www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKG-G0SDO9wChapter Eight - Peacemaker" . . . this fire and the desire . . . "The sun was fully risen, bathing the ruined streets of the small town in its Burnout-repelling light. Not more than a block from the church, Gloria paced up and down the sidewalk. About twenty feet away, Lotus leaned against a graffiti painted wall, throwing cautious glances at Gloria and Rio every few moments.
Nearby, Diego was working on an SUV, mumbling quick notes to himself, too focused on prying open the sun-paneled engine to pay attention to anything else. Rio, who had managed to climb onto a parking meter, examined the van from afar with obvious curiosity and interest.
Keeping her distance from the others, Gloria tried to keep her anger in check. But every time she tried to push down the fury, she was only reminded why she was in such a bad mood in the first place. Clenching her fists at her sides to keep fire from seeping out, she took in sharp breaths. Gloria had seen Rio go through these sudden anger flashes more than once, but had never experienced it herself. Obviously, it was hard to put a leash on extreme emotions after the Change. The frequent, suspicious glances Lotus gave her from afar didn't make things any easier.
How
dare he?
How dare Christian blow up on her like that?
At first, the volume of his voice had been incredibly frightening. Gloria had wanted nothing more than to get away from him, the natural instinct to hide suddenly kicking in. But by the end, she had wanted to get away from him from a much different reason. Another moment in there with him and his useless apology, and she might have barbecued the rest of his face.
Underneath the potent anger, though, something was deeply bothering her. Gloria had expected Christian to drop his "nice guy" façade eventually, but this had been something entirely unforeseen. Amid his yelling, she had looked up at his face for only a moment, and she could have sworn there was a red tint behind those dull brown eyes of his. It was much like looking into the face of a different person.
"You okay?"
Gloria jerked out of her thoughts and looked behind her, blinking rapidly to make sure all the tears were long gone. Rio, having abandoned the top of the parking meter, stood nearby, a worried look lining his usually relaxed face.
"Fine," Gloria said brightly with a horribly forced smile, though Rio hardly looked convinced. Trying to push away all traces of worry and bitterness, she sighed, letting her shoulders slump wearily. "Really, it's no big deal. Okay?"
"Doesn't look okay." Rio stepped closer with a searching expression, furrowing his brow in concentration. Quite suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her toward him. He leaned forward abruptly so that his nose was nearly touching hers, squinting his eyes at her as if he was trying really hard to think of something. Gloria, frozen in shock, felt her own eyes widen in confusion. Rio stood like that for a few silent moments, unwavering.
Her lips automatically twitched into a smile when she realized exactly what he was doing. (Or
attempting to do, for that matter.)
Gloria suddenly let out a loud burst of laughter, immediately feeling the despairing knot in her chest release, if only for a moment. The laugh may have earned a scathingly annoyed look from Lotus, but Gloria felt better nonetheless.
"Rio, seriously," Gloria managed to say through a fit of giggles, wiping a tear of laughter away. "Trying to read minds again? I thought we already officially established that it doesn't come in your telepathy package, weirdo."
"Worth a shot, freak." Rio shrugged, unscrewing his concentrated expression and backing away with a strangely apologetic grin on his lips. "Besides, it put a smile on your face, didn't it?" Gloria playfully shoved him, genuinely laid back and relaxed for that moment.
Unfortunately, the moment only lasted for a few sweet seconds. Gloria inwardly groaned when she felt the familiar vibrations in the ground coming from the opposite direction of Diego and Lotus, who were behind Gloria and Rio. Christian, who had conveniently disappeared after his profuse and absurd yelling, was making his way down the sidewalk toward them.
~~~
From the front door of the church, Christian could make out Gloria with her back turned to him, right in the middle of the sidewalk. He was about to walk out the church casually, but he suddenly felt extremely hesitant when Gloria turned around during her pacing. She looked just about ready to kill -- until Rio came up from behind her. As they spoke, Christian was lost in thought.
What the hell was he supposed to say to her?
'Oh, hey, Gloria. Sorry I blew up on you right after I convinced everyone not to kill each other. By the way, it might be a good time to call an exorcist because I think I might be possessed. Just thought I'd let you know.'Christian focused on the Changed pair again when he heard Gloria's lighthearted laughter. For some odd reason, he suddenly gained the courage (audacity) to walk toward them. He had to tell her something, at least apologize. It would obviously be too much to ask to just let his outburst slip, especially after her mini-breakdown.
His nerve quickly faded when Gloria's expression reverted back into a scowl. Christian stopped a few feet away from the Changed pair, sudden remembering that Lotus and Rio were somewhat within earshot. Luckily, Rio was much too occupied with the van, with which he seemed to be having a hard time with. Lotus, however, was still tensely staring at the Changed from the corner of her eye.
