dashing back into her room and covering herself with a blanket. What�s going on? What am I, now?
Michi groaned as a wave smashed what would�ve been her sandcastle. Behind her, her adoptive parents laughed lightly. Michi through a playful glare over her shoulder, and then dove into the sea. The Atlantic was cooling and invigorated Michi to no extent. She loved the ocean, and wanted to always be around it. She didn�t get too far before her father called to her.
�Michi!� the girl turned. �Your mother and I are going to get some food. You wanna come, or should we bring you back some nachos?�
�Just bring me back some nachos!� Michi was right at home in the water. She didn�t want to leave. She was wearing a new bathing suit of her favorite color, crystal blue, that she had gotten the day before after school. The top was tied off around the neck and the bottom was bikini style with a short flowing mini skirt over top. She floated on her back as she swam farther out to sea.
Mr. Alaire smiled knowingly. He was okay with leaving his fourteen year old alone for short periods of time. Especially in the water. Michi had proven herself to be able to hold her breath for a little over five minutes. She never knew how, or why, she just could. Besides that, Michi had been trained for five years in Tea Kwon Do and was now a first degree black belt, so he knew she could take care of herself. He and his wife strolled away.
Michi floated leisurely along, staring up at the sky. It was really pretty today.
�What�cha doin� water girl?� came a painfully familiar voice.
�Go away, Whitney.� Michi muttered irritably.
�Oh, come on! We just wanted to apologize!� Michi�s super sensitive ears picked up the sound of a few other people around her.
�Right. And Santa Cause lives with the Tooth Fairy in Queens.� Michi sucked in more breath to keep herself afloat.
�Well, to prove it, why don�t we play a game?� Allison�s voice found Michi�s ears.
�Like what? Like, go away and leave me alone?� Michi closed her eyes, which only served to make her ears more acute to the girls motions and words around her.
�Nah, like, torment the Japanese girl.� Amy�s voice held a laugh to it before Michi was grabbed by the shoulders and jerked into an upright position by Allison and Amy, forcing her to look Whitney in the eye.
�Let me go! I don�t want to fight! I hate fighting! Let me go!� Michi jerked back and forth trying to rid her arms of the two teen aged parasites.
�Oh, don�t be such a spoilsport, girl! We said we wanted to play a game.� Whitney�s eyes held a teasing, manic look in them. They stood staring at each other for a moment. Whitney�s prideful eyes clashing with those defiant, angry eyed owned by Michi. Michi�s eyes held no fear whatsoever, which surprised Whitney although only made her more determined to drown the twerp.
Michi suddenly felt her feet swept out from under her. She gasped as Whitney grabbed her shoulders and pushed her backwards into the water, then held her there.
Michi fought and fought, flailing her arms everywhere, but there were three people holding her down. She wasn�t strong enough to fling them all off.
Three minutes passed. The bullies were astonished that the girl was still conscious and fighting. Still holding her breath. But Michi�s fighting was wearing her down, making her lungs crave oxygen faster than usual. She found herself in need of air desperately as if she had been under for five minutes.
At three and a half minutes, Michi found she could not hold her breath any longer. She exhaled slowly, trying to preserve as much air as possible, but soon found she was out of options. These girls were going to drown her in her favorite spot on earth.
Maybe if they think I�ve gone unconscious, they�ll leave me alone. She thought. She figured she would get it over with and breathe in the water.
Michi inhaled deeply, but, nothing happened. Rich oxygen flooded her lungs. She could breathe! She sniffed around, smelling the millions of fragrances that made up the smell of the sea. The blend of the aromas made up an intoxicating smell that tickled Michi�s senses making her love for the sea grow even more. It was unlike anything she had experienced before.
Satisfied with their handiwork, Whitney, Amy, and Allison let go of the girl when she stopped struggling. The three girls abandoned their positions and headed for shore.
Feeling her arms set free, Michi held her position until all three of the girls had walked off, giving the illusion that she was unconscious. Michi swam away to about ten feet of water. She continued to breathe quickly, still a bit scared that water would soon replace the oxygen filling her lungs. She turned her head as a white light stole all of her attention. She swam toward it, almost needing to find out what it was. She swam for what seemed like hours. Or minutes. Michi couldn�t tell. The only thing that seemed to exist, besides herself was the light. It also seemed to be the only thing that mattered.
When there was about a five foot gap between her and the light, it vanished. She gasped and swam foreward to where the light had been. She was surprised to find that the need to find the light had vanished along with it. She swam up tot he surface and looked around.
�Ahh!� Michi could no longer see the shore. How far out am I?
She turned once more as a sound caught her ear. Her eyes widened at the water that was spraying upwards as if flying from the blowhole of a whale. Michi stared at the phenomenon wide eyed, not quite knowing what to do. Was there a whale under her? Then why was it lasting so long? Why wasn�t it moving?
�Michi Yoshe. Lian Miyoko. Sui Megami. Michi Yoshe. Lian Miyoko. Sui Megami.� A male voice echoed all around her.
Michi wasn�t sure where the voice was coming from, nor did she know who Lian Miyoko or Sui Megami were. She figured she might as well respond to her own name. �Y-Y-Yes?�
�Do you know who you are?� at the sound of the voice this time, Michi whirled around in the water. There, she saw the image of a man, Hair of the darkest ebony and eyes of pure gold.
�Yes, I am Michi Aiko Yoshe from New York, New York.� She answered the translucent man.
�Not anymore. You are much more than that as you will soon see.� He answered, smiling kindly. The image began to disppear.
�Wait! What do you... mean?� the man was already gone. Michi looked around. The water girl was gone, and in her place was simply the water fountain. She looked closely at the fountain at a bright light that seemed to glow inside. It brightened to the point of blinding, then Michi was thrown into complete and utter darkness.
Decided to sun bathe, huh?� Michi awoke to her father�s voice.
She opened her eyes to see that she was back on the shore. A large umbrella shaded her and the towel she was lying on from the hot sun. Her dad set a large plate of nachos in front of her, before settling into a folding chair. �Here ya go.� He smiled.
Michi offered a weak smile as she nibbled on the chips. It must have been a dream. But if it was, then... wait! Nachos?! It couldn�t have been a dream! I told them I wanted nachos! At that moment, Michi saw Allison, Whitney, and Amy throw her shocked glares before huddling and whispering amongst each other. And they wouldn�t be looking at me like that.. They thought they drown me. That was no dream. But... then... who was that? What�s going on? I�m so confused!