Inside the Fire Book One in the Warden's Series (10 page)

“You and Wesley huh?” The girl in front of
me asked turning around and looking at me.

“Yeah, I guess so.” I laughed.

“You are the first girl he’s paid attention
to. Wonder what makes you so special.” She kept her straight face
and her eyes narrowed.

“I don’t know.” I said softly as she turned
back around and ignored me the rest of the class period.

He was outside my classroom when the bell
rang offering to take my bag the moment I hit the door. He walked
me to all my classes that day. Since it was a small school the
classrooms are rather close together. He met me at the door at the
end of each one as well. I was not used to dating someone that went
to my school so this was all new to me. I wasn’t sure what the
custom was for this. Holding hands in the hallway didn’t seem
normal and people kept staring at the two of us.

I am not sure if it was the girls that were
jealous because he was with me or if it was the fact I looked
different than them. Wesley is what I would consider normal; blue
jeans with t-shirts or button downs, and nice shoes that had no
dirt on them. I, on the other hand, am not what is considered
normal; black vintage shirts with black jeans or a skirt, black
combat boots or my favorite black Vans.

Our appearances didn’t mesh. In fact the two
of us together could boarder on the lines of creepy. Who’s getting
the most from the paring? I had a feeling I would have a different
reputation at this school before the year was over.

***

Before I knew it the day was over and we
were walking hand in hand to the parking lot. He had insisted on
taking my bag from me and had slung it over his shoulder with his
cinched securely to his back. It had been a pretty good day though
I was still ignored by the student body I felt at ease. I had
Wesley after all; he had called me “his girl”.

“You coming over?” He asked when we got to
my car.

I nodded. “Yeah I told my mom, she’s cool
with it.”

His arms were around me holding me close. I
didn’t want him to move, but I knew that if he didn’t we would
never leave this parking lot. Other students were already staring
at us in amusement. Maybe because he towered over me by almost a
foot or the fact that a normal looking boy was draped all over a
not so normal looking girl and it confused them. Heaven forbid
something different happen in their little world.

“Alright, follow me then.” He kissed me once
more. I think for the enjoyment of the spectators then for any
other reason.

He let me go, and I got into my car, my
heart was racing as I put the keys in the ignition. He drove a
Camaro, white with dark tint on the windows. This was the type of
car that made my mouth water if only I had the money. I drove a
four door Plymouth hatchback; at least my car was black. When he
started his car it pulsated through your body making your teeth
chatter when my car started it sounded like… well it didn’t sound
like that.

He didn’t live far from the school, but far
enough to where he would have to drive in order to make it to class
on time. He pulled into the driveway of a white two story house.
One of the older homes on the outskirts of Midvale. Getting out of
my car I was amazed by the beauty of the surrounding land. A field
that was open in the back, flowers blooming in every corner. I was
never big on flowers but this was me turning a new leaf, I could
get used to them.

“Your place is amazing” I marveled as he
walked towards me from the detached garage.

“We moved here after my mom died.” He said
motioning for me to follow him inside. “My dad needed a change of
scenery so we packed up and moved here last summer.” He took his
keys from his pocket and fiddled with the door.

“My sister would a friend’s house after
school and my dad won’t be home till late so we have the place to
ourselves.” He said giving me a slight subject change. “I usually
get a few hours to myself every afternoon to meditate.” He gave me
a big smile and opened the back door. “By meditate I mean play
video games.”

I rolled my eyes. It seemed this was the
most socially acceptable method of bonding. They played video games
with headphones and a microphone so they could talk to the other
players. That was what a phone was for, calling your friends.

“I’m sorry to hear about your mother.” I
said as I entered into the largest kitchen I had ever seen.

The whole room was spick and span, not even
a dust bunny in the corner. It almost looked like the room had
never been used, all the stainless steel fixtures sparkling not a
finger print in sight.

“We have a maid that comes twice a week,
there is nothing in this house that looks like it’s ever been
touched.” He said looking back at me as he put his bag down and
hung his keys on the hook on the wall labeled Wes.

How the Hell does he know what I’m
thinking?

“Don’t worry about my mother, she was very
sick. We all knew that it was coming, I just made peace with the
whole idea before my father did.” He wrapped his arms around me and
nuzzled my neck with his nose. “Want to see the rest of the house?”
I nodded, and he led me out of the kitchen and into a hallway.

There were pictures of him and his sister
everywhere on the walls. She was a smaller version of him from the
color of their eyes to the smile on their faces. You could see just
how happy they were. I was puzzled though, he seemed so quick to
shove aside his mother’s memory that it concerned me as to the
subject of her death.

How did Mrs. Jensen
die?
I sighed to myself. I really
shouldn’t be putting my nose where my nose does not
belong.

After ten minutes of going room to room we
stood at the door to his bedroom. He opened the door, and I was
instantly amazed. The walls were covered in band posters (the same
ones I had on my own walls) and his bed was huge with a black
comforter. A couch sat in front of an entertainment center that had
a large flat screen TV and probably three of the most expensive
gaming consoles money could buy. I felt my pulse quicken, he was
finding his way into my heart more and more.

His room told me more about him than
anything else I had seen or heard from him. He was more like me
than I thought, just disguised it better than I did. He pulled me
in and closed the door behind me before locking me into his arms
again and crushing his lips to mine. The fire surged within me and
I fought to control it as his kisses became more intense more
eager. He was backing me towards the bed. My heart was pounding.
Here we were again in the same situation as last night.

I shivered and suddenly I
was nervous, the voices were back in my head and an insistent
single phrase of “
mine”
kept pestering me. The fire was rising, and I
clutched my fists together tightly trying to keep the flames at
bay.