"Er . . . Gloria?" Christian said awkwardly, not sure whether it was safe to go closer or not. She didn't respond for a few moments, narrowing her eyes at him. Rio looked between the two of them with a hopelessly confused expression.
"Can I help you with something?" Gloria finally replied, raising an annoyed eyebrow as she crossed her arms.
Christian flinched inwardly at the ice in her voice. "Are you . . . okay?"
"No, I don't think so."
" . . . You're not?"
"I'm not what?"
Alright, so it was clear now he wasn't getting away with his outburst.
"Never mind. Can I . . . talk to you?"
"You already are."
"Do you think I can talk to you . . . alone?" He gestured to the end of the block, where no one would be able to hear them.
"Yeah, I do
think so."
However, Gloria didn't budge. Christian stared at her confusedly.
"Well . . . could you come with me, then . . . So we can talk?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I probably
could go with you."
She stayed put.
Christian sighed and scratched the back of his head wearily, realizing Gloria's game. Even is she was mad, at least she seemed to be messing around. "
Are you going to come and talk to me?"
Gloria furrowed her brow, pretending to be in deep thought. Christian was sure she was going to deny him and tell him to get the hell out of her sight, but surprisingly, she groaned in her annoyed tone. "Fine. Whatever." She began walking in the direction of the block's end.
~~~
There was no mistaking the sincerity in his voice, Gloria had realized bitterly. Even if he hadn't even apologized yet, she could see the sorriness in his eyes. That only disturbed her more, unfortunately. It seemed all the anger that had sudden came out of Christian was long gone, though she wasn't so sure she was ready to forgive him so easily. Gloria wasn't about to let anyone get away with questioning her protection of Airmid.
And yet . . . she still found herself giving in so easily.
She
wanted to forgive him.
"You coming, or what?" Gloria called out when Christian hadn't budged, a shocked look on his face. She suddenly felt smug, realizing that he hadn't even expected her agreement. Poor Rio still looked horribly dumbfounded. Gloria suspected now he really wished he could read minds. She made a mental note to explain what happened later.
Christian made a move to follow her, but Diego's voice abruptly rang out behind him, making him stop in his tracks.
"
DAMMIT!" Diego jerked his body away from the solar-paneled engine, clutching his hand to his chest. He muttered harsher profanities under his breath as he looked over what seemed to be a wound. "Damn thing . . ."
"What did you do?" Lotus rushed forward, a worried and concerned look replacing the stiff and annoyed one. She gingerly took Diego's hand in hers, cringing at the sight as she did so.
Christian hesitated, looking over at Gloria again. He shot her an apologetic expression, then walked over to his friends. Gloria rolled her eyes, realizing this would be a delay on Christian explaining himself. She walked back to Rio, who was wearing a smirk as he watched Diego fuss over the wound.
"Whoever was the idiot that owned this thing left the solar charger on!" Diego grumbled.
"Yeah, so?" Christian raised an eyebrow.
"
So," Diego stated dully, "it's been pooling sunlight for over two years. It's way overheated, so I can't reach passed the surface to fix the bottom of the engine without barbecuing my hands. And it'll take days to release the excess heat. Dammit, I'll just go find another car." Gloria caught sight of Diego's wound. From the center of his palm down to his wrist there was a deep red burnt mark, almost blackened around the edges.
"I can fix the overheating problem," Gloria blurted, regretting it immediately. Four pairs of eyes stared at her in bewilderment. Rio knew exactly what she was talking about. However, he seemed shocked that she would make such an offer.
"Excuse me?" Diego said, raising an eyebrow.
"I-I . . . can . . ." Her bravado from earlier in the confessional was gone, and she suddenly felt flustered to have too many people staring at her, especially beings that were gigantic to her.
"Gloria can extract heat from objects," Rio stated plainly, keeping a very guarded expression.
"Of course she can," Lotus muttered, crossing her arms.
"Really?" Diego asked with a frown. Gloria nodded when she realized the question was directed at her.
"Worth a shot," Christian said encouragingly. Gloria flinched when he started walking toward her and Rio. She knew she was about to be picked up, a sensation she most definitely wasn't ready to experience again. Trying to be brave, she walked toward Christian to meet him halfway.
Rio suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. "You don't have to do this," he whispered closely. "You know what extracting heat does to you." His worried expression made guilt seize her heart. There he was again, always ready to protect her, to help her.
"Hey, if it makes us get to Airmid quicker, then it's completely worth it." Gloria forced a reassuring smile as Rio let go of her wrist. "Just be ready to catch me if I . . . you know," she whispered rapidly, so Christian, who was quickly approaching wouldn't hear. Gloria and Rio knew perfectly well that she -- for only a few moments -- could possibly pass out after extracting heat. Oddly, it was more of a strain to release heat than to create heat.
