See note at the end, with an important announcement.
Chapter Twelve:
Esper
The air smelled like sulfur and sky was an angry red. The path we crossed was covered in ash. It was a wasteland of burnt trees and literally scorched earth. It was like nothing I had ever seen.
The team looked scared. Morris was trying to be a good leader in modeling bravery and strength. I knew him well enough to know that he was terrified. Cole and Thompson were trying match the confidence of Morris, but were having a harder time. Even Reid looked nervous, but there was more strength in her step. We were unified in our determination and fear.
There was a flapping sound. A massive bird with a woman's head swooped towards, Cole. It grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, and pulled her off the ground.
"Irina, think of your mom hugging you!" Reid shouted.
Cole pulled away and floated above the ground. The birdwoman, screamed, and then blew fire at her.
"Think of the last person you kissed!" Reid shouted.
The fire deflected off Cole. The being flew towards her. Cole blew blue fire at her, and it burned the being to ash.
Cole flew down.
"Where'd you learn to blow fire?" Thompson asked.
"Following Reid's train of thought, I remembered having sex," she said.
Reid nodded. "You're catching on fast."
"I really feel like passing out now though," she said.
"There'll be time for that later," Morris said. "Let's keep moving."
They walked the path in silence. The terrain became more mountainous with black and gray formations. Their path narrowed as the incline rose.
A scream was heard.
"Reid," Morris cautioned, as she jumped.
"That's Aunt Tara," she said.
"Stay close," Morris said.
We slowly walked together in tight formation, as the screaming grew louder. The she came into view.
Her hair was a long dark mess that streamed out from her. A boulder was crushing her midsection. She was wearing nothing.
"Help me," she cried.
Morris turned to Reid.
"What do we do?"
"Aunt Tara is a jovial spirit," Reid said. "Tell a joke."
"Seriously?" I asked.
"Try," she said. "I'm not thinking of any good ones right now."
"How do you get a blonde to stay standing?" Thompson said. "Tell her to have a seat in a corner in a round room."
Lewis stopped screaming, as the boulder lifted off of her. We rushed to her aid.
"That was a really bad joke," she coughed.
"Can you stand?" Morris asked.
"I haven't stood in over ten years," she said. "I doubt it."
I pulled off my vest and covered her with it.
"Dr. Lewis, I used your research to create a new model for criminal behavior identification," I said.
"Nice to know," she said.
Lewis reached for Reid.
"You're everything I imagined you'd be," she said softly.
A tear dripped from her eye. Out of nowhere, a beast with silver fur leaped on Reid.
All I could do was scream in horror as it mauled Reid. Without thinking, I leaped on it.
It felt like I was riding a bucking broncho. I thought of Reid, and I vowed kill it. I slammed a fist into the top of its round head. My fist broke its skull. Black brain matter covered my hand. White smoke came from it. The beast buckled, and I climbed off.
The smoke surrounded Reid. It reanimated her.
"I should have mentioned, I'm not afraid of dying here," she said. "Things are going to constantly try to kill us, but so long as we defeat the being, we won't stay dead forever."
Reid stepped forward and wrote something in grime on Lewis's chest. Lewis was able to stand up.
"You're playing with dangerous magic," she said.
"What did she do?" Morris asked.
"She sacrificed a happy memory of her father to restore me," she said.
"I trust my team," Reid said defensively.
"I hope trust is enough," Lewis said as she nearly tripped over her hair.
"Let's have this cut," Cole said. "Find some sharp rocks."
The team began to search the area.
"I'm one of the newest members," she said. "It is only going to get harder from here on out."
I found a rock and filed at her hair.
"I know," Reid said.
One down, I thought. How many more to go?
Author's Note:
My name is Kristine. It has been an honor and a pleasure to write for FF dot net for ten years, as of today. My plans for scaling back have changed. I will keep writing here for as long I still get joy out of it. There will be time when I will focus on other non-fan projects. I make no promises as to what stories I will complete and what I won't. I have survived, flunking out of grad school, wrecking a car, the death of both my parents, and years of career dissatisfaction. It takes a lot more to bring me down. That being said, please to be civil in your negative reviews. Thank you so much! I won't give upon you, if you don't give on me.
"Failure is impossible!" ~Susan B. Anthony