Chapter 2

I wake to a bucket of ice-cold, numbing water dumped on my head.
"Dude! What the heck, Xavier?" I rant. "Really, all I want is a good night's sleep. Is that too much to ask?"
Xavier shrugs, seemingly surprised. "Damien, chill. We all got that dumped on us on our first night here. It's a nice reality check. Tough it out, man."
That's when I notice the others standing around me. Suddenly, I feel embarrassed, soaking wet and wearing only a pair of shorts. Squashing my feelings, I shoot a nasty glare around the room.
Alex steps forward. "Hey, take it easy. It was just a joke. If it's worth anything, I gave Matt a shiner when he did that to me. Not that I'm volunteering or anything." He sends a sly glance towards Xavier. "I think that honor goes to Xavier."
Xavier grins and stands his ground. "Come at me, bro!" he challenges. "Winner gets first in the shower."
I lunge for him and he ducks effortlessly. Then it seems as if the world has slowed down. I'm tuned in to Xavier's every movement, every thought. Must be a fallen angel thing.
We grapple for a few minutes, and I trap him in a headlock. "Say 'uncle'," I taunt.
Xavier gets a nasty grin on his face, the kind that says, I know something you don't... and I'm so gonna exploit that.
A wave of euphoria hits me. Part of my consciousness wonders why I'm acting like I've been drugged, but most of me is giggling like some 8-year-old with ice cream. My brain registers that I've dropped Xavier, but it doesn't bother me unduly. I seem to be viewing things from afar.
Jasper's shouting at Xavier now, saying something about powers. Why? I wonder giddily. Everything is perfectly fine.

And then it's like that bucket of ice-cold water gets dumped on me again. Alex slaps me once for good measure. "C'mon, Damien, snap out of it!"

I give my head a few shakes to clear any remaining fluff out of it. "What the-"

"What the bleep is about right," growls Jasper.

The last clouds dissipate from my head. The full shock of what just occurred slams into me. I whirl around, and my gaze settles on Xavier. "OK, so I had you in a stranglehold, and then it's like I get a dose of morphine, or what? I need explanations, 'cause it seems that the rest of you guys know what's going on," I growl. A bead of sweat falls from my brow, and my hands start to shake. I clench them into fists. I gasp involuntarily. My hands feel like they've been set on fire.

I refuse to look down, and keep my gaze trained on Xavier. A fresh wave of anger washes over me. This is way past annoyance now.

Xavier's eyes are wide, resembling saucers. Nah, scratch that. More like car wheels. But he's not looking at me. He's staring at my hands.

"Uh, Damien, I don't know how to, um, tell you this, but-" he stammers.

"Spit it out, jerkwad." I am really in no mood to put up with any crap.

"Your hands are on fire!" he blurts.

I glance down, and the aforementioned appendages are indeed ablaze. But these are no normal flames. They are jet black, framed with silver, like black-and-white versions of everyday fire.
Then the panic sets in. Sweat is pouring off me now, and I'm vaguely aware of Matt shoving me out of the cabin.
Just in time, too, because I automatically raise my hands, as if to push someone away.
Midnight flames pour from my palms.
"Ahhhhhh!" I yell. "Woah, woah, WOAH! Not good, not good, not good."
Xavier's shouting at me now, while I'm contemplating on whether or not I should roast him alive. After all, I do have the funny feeling that he started this whole fiasco.
Dude! Calm down, commands a voice. Jasper?
"My hands are on fire and you freaking expect me to relax? Get real," I spit.
Jasper signs off with an exasperated sigh. I'm frantically looking about in a quest for water, when I realize that my hands don't hurt. In fact, they feel like a cool breeze is washing over them. As soon as my befuddled mind accepts this, the flames go out. Poof. Gone, like they never existed.
But the trees beg to differ. A wide swath of them display scorch marks, while the grass around me is just about nonexistent. Burnt away, just like that.
Now I'm scared. The others cautiously make their way towards me. Alex and Jasper have their hands up in a calming gesture, while Xavier holds a bucket of water. Matt, apparently, has booked it outta here. Coward, I think fleetingly before returning to the matter at hand.
"Guys," I say. My voice is actually trembling. "Explanations. Now, unless you wanna have barbecue for lunch."
Xavier hesitantly steps up. "Uh, yeah. Since I kinda started this whole thing, I guess I should explain it, too. Um, do you wanna get back to the cabin, or, do you wanna..."
He trails off as I send a meaningful glare in his direction. "OK, here it is. All of us, fallen angels, I mean, have a power. We all discovered them when we got mad. Like, really mad."
Xavier pauses, glancing at me as if to reaffirm that I'm not going to beat him up here and now.

