Chapter 14
Gym was a blast today. We played dodge ball and it was girls against guys. Guess who won. The girls. I got all the guys out, even Victor. It was funny to see his face blow up like a red balloon when I hit him with the ball. I could hear everyone gasp. He was still red after P.E.
"How can you throw and dodge so well?" Alex asked. Victor stormed away once the bell rang.
"I was sort of the state champion in dodge ball back I Arizona. Is Victor going to be okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, he's just a little pissed off. No one had beaten him in dodge ball before today." Alex smiled.
"Well, he might have been going easy on me." I said, hoping Victor didn't go all out to get me. I laughed, remembering Victor's red face.
"I could swear he had steam coming out of his ears." I said. I really did remember Victor glowing with heat. I smiled and looked up at Alex. He wasn't smiling but was looking very far ahead. The smell of smoke reaches my nose and I look at the Chemistry building. It was on fire. The fire alarms started and people were heading to the parking lot or were on their cell phones. I saw people rushing out of the building.
"Oh my God." I whispered. I felt Alex tug on my hand toward the parking lot, but I was frozen in place. Alex wrapped his arm around my waist and tugged me to the lot. I walk, not really paying attention to where we were going. There were people yelling and running, and a few people coughing, their clothes charred and burnt. I looked up to Alex to see his face concentrating on something. I followed hi gaze to see a dark figure running from the fire and into the forest that is surprisingly close to the school.
"Come on. We need to leave." I heard Victoria's voice. Everything in my vision started to fuzz up. I felt my legs I felt my legs give out from under me, but I was lifted in warm arms.
"Here, take my car. I'm going to drive her home. Make sure Victor is okay, we don't want him to start another fire." I heard Alex faint voice slipping away. Darkness washes over me.
"Thank God." I woke in a dream. The one similar to last night. Mother rushed to me and gave me a hug, helping me stand up in the circle the others made around me.
"What happened? I'm not sleeping, am I?" I asked, confused. Mother chuckled and let me go.
"No, you fainted. But we need to give you some information before you resurface to consciences. John," she motioned to my uncle. He stepped forward.
"Woodelves do have enemies, but only one can actually kill us. They are normal, human looking creatures, but they are not. They are extremely dangerous, but extremely rare. We hope you'll never encounter one. When they lose their temper, they can kill everyone around them. They burn down buildings and end up hurting the ones they love, so they usually do not go out in the human world. And they-" suddenly, my uncle disappeared. I looked around and notice that the bright white have disappear, and everyone with it.
"Beware the fire demons." I heard my mother faintly.
"Wait!" I yelled, but they were gone.
"Saphire? Saphire, wake up. Can you hear me Saphire?" I heard a familiar voice. I felt as though I was in a leather seat and I could hear an engine roaring like as if it was being pushed to drive to its limit. I felt car sick.
"Saphire, I know you're awake. Answer me please." Alex gentle voice said. I felt a warmth feel on my face. I shied away from it slightly. I notice the car stop moving and the sound of the engine quieted.
"Phire, wake up. Or I'm going to pour cold water on you." My eyes burst open and I sat up from the car seat that was all the way down. I felt dizzy again because of the blood rushing out of my head, but I ignored it. I was too busy glaring at Alex amused face.
"You wouldn't dare." I said, still glaring. Alex just laughed.
"I did it once, and I'm not afraid to do it again." He continued to laugh and I rolled my eyes. I looked out of the window and notice that we were surrounded by a forest. The road was completely empty except for my car. I gave Alex a puzzled look.
"I need to tell you something. It's about my family, and me." He grabs the keys and opens his door.
"Let's take a walk. It helps me clear my mind." He got out of the car and so did I, locking it before getting out. Alex laughed.
"There's no one out here to steal your car." He said, smiling.
"You may never know." Alex face got all serious again and we started walking. I felt Alex's arm around my waist, but I was getting use to his closeness. We walked into the forest in silence.
"If I tell you something, you'd promise not to laugh? No matter how ridiculous it sounds?" Alex said, breaking the unnerving silence.
"I promise." I rolled me eyes, hoping to lighten the atmosphere. He was still serious.
"Well, I just found this out two years ago. And it's about my whole family. Apparently, I'm not human. I'm a fire demon." Alex said, glancing up to my face guiltily. I stopped and tensed up, remembering what my mother just told me. I took a few feet away from Alex, who now was surprise instead guilty.
"It's all right, I'm not dangerous to anyone." He said, taking a cautious step towards me. I took another step back.
"Except for woodelves." I whispered, totally frightened. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah. Well, I didn't pick wood-" he suddenly stops talking. "How do you know about woodelves? You're not one, your dad is fully human." He said, sounding as though he was talking to himself. He was looking down at the ground, trying to think. I took this chance and bolted. I didn't know where the road was, so I wasn't sure if I was going deeper into the forest or not. I trip over a rock and try to get back up, but a tree, because of last night's storm, fell on top of me. I yelp in pain and felt branches pushed against my skin. I tried to squirm out from under it but the weight of the big tree got heavier and I got cuts that bleed because of the branches.
"Saphire!" I heard Alex gasp. He, Victor, and Richard were suddenly by the big tree. They all lifted the tree and I saw Victoria and Delialah pull me out. I didn't know how they all got there, but I was grateful. Alex drops the tree quickly and was suddenly by my side. I felt the cuts all over me, and I knew I must look a mess. Victoria gasps. My eyes closed without notice and my body breathes deeply. It felt as though my body was taken over and was doing things that I didn't make it do. I could feel me cuts being cleaned some how and the stickiness of the blood disappear. My cuts seemed to close and the wooziness of lost blood disappears. My body was given back under my control and I opened my eyes. Everyone but Alex stared down at me in confusion and shock. Alex not knew why I ran off, and his face showed rage, confusion, and something else that I couldn't tell what it was.
"Leave us." Alex said. Victoria looked at him and nodded. They disappear one by one, leaving the demon with his elf. I sat up and scooted away from Alex and lean against a tree. My strength was still weak, so I couldn't start running again. Alex sat next to the blood that was left over from me. He got a sample of it on his fingers and sniffs it. I watch him carefully, ready to defend myself if he suddenly decided to attack me. I look down at my clothes to see that only shredded clothing were to prove that a tree fell on me.
I looked back up to see Alex's face barely an inch from mine. I try to shrink away, but Alex hands were against either side of my head against the tree trunk behind me. His face was still enraged, so I looked down and fiddled with my fingers.
"How come you didn't tell me?" he whispered. I didn't answer but continued to stare down at my hands. His warm hand lifted my chin up so that I was looking into his eyes. His face was soft and inviting, saying trust me through his pleading eyes. I sighed.
"I believe you know why. I am still new to what I am, so I am taking as much precaution as possible." I said, looking into Alex's eyes. He dropped his hand and nodded his head.
"I can understand that." Alex leaned against the tree next to me and sighed.
"What are we going to do? Obviously we can't tell your family or my mom." Alex gave me a puzzled look. "My mother is fully woodelf. I'm only half because of my father." I explained. Alex became thoughtful.
"We will act as though you're fully human. And your mother will not be told about my family or I. and my family won't know about yours. Deal?" Alex asked.
"Yeah. Are we still going out?" Alex rolled his eyes and I notice my voice sounded a little too hopeful. I blushed.
"Yes, we are."