Chapter 13: If you want to Spin

Zaltana kept looking to the stars while Duncan drove on through the night. Kedem had fallen asleep as they drove through Nevada and was snoring loudly. Cyrus had zoned out while listening to his CD player. Rowen was having an ADD attack and trying to name all the stars. "Hey Rowen you can see the stars better back here why don't we switch places."

"Duncan can you pull over so we don't wake those two." Duncan pulled over on the side of the road. Zaltana climbed out to feel the sand under her flip-flops.

"The sands so cool. You'd think it would hold all the heat from the late spring sun." Zaltana looked up at the clear sky.

"Come on Zal, we've got a long trip a head of us." She heard Duncan say. Rowen closed the sliding door and Zaltana climbed into the front seat.

"Thanks Rowen." She turned to him to see him nod. Duncan started the car again and they headed out. "Duncan," she paused.

"What?" He looked over to her quickly.

"What state are we in?" She asked trying to hid that she was really going to ask him.

"Were in Utah, were around Mexican Hat on 163. We should be in Arizona by day brake." He glanced over at her. "Are you okay? You don't seem like your self."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired." She lied.

"Why don't you get some shut eye?" He said. "There should be some blankets in the trunk. I could get one for you, if you want."

"No, I'm fine. I can't sleep in moving cars." She told him. They drove in silence for a while. Until Duncan started asking her questions.

"How'd you handle growing up so different at times it could be scary?" He asked Zaltana.

"I guess I just dealt with it. I could hid my powers. So that made it a bit easier for me. I still got picked on cause of the fact, I had no figure, I was a tooth pick. I also had braces," She let out a slight laugh before looking over at Duncan. He was driving with a smile across his face. "What's so funny?"

"I'm trying to picture you with no figure and braces. I also see you with really bad hair." He laughed.

"Shut up you. How 'bout you? How'd you fit in?"

"After I burned the school down, I was taken out of the school system and my mom started to teach me at home. I was a home school rocker." He joked.

"You're a lot better then Rowen made you out to be." Zaltana relaxed into the van chair.

"The two of us are almost like you and Cyrus. We're the best of friends. But the two of us try killing each other a lot. I tend to be the Silent Bob out of us two." Duncan kept his eyes on the road. "So what was that thing between you and Cyrus earlier about?"

"I don't know. I guess we just had to get that pent up emotions out." Zaltana kept watching the side of the road. She was silently counting the dotted yellow lines. The sky turned red for a second as a loud explosion could be heard in the distance. "Duncan, what was that?"

"Zaltana, that's what we country folks call a good old fashion explosion."

"I see the country folk live in big cities on the East Coast now. There is no middle America." Zaltana said watching the explosions aftermath leave smoke in the distance.

"Duncan you can't drive, how many times have I told you don't blow things up while driving!" Kedem said waking up to see the explosion.

"Hot cloud." Cyrus said as his eyes caught a glimpse of the mushroom cloud.

"Dude." Was what Rowen decided to add to the conversation after a long pause.

"Duncan what are you waiting for there could be people who are in trouble over there. They need our help! Step on it!" Zaltana commanded.

"Hold on tight." Duncan managed to get from 55 mph to 85 mph in three seconds flat.

"Where'd you learn to drive, Jersey?" Cyrus asked after he managed to pull himself from the back of his seat.

"Yes." Duncan told the truth. The tone in his voice was a mocking of being ashamed of it but he was still laughing.

"That explains everything." Zaltana said. They pulled up to the gas station to see two figures running out of the fire. Zaltana jumped out of the car and was followed by the rest of the Children of the Sun. "Rowen, move the fire away from them so they don't get burned. They have something around their neck so I think their on our side."

"Got it boss." Rowen planted his feet firmly in the desert sand and started concentrating. It seemed the girls were running through a tunnel of fire. They weren't being touched. As they ran closer to them Zaltana ran to meet them.

"Are you two okay?" She screamed as she ran towards them. One of the girls had blond hair with very fair skin and was a little shorter then Zaltana. While the other girl had very dark tan skin and red hair. The two girls were about the same height.

"Our friends are still in there!" the red head said.

"Okay wait out here. Duncan, Rowen, go in there and look for their friends. Cyrus, get me some blankets out of the trunk and grab two water bottles out of the cooler." Duncan and Rowen nodded to Zaltana before they ran inside the burning building. Cyrus went into the cooler and threw two water bottles at Zaltana. She caught one and dropped the other. Zaltana handed the water bottle she caught to the red head before bending down and picking up the other one and wiping the sand off it.

"Your sending your friends on a suicide mission!" the blond haired girl protested as she took the water bottle from Zaltana. "Our friends can handle them selves."

"Look, were here to help you before we find the girls we need to find. One of them has the power to keep fire away from people. He can manipulate it. The other can do something with fire. I think he might be able to put it out. Let us help." Zaltana explained as she put a blanket over the two. "I'm Zaltana, the guy in the van is our mentor Kedem. And the guy I kept with me is Cyrus."

"I'm Maddie Connley and this is my sister Moxie." The blond hair girl said. She didn't take her eyes off the blaze. She was waiting for her friends to come out alive. Zaltana eyed over their outfits; Moxie was wearing ripped blue jeans and a black tang top with the fret board of a guitar on it with a drum set in the back round. The instruments were done in different color glitters. Maddie was wearing blue jeans which were ripped with some blood stains around the ripped knees. Her shirt was a green tang top that was a bit scorched from the fire.

"I've got a shirt you guys could change into. So you guys don't have to hang out in the scorched ones." Zaltana smiled at them.

"Thank you." Maddie said to Zaltana.

"Why are you being so nice to us? You just met us!" Moxie asked her red hair was frizzing out.

"Because you guys just escaped from a burning building and I'm not quite sure how. Cyrus" Zaltana explained.

"Yeah Zal?"

"Pass me two shirts our of one of our bags, I want to get these two cleaned up a bit by the time Rowen and Duncan get back here." Cyrus nodded and went into the back of the van. He threw two shirts at Zaltana one landing on Moxie's head and the other landing in Maddie's lap.

"Sorry my aim sucks!" Cyrus said. The girls laughed at him.

"Kedem Cyrus, I'm going to take them behind the van to change, so don't look kay?" the guys nodded as Zaltana lead them behind the van. The two girls changed into their new shirts. Cyrus threw two white shirts at them.

"Maddie that cut looks gross!" Moxie exclaimed.

"I know. Zaltana, do you know how to clean this up?" Maddie asked Zaltana who was keeping her eyes over to the building waiting for her friends to get out of there.

"Yeah I can, You guys done changing? I'm sure Kedem needs to talk to you." Zaltana said.

"Okay we're ready." The three walked around the van. To see Kedem sitting on the side and Cyrus slumped over the middle seat. Zaltana grabbed her water bottle and the first aid kit.

"Okay Maddie, take a seat and I'll take care of your cut." Maddie hopped up onto the front seat and rolled up her pants leg. "That thing looks nasty!"

"Yeah it does." Moxie agreed with Zaltana on the nastiness of Maddie's cut.

"Now I have to ask you some stuff." Kedem said. Maddie and Moxie turned to look at him. "Judging by the necklaces you two wear, you two are two of the Outer Four Sisters."