Peril

"I brought those for you. They were at the market- they reminded me of you. You know, red. Not because of your power and stuff, but like, your hair. Your hair is really beautiful, you know." Sunny blinked. "I'm so sorry if I offended you some way. I just—"

"Roses?" She said, blinking. "I remind you of roses?"

Sunny smiled. "Yeah. Aren't they pretty? I was getting some for...for..."

Sunny closed her eyes. For Clay.

Sunny gripped her head for a moment. Peril didn't want to look.

Then she smiled again ans it was over. "Sorry, I keep getting those— my doctor says I just need rest. As I was saying, I was getting some flowers for— for him— when I saw them. And they reminded me of you."

Sunny tried her hardest to smile. Peril tried her hardest to ignore Sunny's tears swelling in her eyes. They did their best to heal. But sometimes, it was unbelievably hard.

Sunny. Sunny was the kindest of them all. She visited Peril time to time. Glory did too, once. Deathbringer sometimes came in to talk to her. Starflight gave her books.

Tsunami brought her sand. Tsunami was one of the strongest, and she had been sent home and she told Peril that sbe was constantly spending her time by the ocean. Just staring at it. Appreciating it.

They all tried their best. But while the others brought her their fear, Sunny brought her flowers.

She offered her kind words. She didn't have a fire extinguisher by her side 24/7, and the best of them all- she wasn't afraid of her.

"You're brave, Peril. You're kind and brave. You just don't realize it. They have done things to your body, but not your mind," Sunny had said once.

And a few days ago, the last time Sunny had visited, she brought the best news of all: that the government was working out a way to change her into her normal form.

Every day seemed to get better. Tomorrow was another day. Beautiful things awaited. Friends awaited.

But at night, in the dark, she remembered. She remembered that Clay- the first person that had shown her kindess- was dead. She remembered the surgery, the doctors, and her mother. She remembered parts of her younger life. She remembered Scarlet.

Nights were when she lost control, when her whole body turned sizzling hot.

She kept crying and the tears kept burning. Nurses kept coming. The fire went out. People spoke in scared voices.

"Is she human?"

"What if she loses control forever?"

"Shouldn't she be locked up?"

The whispers and the fear. People were scared, which helped her lose control. She was like a monster. No. She was a monster.

Yes. Nights were the worst.

A few days later, he came.

The man smiled at her but spoke horrible words. "People are worried, Peril. We're trying to find a cure. But you see, it might not be possible."

"What are you suggesting?" She had said softly. But she knew what he was going to say.

People would use her for their selfishness. That would never change. People would always want to use her. Nobody would ever see her as she was. They saw her as a monster. An usable monster.

"Can you tell me what you remember about yourself? What kind of surgery did you go through?"

She ignored him. "Are you going to lock me up?"

"Tell me, Peril. What kind of things did they use? How does your fire work?"

That was when she knew. One thing she knew for sure:

She needed to run away.

~

Clay

Where was he? It was warm. It was beautiful.

When be opened his eyes, he saw colors. Orange and red and blue dancing. Soft noises could be heard- noises that calmed his mind.

But he reached out. I can do this. He didn't know how. But he could.

He wasn't sure where to go. He could hear something else, a sound that was coming from outside.

Sirens, he realized.

Then he remembered: Morrowseer and him, fighting. Morrowseer gripping his shirt. Falling into the fire. Into the ruins.

If they had fallen together, they must be close, right?

He slowly looked downwards. And there he was. Morrowseer.

Clay tore his eyes away. There was no way of saving him. He couldn't. So he ran. Away from the sirens. Away from the body.

Save him! His mind screamed.

But he's too far gone! He protested. I can't save him.

Give him a proper burial, his mind insisted.

So Clay took Morrowseer by the legs and ran, dragging the body. His clothes weren't burning. They were slowly turning black, though. He needed to get out.

I need to call for help.

That was when he realized he wasn't Clay anymore. Not the Clay he was before. He was a monster. An outcast. The world would never accept him.

When they realize what I am, what I can do, they will lock me up. They will kill me.

He needed to hide.

Clay? You, a monster? The guy in the orphanage famous for eating hotdogs?

But somehow, it was real.

As he ran, he thought of his friends. Glory. Sunny. Starflight. Tsunami. And Peril. How hard it must have been, to live like this, like an outcast.

He remembered surgery. He remembered how confused he had been as the doctors came in. "Firescales is fire. And you are immune. And now that the surgery has suceeded, we can create more."

Immune? What could it mean? He had thought. Create more? More people like me? Why? How?

He knew now.

As he made his way through the fire, he knew. He knew that he would never be the same Clay again. He would be broken, he would be an outcast.

He knew his friends were safe. That he had somehow saved them. That they must think he was dead.

Was he? Or was this all in his head?

He erased the thought. It was happening. Right now. He was in a fire, running. But even he would burn up in a few hours. He could already feel the heat getting stronger.

How long had he been asleep? Minutes? Hours? Days?

He didn't know. He didn't have answers. He was confused, and he was in danger.

But one thing he knew for sure:

He was alive.