Chapter 7
Lash awoke with a start in her bed, sweat coursing down her back. She quickly removed her covers to find that she was in clean clothes, but that's not what she was looking for... She pulled down her pants to get a look at the bullet wound, but was shocked to find that there was nothing there. Not a scratch. Lash fixed her clothes as she laid back in bed, her head still swirling from the actions that happened, the pain she endured, and the flight... But, thinking about it now, Lash wondered why she screamed, as she felt perfectly safe in Katelyn's arms, and felt almost, happy, to be flying... Maybe Lash could ask Katelyn to help her with her height issue.
Lash then felt a small pebble hit her forehead as she groaned in realization as to who came...
"Morning. Feeling any better?" Mike asked as he dropped into the room.
"Fine..." Lash said through clenched teeth as she laid back in bed, too worn out to smack Mike around.
Mike walked over to the bedside as he replied,"Aww, you don't have to be like that. I'm just here to check up on you. After all, you took quite a shot through your leg. Good thing Kate was able to fix you up though, I'd thank her."
"Katelyn fixed my leg? But how!" Lash asked, leaning up in the bed.
Mike laughed a little as he replied,"When you've been in this war as long as I have, you get used to seeing things like that." He nodded in her direction as he started to sink down.
"As long as you have? This war has only been going on for a week!" Lash called to him, leaning over the bed.
Mike chuckled a last time before he replied,"For you maybe..." Before disappearing into the ground. Lash laid her head back down as she started to think about what Mike had said, questioning these abilities and their origin. Could they have gotten them in another way? Besides radiation? Lash thought it was a lie, because things like human testing and in born talent was only for comic books. After all, if they have always been around, why did it only become a problem now? None of it made sense to Lash as she just closed her eyes, her head aching with both thoughts and a worsening headache. Not even another 5 minutes passed until Lash's door opened, her sister stepping into the room.
"Morning Lash." Amy said, a bag slung across her shoulder.
Lash was a bit surprised as she thought,"Morning? Did I sleep through the whole day yesterday! Man... I must have took quite a shot..."
"Morning Amy." Lash replied, nodding slightly to her,"What's in the bag?"
Amy looked Lash dead in the eye as she said,"I'm going out to another base that is in need of help. I'll be staying there a few days."
"What?!" Lash yelled, sitting up quickly in her bed, causing a great deal of blood to rush to her head,"I'm coming with you." She started to take off the covers before they slammed back down, holding Lash down.
Amy's hand was focused at the blanket as she said,"No Lash, you are in no condition to stand let alone fight. I am going with some others in the base and help defend, you will stay here and relax, and train. I am NOT going to let what happen to Khan yesterday happen to anyone else..."
"Khan?" Lash asked before stopping, and realizing who she was talking about. She was talking about the man who came with them and protected them from the Guard... Only to be-
Lash shook her head as she looked back at Amy and said,"I don't care what you say or think Amy but I AM coming with you!" Lash struggled against the sheets, unable to break Amy's hold on her, but then she set them on fire and stepped out of the bed, only to drop to her knees and cough up a little blood.
"See? You are in no condition to even stand... Stay in bed Lash, otherwise you'll just end up killing yourself in this base without being able to prove yourself." Amy replied, striking a nerve in the back of Lash's mind. Lash was lifted off the ground by Amy and put back in the bed while Amy suffocated the flames, stopping the fire,"I'll be back in two days Lash. I promise." Amy then dropped her bag as she went over to Lash and lightly hugged her. Lash however was looking away... Too hurt to watch her leave... Amy understood this as well, grabbed her bag, and left.
Lash however just lay on her bed, face down, as pain swept over her body like a wildfire, with nothing but her thoughts to comfort her. But not even that comforted her, as it was filled with nothing but questions yearning for answers... Answers she felt wouldn't be answered anytime soon.
A few hours later Lash was awoken from a knock at her door as Katelyn walked in, her normal smile upon her face,"Hello there Lash, how are you feeling? And what happened to your sheets?" Katelyn asked, motioning a hand at her sheets as well, which were still half way burned.
Lash was actually feeling great at the moment, with her rest doing wonders, but as reality set in she felt like crap once more..."I'm fine Kate, and I just got a little angry is all..." Lash carefully swung her legs over the bed as she found that she could actually stand,"Can I help you with anything?"
"Actually yes. If you feel up to it would you mind coming down to the training room with me? I have someone there who would really like to meet you." Katelyn replied, a smirk appearing on her face.
Lash couldn't help but giggle a little as she replied in a serious tone,"Sure. Just let me get some clothes and I'll be right down."