"You
know I won't ever let you fall," Rio replied incredulously, looking almost insulted.
"Then don't worry about it."
Gloria nearly jumped out of her skin when she turned around to see that Christian was already looming over her. She tried not to flinch as he knelt down with an awkward expression on his face. Keeping a guarded stance, she watched warily as one of his hands approached her in front. It took every ounce of self control not to lash out with fire as the hand filled more and more of her vision. He was reaching out, about to grab her with those monstrous fingers, and Gloria could only imagine the strain it would have on her breathing.
Suddenly, Christian hesitated. Gloria's jaw nearly dropped in surprise when, instead of simply grabbing her, Christian set his hand down, palm-up. He was actually willing to wait for her, to make it as easy for her as possible. It certainly was a step up from what he pulled before, just picking her up without warning. His reassuring smile gave her some encouragement.
Hesitantly, Gloria took a few steps, closing the space between her and Christian's hand. She could feel Rio watching defensively the whole time, probably ready to tug her back if Christian tried anything he didn't agree with. Mustering up some bravery, Gloria boldly stepped onto the waiting palm, amazingly able to keep her balance on the odd surface.
The balance was suddenly lost when she found herself being lifted, much too rapidly to steady herself again. As gentle as Christian was trying to be, Gloria still fell into a seated position, wavering at the sight of the ground leaving her behind. Christian muttered an apology under his breath and walked toward the van, while Gloria forced herself not to survey her surroundings on the likely chance she'd get sick.
Lotus backed away slightly as Christian approached, as if Gloria had some sort of contagious, life-threatening disease. Rio, however, stood his ground, looking only slightly uncomfortable to have a Changed so nearby.
Christian slowly lowered his hand next to the brim of the open hood. Gloria slid off, eager to be able to walk around on her own again. She only eased up when Christian moved his hand out of sight, leaving her to balance precariously, right above the grill of the van. The heat coming from the open solar panels was palpable, nearly as hot as fire, she realized.
"So, how is this gonna work?" Diego asked, still keeping his burnt hand to his chest in obvious pain.
"Just back up," Gloria advised with a smug expression. "There's going to be a lot of steam. I can't just make heat disappear, so it'll go into the air." Diego backed away a healthy distance, while Lotus went all the way back to the wall, glaring at Gloria warily, as if she were about to make the engine explode. Christian stayed the nearest, much to Gloria's chagrin.
Now was not the time to have any sort of annoyance on her mind, though.
Focusing on the heated solar panels before her, Gloria reached her arms out into the open air, aimed at the panels while steadying herself. Yes, she could feel the kinetic, never-ending energy of sunlight whizzing around in the metal, trapped. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind, allowing her Power to do its work.
There was a hiss of suddenly releasing heat, but Gloria didn't waver. Faintly, she could feel every pair of eyes on her, watching closely. The steam was nearly invisible in the sunlight, but Gloria could feel it filling the air around her, making her dizzy along with her Power usage. The temperature in the solar panels gradually dropped until they were touchable with bare skin.
And not a moment too soon.
Gloria's arms dropped to her sides. Her legs could no longer hold her up as her knees buckled. It became too much and she fell backward, feeling the air whip around her. Subconsciously, she prepared to be caught with Rio's telekinesis. It would tug on her body, make her stop in mid-air before she could hit the ground. The fall to the pavement wouldn't hurt her too badly, either way, but it could possibly knock her out for a long period of time. After all, she had survived the fall from the rafters when she first
"met" Christian.
Abruptly, Gloria stopped falling, cutting it off faster than she had expected.
But it wasn't Rio's Power that caught her, nor was it the pavement.
It was a faintly familiar sensation beneath her. Soft, yet rough. Leathery to the touch.
~~~
Christian knew she was going to fall even before it happened. It was obvious by the way Gloria wavered there for a few seconds, until she finally seemed to black out. On pure instinct, he lunged forward long before she had even started falling. He launched his hands out and stopped her descent before she'd even fallen a few inches.
For a few moments, he was too stunned to do anything except stare at her in his cupped hands. After a half-minute, Gloria finally stirred, and then without warning, her eyes snapped open. She sat up, looking around wildly at her surroundings. When her eyes found Christian's, she noticeably cringed, looking away from his face.
"Are you okay?" Christian asked softly.
Without looking up again, she nodded. "I'm . . . fine. Just . . . put me down." Her voice was strained and hoarse, not sounding 'fine' at all.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Abruptly, Gloria shot a light scowl at him. "Do I look
un-sure?" she snapped
"Fair enough." Christian walked back to Rio, who was glaring at him for some unknown reason. He knelt down and lowered his hands, allowing Gloria to shakily walk off eagerly. "Well, you're welcome," he mumbled bitterly. Was she seriously going to be mad at him for catching her?