"Continue."

"My power is influencing people's emotions. I can tell what someone is feeling, and I can make them feel a certain emotion. I got sorta carried away in the scuffle this morning and sent a blast of 'happy' towards you... and you know the rest," he finishes, somewhat abashedly.
I raise an eyebrow skeptically. "Okay. So my power is fire? How about the rest of us?"
Alex picks up the explanation. "Yeah, it seems like your skill is fire. Dark fire, nonetheless," he says dramatically. At my expression, he hurriedly carries on. "I know people's worst fears. It's not always the easiest power, having all those depressing thoughts floating around. But you don't have to worry about us using our powers against each other. I mean, we all have times when we get a bit carried away, but it's sort of the unspoken code. Xavier, well, he-"
"Xavier's an immature idiot," cuts in Jasper. "Damien, I know that you're probably PO beyond all probable conceivement, but we need to let this go. Like Alex said, we all have those moments when we don't think."
Part of me-alright, most of me-wants to punch the ever-loving crap out of Xavier, but the little voice in my head tells me to drop it. It's not good to have bad feelings between people in a group like ours. "Alright, I get it. Everything's even now, considering the fact that I probably scared the living daylights-or in our case, nightlights outta Xavier," I admit grudgingly.
They all collectively release a long-held breath. Jasper grins and says, "Onward. I'm the 'magician' of the posse. I can create illusions."
In spite of myself, I find my features breaking into a reluctant smile. "Recap. We all have some kooky power-"
"Weeeeell," says Alex. "All of us...except for Matt."
"Oh," I say, surprised. "So that's why he basically disappeared and left a crazy, unhinged, pyrotechnic me in your hands."
Alex shrugs. "I guess it was kind of hard watching another guy find his power, especially 'cause you're new. But you're right; Matt can be a serious jerk sometimes."
"Tell me about it," mutters Jasper.
Things are a bit more clear than they were 10 minutes ago, but there's still some stuff I need to know. "So," I begin. "Do I have to worry about roasting someone whenever I get mad, or can I control it?"
"At the beginning, you don't have much control over your power," says Jasper. "It'll manifest itself when you're either super angry or scared, but you'll gain control later on. The rest of us leash our skills pretty well, but, well, the mask slips when we get really mad. In this case with Xavier, though, he was just being a jerk, wanting to get a rise outta the newbie. Maybe even wanting to test you, to see if you had a power. But you should probably keep your distance from the public until you get to know your, uh, skill better. So, yeah, there is the slight possibility that you could accidentally BBQ someone if you get mad."
My shoulders slump slightly. Jasper is basically telling me that I can never have a normal life. "Okay. Fine. Whatever. Is there any other kooky fallen angel stuff I should know about? Anything else slip your mind?"
The three shift uncomfortably. "Um, maybe..." Alex trails off. He claps his hands together abruptly and says brightly, "But breakfast first! Sound good to anyone?"
My ears perk up. Breakfast does sound good. The last time I had a proper meal was-I don't know. Do angels even need to eat?
I let out an exaggerated sigh-they're not completely off the hook, after all- and make a show of reluctantly conceding their point. "Alright. Breakfast, then it's Q&A time."
We all file towards the house, questions whirring through my mind the entire time. Plus, where is Matt? Sure, he says he's the leader, but he seems like a pretty crappy one to me.
The query is answered as we enter the house. Matt's sprawled across the sofa. He glances up, his expression unreadable.
I hold his gaze levelly. He raises an eyebrow, and a staring match ensues.
A moment passes.
Then another.
And another.
A bead of sweat trickles down my temple. Fury builds inside me, and I become aware of the strain of holding back the flames.
A brief flash of emotion crosses Matt's eyes, and he turns away and promptly disappears into one of the doors leading off of the living room.
Alex lets out a derisive snort. "Well he took that well, dontcha think?"
I shrug noncommittally. "Who cares?" I say impassively. "I'm starving."
They are silent.