“I can’t stop thinking about you.” He
breathed. “I had dreams upon dreams replaying what happened last
night.” He was fumbling with the buttons on my shirt trying to get
them open. I looked up at him, his eyes had darkened again, and
they were seductive and hungry. I smiled and knew I was
blushing.

The following make out session became hot
and heavy fast. Through all of this I was finding myself dealing
with the thought that I was being torn in two emotionally. The
darker side was a bit tamer then it had the night before. I could
still feel it cheering while the lighter side covered its eyes so
it couldn’t see.

Suddenly I felt woozy, the room spun. I put
my hands to my temples, and that’s when I crumpled and the world
went dark. All I could hear was a female laughing in the
distance.

****

When I came to I was lying in his bed but he
wasn’t in it with me. He was sitting in a chair on the other side
of the room watching me his eyes puzzled and he was chewing on his
bottom lip. I hadn’t been out long, but it was enough probably to
give him a scare. I crawled out of the bed when he stood and walked
towards me. As I bent over to fix the cuffs of my jeans he came up
behind me and pushed me face first into the mattress. Fear and
anger surged through me as my fingers caught fire for a moment
before I could force them to fizzle out.

“What are you?” He demanded a heat in his
voice I had never heard before. I was suddenly afraid.

What had I done?

“I’m nothing.” This was
all I could think of saying as his face came down close to mine.
Suddenly a smile spread across my lips, “
Ich bin der
Engel
des
Alpträume.
”
The voice was mine but yet it
wasn’t, it was sultry and foreign.

I was scared. I could feel the fire
throbbing at my fingertips still willing me to let it go. My mind
was racing a thousand thoughts per second, yet I could still
convince myself not to hurt him.

“Der Engel
meine
Alpträume
nicht
Ihr
Gesicht!
”
He
threw himself away from me and I clamored to my back. In an instant
I was on my feet and looking at him. There was terror in his eyes
and I could hear his heartbeat.

“The Angel in my
nightmares does not have your face!
"
He exclaimed his breathing
accelerated. His hands grabbed my face and he was searching my
eyes. I think in a way he was looking to see who had control. When
he seemed satisfied that I was in fact me he spoke
again.

“You were standing there
with that look in your eyes when you grabbed your temples and
screamed. Suddenly you were smiling at me.
”
He paused running his fingers
through his hair. “When you spoke again it wasn’t you speaking it
was something else in you only it had your voice, and your face,
but it wasn't you the tone was malicious and
cruel
. You looked into my eyes and
said
m
eine Liebe, wie du mich
betrügen.
”
He looked at me and noticed that I had no recollection of
what was being said.
“You asked me why I
betrayed you
.
Why would I betray you? I have no reason to
betray anyone.”

“How do you know what I
was saying?
”
I
was becoming petrified.

I had never spoken another language in my
life. My mother said that it was possible for me to pick up on
something just by impulse thought. Apparently my father was a
linguist of some sort. I had prayed for that gift but had never had
the ability use it.

“My father made me learn
German as a child. I speak it rather well.
”
He ran his fingers through his
hair again and groaned. “But how did you sound like someone else,
and your voice it was so... so.... creepy.
”
He put his head in his
hands.

I was exasperated; I turned to leave the
room thinking this was it. Wesley would never speak to me
again.

“Dawn, don’t
leave.
”
He
protested suddenly standing between me and the only exit out of the
room. The look on his face was sad. He was obviously shaken up over
what had just transpired. “I have seen a lot of weird things in my
life, the last girlfriend I had was special, to say the least. This
though, I have never experienced this type of situation
before.”

“I don’t know what I said or why I said it!”
I screamed at him I was holding back tears.

The whole thing didn’t feel right. I had
heard the voice with my own ears. I had felt like I was being
forced against my will to speak. I was afraid what I might say
next. I had to get out of there before I said something worse,
something that could tell him I was far more than just a normal
girl.

“I believe you.” He sighed sounding
overwhelmed. “So that brings us back to the first question I had.
What are you?” His hands were on my shoulders holding me up
straight so I had no choice but to look him in the eyes.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” I
said breathing softly trying to keep the fire at bay.

I stared at him intensely thoughts flashing
through my mind, images, and memories. All I wanted was to forget
this conversation. I was forbidden to tell anyone what I was. It
would put me and my family in danger. If anyone knew it would paint
a huge red and white target on my back and most likely theirs as
well.

“I had fun but I need to get home. I told my
mother I would be home for dinner and it’s near that time.” I
wasn’t sure what else to say, escape seemed my only option to get
passed this oddity.

“Dawn, this isn’t a game.” He was seriously
not letting it go.

I looked at him doing my best to keep a
straight face and keep my eyes blank.

“I am nothing Wesley. Maybe it is best you
figure that out now.” I said turning towards the stairs. He had his
arms around me and pulling me backwards to flip me around to face
him.

“We need to find out what is wrong with you.
Someone just doesn’t revert to German in the middle of an intimate
moment or half way through a conversation.” He looked at me his
face concerned and serious. “I love you Dawn. I don’t know why and
I don’t know how. I just feel it.” He grabbed my cheeks and looked
me in the eyes. “Those around me tend to leave. I will not be the
one to push you away because one of my demons uses your body as a
vessel to speak.” I looked at him bewildered. He thought that it
was him that caused this.

“What are you talking about?” I asked
quickly.

“Some people can communicate with the dead.
I seem to have a lot of those around me, you wouldn’t be the
first.” He said like this would scare me somehow.