Age 13
Unknown
There are five of us. I can tell because we are the only ones not wearing dark hooded robes with tattoos of some strange symbol on their forehead. We are the only ones with fear in our eyes. But I'm the only one restrained, I'm the only one who has fought back. I got a couple of good hits in, but I'm now being held still by two very intimidating musclemen. And trying not to cry.
Just hours ago I was home, happy because Mom had finally made it home from the hospital. Happy because everything finally seemed to make sense, even when Dad and I were still affected by the incident.
But now, nothing made sense. This room is strange, lit by a single fire held in a giant bowl in the center of the room. Beside it is a giant stone table. A drummer sits in the corner, pounding out a quiet but insistent beat. Besides the two on either side of me and the other captives, there are ten or fifteen robed people and they all seemed to be waiting for something.
The subdued chatter in room quiets as a woman strides into the room. She wears a dark robe like the rest, but her hood is down. It has to be in order to make way for the red, spiny headdress that stands out from her long blond hair. It looks like a blood red starburst. I'm not sure if the silence from the others is out of respect or fear.
"This day is one we have waited decades for. It's is a small sacrifice to pay to find such promising candidates. I can feel it in the air, this day will bring us what we seek. Let us begin." She gives a smile that sends chills down my back. I shiver, trembling even in the room warmed by the ferocious flame.
The others in the room seem to need no further instruction. They bring another one of the "candidates" and put him on the table, holding him down. The boy is perhaps a year older than I am, with strawberry blond hair and green eyes that water as he fights back tears. That's when I realize that it's not a table, its an altar.
"Kustaa, of the strongest Berserker blood, open yourself to the power of the Eternal Flame." The boss lady tells the boy. Tears trickle down his cheeks. The robed ones begin to chant in an unfamiliar language. One uses a large ladle to somehow scoop up some of the fire in the bowl. I understand what they will do before it happens. They're going to pour it on him. Then they'll do the same to the rest of us.
I shut my eyes as the boy begins to scream. Each shriek send fear shuddering through me. I don't look until the screams have stopped, and then all that remains is a pile of ashes. They don't bother cleaning it off, they just lay another sacrifice on top. Now I feel sick as well as afraid. The next one, a girl, shares her fate with the first. She screams before the fire even reaches her, and I can't watch then either. The two besides me still alive try to run, finally showing some fight in them. They are soon restrained next to me.
The third, another girl, refuses to cry. She doesn't scream as the flames engulf her. I force myself to watch, because she seems to be fighting it. The flames build, dancing, and pulsing. They burn incredibly bright and then fly away from her, receding back into the cauldron. She lies unconscious on the stone, and they take her away. I wonder if something finally went right, or just a different type of wrong.
The fourth, a boy, fights the flames as well. He seems to last longer than the girl, but ultimately goes up in flames like the first two. I cannot fight the tears, but I do fight my guards. I don't want to die. But I'm not strong enough to break free, even though I hear bones crack from my kicks. They flip me onto the table, holding me in place, reinforced by the others.
"Ally, descendant of the only one known to have borne the Flame, strengthened by Kree treachery, open yourself to the power of the Eternal Flame!" I'm too scared to respond. I watch the fire approach, bracing myself, trying to break free and failing. The ominous chanting conceals my frantic sobbing.
Searing pain cuts through my heart, it seems to burn my very soul. I scream, the breath itself burning as it emerges from my body. The fire penetrates every cell of my body, seemingly racing from one end to the next. I beg for the end, any end to come. The fire suddenly changes, coalescing in my heart. The already impossible anguish intensifies, and I think for a moment that I will shatter because of the pain.
The whole world shifts, suddenly and absolutely. The pain disappears, but the fire remains, now as a part of me as if I were born with it. I am no longer blinded by the flames; I can see wonder and amazement in the previously solemn faces of my captors. I sit up, they are no longer holding me down. I notice my whole body glowing, the flames flickering beneath my skin and bursting out in small cracks. It doesn't hurt, though I can still feel the heat in my veins.
And I can feel the anger. They did this to me, ripped me from my home, forced whatever this is onto me. I meet the eyes of the woman in charge, the tears long since evaporated by my own heat. We share a brief moment, unblinking and unmoving.
"Finally, success." Her voice oozes out her mouth like molasses. "How does it feel?" I'm angry at her calm, unphased demeanor.
"It feels like this." I raise my arm and will the flames to attack. I send a bolt of flame at her face, but she must have anticipated it because a thin wall of energy blocks it from reaching her.
"Oh no, we'll have none of that." She raises a hand in response and suddenly I am cold, colder than I've ever been, and the light coming from my arms sputter out. "Take her to her quarters, we'll teach her some manners later."
She strides from the room, and I am left once again to be restrained and moved by strange men in dark robes. They bring me to a room that locks behind them as they leave. I shiver on the bed where they left me, realizing how exhausted I am, but determined not to sleep in this strange place. I fall asleep there, still cold, afraid, and far away from home.