"Alright Lash. Oh, and be sure to bring an extra set of clothes down as well. Just in case you burn your clothes again." Katelyn replied before closing the door and walking off. Lash couldn't help but smile. She always felt a little happy around Kate, who always had a positive aura about her. But she needed to get dressed. Lash stood up as she walked to the dresser, picking out a plain red shirt and jeans this time around as well as grabbing an extra pair. Lash was just about to leave when she thought about it another second, and grabbed another pair. Just in case.
Lash stopped by the kitchen first however as she grabbed herself a few slices of bread, toasting them herself as she made her way to the training room where both Kate and the mystery individual would be. She made it in the room about the time she finished her last slice, cringing a little as she realized that she burned the last slice and that it tasted horrible. As she looked around she saw Katelyn standing there next to... A giant... The man was probably around 8 feet tall, wearing a tight red muscle shirt that showed off his incredible build quite nicely. He had no hair, was probably in his 40's, and had deep brown eyes that struck her more as intelligent then big tough guy. Though she got really nervous as she realized that they were in the training room, and that she would probably be expected to fight this beast of a man... Lash could feel the pain of yesterday slowly returning already...
Katelyn was the first to speak as she lightly bowed to Lash and replied,"Hello Lash, I would like you to meet an old friend of mine Kenneth. He will be the one training you today." Just as Lash thought... She could feel her bones crushing to dust as she spoke...
Kenneth looked at her and smiled, seeming to read the unease on her face as he replied,"Don't worry, my training is unlike the last time you trained. I will be working with you to specifically control your pyrokinesis."
Lash looked at him as she questioned,"That's it? You're not going to put me through some boot camp like training?" She had no idea why she said that, and felt stupid for saying it. Kenneth just found it funny however as he replied-
"No no no, I have already done enough of that for the both of us. No, I am training you by using my own personal experience." As he said experience, a ball of flame started in his open hand, the fire looking absolutely perfect. Lash was absolutely amazed, as she could never make a fireball look as perfect as what he had before. Katelyn saw Lash's looks as she smiled and nodded at Ken before walking towards the door.
This broke Lash's staring as she turned to Kate and asked,"Hey where are you going?"
Katelyn answered without turning,"Kenneth has everything under control, and I have other matters to attend to. I'll check up on you in awhile Lash!" She was out the door before Lash could call out an answer. Katelyn had a habit of doing that...
"Alright Lash, are you ready to start your training?" Kenneth asked, looking down at her. Looking up made Lash feel inferior to him... Even though she felt she already was, but either way just nodded her head,"Good. First things first, make a ball of fire, and hold it."
Lash thought this was child's play as she created her ball of fire, its surface rippling and its shape ever changing as Lash found it more and more difficult to keep it still before it finally broke, sending little sparks around her hand as Lash looked at her hand, amazed at how hard it was. Kenneth went down on one knee, putting him at eye level with Lash as he said,"Try again."
She did, and no matter how hard she tried it would always break before even ten seconds had passed. Over and over she tried, and each time it broke, sometimes even sooner then the last! It was really starting to irritate Lash as she tried desperately to hold it before Kenneth lightly put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.
"You're trying too hard... Look..." In his other hand was a perfect ball of fire hovering just above his hand as he just held it there, no look of strain upon his face,"Tell me Lash, what is fire to you?"
Lash took a moment before she said spitefully,"Death, destruction, and pain..."
Kenneth shook his head lightly, a smile on his face as he replied,"No. Those things are fire in the hands of those who cannot control it. But in all reality, fire is like a little life. It requires a few things to survive; food, a spark, and oxygen. Its food is our energy that we use to create it, and depending on how you focus, you can give it too little, or too much. If you give it too little, then your flames will be weak, ineffective, or they might not start. Give it too much and you can create an effective fireball, but you will quickly drain yourself. The spark is also created by us in order to light it, and we can create this spark wherever we want, lighting the food that we give it. Last is the oxygen it needs to breath, and if it can breath well, it will grow, and be more effective, but without it it will die." The flame then dies out in his hand as he closes his fist,"You need to realize all this and use it all in unison. The problem I'm seeing with you is that you are feeding it too much, and you're weakening yourself too quickly from it. Now, this time, try and calm down, and focus on making a small controllable flame within your hand, and keep it there."
Lash closed her eyes as she put her hands in front of her again, focusing on just creating a small flame. It took her a moment, considering how much she drained herself a moment ago, but she had created a small match sized flame in the palm of her hand. Lash looked at it, and felt its warmth, but was happy to see that it was not disappearing, and she was no longer getting tired from it being there. Lash looked up at Kenneth and smiled at him as he smiled back, nodding his head as he replied,"You did it... Now, let us get the true training started."
Word Count: 2138
Subject: Chapter 7 
