Prologue Previous Chapter

Lam

Shara was screaming.

Oh no, not again.

“Ants. Fire Ants!”

Lam rolled out of his skins, stumbling sleepily. “Shara, what?”

“They’re everywhere.” She said, pointing from the top of a rock.

He looked around. There were some cinders near the fire, but…

“Shara, you’ve been dreaming again.” Barak growled.

She stared at him for a moment. “Look at my hand.” She thrust out her hand – there was a small circle of dirt on the palm.

“Shara…” Reya said. “This is..”

“More are coming.” Shara hissed. Stepping down off the rock she danced around the cinders, kicking sand furiously. “They’re all over the ground.”

Lam looked down. “Shara, these are just…”

A cinder was crawling up his leg.

“…cinders.”

He brushed it away with the back of his hand. Immediately, the cinder exploded, sending white-hot spears of pain into his palm. He screamed then, more surprise than pain.

“You see?” Shara cried. “We have to go now.”

Suddenly Lam could see cinders were everywhere, crawling this way and that. “She’s right.” He cried. Tiny spots of fire crawled through the dirt and ash in every direction.

“Everyone up.” Barak shouted. “Up the mountainside.”

“No.. wait.” Lam said. “We should go into the lake.”

Barak stared at him for a moment and nodded. “Into the lake.”

“Help!” Din screamed, waving his arm furiously, bright trails of yellow-white arcing through the night air. “It burns!” The boy wailed, spinning frantically.

“Lam, grab him.” Barak ordered. “Get him into the water.”

My pack. But there was no time. Seizing the boy, Lam drug him, screaming and flailing into the water as fire bursts continued to flower up and down Din’s arm and chest. The ants popped and sizzled as they hit the water, leaving little puffs of steam behind them as they sunk from view.

“Are you ok?” He asked.

“Yes.” Din gasped. “Thank you.”

Glancing around, Lam saw that the others had followed his lead, Oola, Shara, Barak, Reya, Pak were all standing in the water with him.

Where’s Mika?

“Mika?”

“Lam. Help me.”

She was sitting in her bedroll. “Mika, what are you doing.. get over here!”

“I can’t…” A tiny dot of yellow light crept across her face.

Reya gasped. “Mika?”

“They’re all over me.” She sounds so calm.

“There are more coming.” Pak said, pointing, but Lam didn’t bother to look.

What do I do?

“Mika, you need to get up, and walk over here.” Barak said, urgently.

Lam turned, snarling at Barak. “Do you wish her dead?”

The big man ignored him. “Mika. I’ve seen buffalo taken down by normal ants. If enough of them get on you, they will bite you all at once, and they will kill you.”

“Mika… He-he-he’s right.” Lam stammered. “You have to do this.”

“No. Mika. There must be another way.” Reya protested.

“They’re coming.” Pak repeated. Lam could even see the columns out of the corner of his eye, burning bright in the night.

“Lam?”

“Mika, you have to do this…” Lam swallowed. “now.”

“No!!!!” Reya screamed.

Standing up, Mika ran towards him as fires bloomed across her chest.

He ran forward out of the water, arms outstretched.

“Lam, what are you doing? Get out of her way.” Oola shouts.

A line of yellow-white roses bloomed along Mika’s left leg, and she stumbled. Tears, both pain and fear, flew from her eyes as she tottered forwards, arms flailing.

She’s not going to make it!

He raced forwards across the killing grounds, his feet burning and popping as the ants explode beneath him.

Her hair caught fire, her clothes burning and blackening before his eyes, her skin melting underneath.

Three steps.

She fell, even as more ants surround her.

Two steps.

Mika crashed to the ground, amidst a halo of flame, and she seemed to glow from the inside, even as she extended a hand to him, crying silently, fires burning behind her teeth.

No! He lunged forwards, grabbing her wrist. With a roar, he spun with furious strength, whipping her through the air, a flaming ball in the night tumbling into the dark water.

A cloud of steam erupted in the darkness, the water sizzling and boiling as she sankfrom view.

Regaining his balance, he stumbled back into the water after her.

“Mika?”

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Sunday, June 25th, 2006 at 5:30 pm.
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