Daughter of the Sky, Son of the Earth

Chapter Fifteen

Fire

Alex and I walked through a small, isolated forest connecting to the field. We followed the compass in silence, but we were both tired. Suddenly, the sound of children caught my attention and I stopped.

Alex followed my lead and we looked out the edge of the trees to see a small barn-like building with kids running towards it. Old-fashioned grown-ups were standing at the doors, calling them inside. My eyes widened as I saw how many kids ran towards them. The ages were way too different for it to be a school and there were too many kids for this to be a family. It was an orphanage. 

"I think we're here," I said in relief and Alex nodded her head eagerly.

The two of us quickly rushed towards the orphanage and the grown-ups seemed surprised to see us. When we reached one of the grown-ups at the entrance, I smiled. "Hello, I'm wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for a missing friend of mine. He has light-brown, long hair. Green eyes. Full lips. He owns a black hoodie," I said nervously, and the woman stiffened.

"Oh no, let me get him," she said as she muttered something to herself that I couldn't hear. Shrugging, Alex and I waited patiently for the woman to return with the boy. 

I was too nervous to think of what to say. I didn't know what to expect. Would I just see him and instantly recognize him? Would I feel something different? I shuddered as all the possibilities crossed my mind. 

A moment later, the woman came back with a boy following behind her. We couldn't see the boy's face, but I was taken aback by the color of his hair. It was a bit lighter than in the picture in the compass. "I'm sorry girls, whatever Jason has done, I'm sure he has an explanation." The woman stepped aside as she glared at the boy.

Jason looked taken aback and his eyes widened when he saw me. His eyes looked back at me as if he had seen me before. I stiffened since I had never seen this boy in my life, and he wasn't the same boy as in the compass. 

"Don't worry, that's not him. Thanks for your help though," I said in defeat as I turned to Alex and motioned for us to go. Maybe the compass had been wrong. Maybe we had meant to go inside the cabin. 

Alex and I started to turn away when the boy quickly reached for my arm. I stiffened when I felt his touch and it took all my self-control not to throw him back with my powers. I turned to face the boy who quickly pulled his arm back.

"You're her. The girl Mason was drawing the other day. He said you were his mom but that's not true. You can't be more than 22 at the most," he said quickly, and I raised an eyebrow. I didn't know if I should take his last comment as a compliment or an insult.

"You know Mason?" Alex asked as she made herself known. She had noticed how my eyes widened when Jason mentioned the other boy. 

Jason nodded his head, "yeah. He's my roommate. He'll be back soon if you want to wait."

I looked at Alex and was about to respond when the woman at the door smiled. "Join us for dinner, I insist. There is plenty of food to go around and we'll let you use our showers and restroom. You look like you have been through quite a lot. May I ask how old you are?" The woman said as she walked closer to us. Her eyes scanned us thoroughly.

"18," Alex said while I said, "19."

The woman nodded her head and let us inside. Alex and I had to lie so that there wouldn't be any governmental institutions involved to get us to stay until we were of age. 

Inside the barn, it was warm and cozy. I heard Alex sigh in relief as she let the warmth of the house engulf her. The woman at the door walked to the front of our group and smile. "I'm Ms. Johnson. This is the Southern Cabin Orphanage. Up the stairs to the left is the section for girls and to the right for boys. You're free to use the showers whilst I find you something suitable to wear," Ms. Johnson said kindly.

"That is too kind, Ms. Johnson-," I began to say and the woman shook her head.

"I insist. Please, go ahead and get cleaned up. I will find you in a minute," she said as she stepped aside. 

Alex and I shared a look before we headed towards the stairs and in the direction, Ms. Johnson had indicated.

The warm water felt good against my skin. I had missed taking showers like these. It felt like it had been so long ago. 

Once I got out, I wrapped a white towel around my body and walked towards the sinks of the bathroom. Alex was already there, waiting. Just then, Ms. Johnson walked in holding a pile of clean clothes. "Here you go, girls. I figured these were your size. If I may, I can take your dirty clothes to the washroom and have them cleaned for you."

Alex smiled and nodded her head, "that would be very kind of you, Ms. Johnson. We have come a long way to find Mason. He's a great candidate for our school and we were sent here to congratulate him."

Ms. Johnson looked surprised, and she smiled. "May I ask from what school?"

"We'd prefer to talk to Mason first. I'm sure he'll be happy to tell you as soon as he knows," I played along with a convincing smile.

Ms. Johnson nodded her head. "Very well. I'll see you girls in the dining room. Just find your way by following the crowd."

...

Alex and I walked out of the bathroom a couple of minutes later with our hair brushed and all dressed. Just like Ms. Johnson said, all the kids began to walk towards the dining room and some of them gave us looks of surprise on the way. 

Something moved from the corner of my eye and I turned to face the corridor that led to the boy's section. I turned and managed to catch the glimpse of a figure turning the corner. 