Gloria looked over her shoulder, and for a moment, Christian thought she was going to reply with some snarky comment. Much to his surprise, she looked almost guilty and embarrassed. Almost. "Thank you . . . Christian."
With a nod, Christian stood up, leaving Gloria and Rio to themselves. They spoke to each other in hushed voices, and he didn't dare attempt to listen. Diego was looking over the engine again, with what seemed to be an impressed look on his face. He looked up, hearing Christan approach.
"Nice catch," Diego smirked.
"Shut up," Christian sighed, noticing the absence of one other person. "Where's Lotus?"
"Went to the other truck to get one of the med pack for my hand."
As if on cue, Lotus appeared in a rush, carrying a med pack. "They took almost
everything," she said breathlessly. "The Burnouts. Brok the windows of the truck. They found the food -- took it all except for the locked storage underneath the seats."
Diego cursed as Lotus opened the box and took his injured hand. "How long will we last with what's left?"
"There is enough for today, but tomorrow . . . we need to make a stop somewhere. It is not safe to get any food in this town -- the Burnouts," she said as she expertly wrapped up the wound. "But . . . I am not sure how much they eat." She glanced hotly at Rio and Gloria, who were talking amongst themselves.
"We'll find a store tomorrow and see what we can get," Diego sighed frustratedly, looking over his bandaged hand. "I've almost got this thing fixed. Just need a little more time." He went back to work on the faded silver-blue SUV, now able to reach past the solar panels with no trouble.
~~~
"Why does he have to do that?" Rio hissed once Christian walked off to talk with Diego. His scowl didn't fade, even when they were alone.
"Do
what?" Gloria asked softly, realizing how angry Rio suddenly was.
"He acts like he's your damn
protector or something. Like you're his responsibility."
"He didn't know you were going to catch me," Gloria rolled her eyes, "He was just trying to help." Why on Earth was she defending him? She pressed on anyway. It seemed she would have to play peacemaker to keep Rio from jumping at everyone's throats. It seemed Christian was doing the same for Diego and Lotus. "Besides, I happen to think it's better if
all of them don't hate us."
"I still don't like it. Why is he trying to hard? What's he playing at?"
"Maybe he's just genuinely a nice person," Gloria pointed out slowly, though she was talking mostly to herself. She was still terrified of being held, or even touched, by Christian, but at least his heart seemed to be in the right place . . . when he wasn't yelling at her like a totally different person. Gloria's flash of hot anger from earlier was gone, much to her relief. Changed anger was not something to be messed with (she'd learned that much from Rio), and she didn't want to hurt anyone while she was in a blind fury.
Rio was over-analyzing, in her opinion. It wasn't as if Christian was planning for her to fall. It had obviously been a split-second decision to reach out and catch her like that. He had genuinely thought he was saving her.
Rio had an odd look on his face. "Oh,
God . . . You're not starting to . . .
like him, are you?"
"Woah, woah,
woah!" Gloria held up her hands, appalled at such a notion. "Slow down, cowboy! He hasn't even taken me out to dinner yet," she joked feebly. "The only reason we're still within three-hundred yards of these people is for
Airmid! Have a little more faith and trust in me, weirdo."
"Just making sure, freak." Rio's expression softened to an extent."Look," he sighed, "I trust you. I will always trust you. It's
them I don't trust. I just want you to be safe . . . and having
him around you a lot isn't very reassuring."
"I
will be safe," Gloria reassured. "And if I ever feel
un-safe with
Christian, I'll let you know. And you can drop a piano on him, okay?"
"Good deal," he grinned.
A sudden slam behind them made the pair jump in surprise. Diego had closed the hood of the SUV with a triumphant expression. He wrenched open the driver's door and hopped inside. Within a few seconds, the engine roared to life. All of the doors automatically opened.
"Look's like we're in business," Rio muttered under his breath. Gloria took her friend's hand with a smile and walked with him in the direction of the live vehicle. She could only pray that Christian wouldn't try to pick her up again to get her into the SUV. She and Rio after all, were perfectly capable of climbing in themselves. Agility was a particularly useful result of the Change. "We can make the jump into that door from the parking meter," Rio noted.
Lotus, who hadn't noticed the approaching Changed, was at the back of the van, loading some food into the trunk with Christian's help. Lotus looked almost like a nice person when she wasn't scowling, Gloria realized subconsciously. Perhaps there was hope for her yet.
"This is going to be a
loooong trip," Gloria sighed.
"For Airmid?" Rio reminded her.
"For Airmid."