"Hey, what's wrong?" Alex whispered next to me.

I jumped at the sound of her voice and shook my head. "I don't know. I just got a feeling of..." I trailed off and sighed. "It doesn't matter, let's go."

In the dining room, all kids had gathered around to eat. The room was filled with noise and laughter as everyone ate. Alex and I sat down awkwardly at the end of the table and my stomach couldn't help but growl at the sight of food. I had missed eating like this. I hated canned food.

Quickly, I filled up my plate and started eating. Alex gave me a look but I ignored her as we ate. 

Jason appeared a couple of minutes later and his eyes scanned the room until he saw Alex and me. He walked towards the free chairs next to us and sat down. 

"Mason isn't feeling very good tonight. He said he isn't coming to eat. I tried to convince him, but he wouldn't budge. If you really want to talk to him, you'd have to wait till tomorrow," he said with a shrug.

Alex and I eyed each other, and I quickly shook my head. "No, we better get going after dinner. We will stop by tomorrow afternoon though if he's here of course," I responded with a smile.

Jason nodded his head and returned the smile. "Of course."

I expected the boy to get up from his seat and sit closer to his friends, but he wouldn't move. 

"Is there anything else you need?" I asked trying not to sound too cold.

Jason chuckled and shook his head. "No, but I'd hate for you to eat by yourselves. I'm a gentleman."

You're a flirt, I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes. Alex bit her lip as she held back a burst of laughter. 

"What do you want to know?" She asked as she played along, I had a feeling she was enjoying this. Just pretending everything was normal.

As the dinner went on, Alex and Jason did the most talking while I ate and wondered why Mason hadn't shown up to dinner. The flash of the memory in the corridor appeared in my mind and I had a feeling Mason had been closer than we had originally thought. Whatever was happening, I had a feeling it wasn't good. He was already starting to show signs of transformation.

"Jason, Alex, I'm sorry to interrupt but, don't you by any chance know when it's Mason's birthday. I think it's soon, but I can't remember the date," I said with a warm smile as I turned to face the cocky boy.

Jason nodded his head and thought about it. "If I'm not mistaken, it's in two days. But I don't really know."

Alex raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side. "You're not friends?" 

Jason shrugged and shook his head. "Not really. We're roommates. We get along just fine but he's not a very open kid. He doesn't have any friends here. Apparently, he likes to keep to himself. Why? Is that important or something?" 

I shook my head and smiled. "Not at all. We just wanted to know what type of relationship he had with the people here since he's being considered for a position in college and so."

I tried to keep the uncomfortableness out of my voice as I stared back at my empty plate. If what Jason said was true, then that meant Alex and I had gotten here just in time.

...

Once the dining room had begun to clear out, Alex and I got to our feet and said goodbye to Jason. The boy winked at us and smiled as he walked away. 

We made our way towards Ms. Johnson and smiled. "Thank you for the lovely dinner, Ms. Johnson. We're sorry to hear Mason wasn't feeling very well," I said with a saddened look. 

Ms. Johnson sighed and nodded her head. "Yes, that boy has some sort of bug. I don't know. But I'm sure he'll be feeling better tomorrow. Shall I show you to your rooms?"

My eyes widened and I quickly shook my head. "That won't be necessary, thank you. We better be going. The college already booked a room for us in a nearby hotel."

The woman's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "There isn't another nearby hotel for miles. Please, I insist."

Alex and I shared a look of uncertainty and she was the one to respond. "We wouldn't like to take advantage of your hospitality but if you insist, then we would love to."

I kept smiling even though I wanted to tell Alex that she was crazy, that we couldn't stay here. But she had already spoken.

Ms. Johnson smiled and nodded her head. "Very well, follow me. I'll take you to your rooms." Getting up from the table, she led us towards the stairs. Most of the lights on the bottom floor had been turned off and the once very loud house was now silent enough to hear the smallest whisper. 

Ms. Johnson led us through the corridor and stopped almost at the very back as she let us through the door. "You can stay here. If you need anything, don't hesitate to knock on the first door next to the stairs, that is my room. Oh, and I'm a very light sleeper so please try to stay in your rooms," the woman said as she eyed us seriously and I nodded my head. 

Once she was gone, Alex and I closed the door behind us and let out a sigh. I gently hit my friend in the arm, and she looked at me in surprise. "Hey, what is that for?"

"You know what that's for. We were supposed to leave tonight and come back tomorrow," I said as I walked towards one of the twin beds in the room. 

Alex rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at me. 

"Well excuse me if I wanted to sleep on a bed tonight. I am tired of sleeping up on trees or the cold, hard ground," she said as she walked to the other bed.

I didn't say anything as I laid down and wrapped the blankets around me. Instantly, my body relaxed, and I felt much more at ease as the warmth and comfort of the mattress and blankets wrapped me in an embrace. Soon, I was in a deep sleep.