The Metropolis Series #2: Quinn Beyond Bounds
23. Playing with Fire

THE TINY EXPLOSIVE blew up a balcony on what looked like the Spanish House, sending piles of debris and metal plummeting to the ground below. I found Mackenzie giving commands to take cover and hide. She had a bow and some arrows slung over her back. Her purple pajamas were covered in dirt and soot, and she traced the trail of smoke the firecracker had left with her stormy blue eyes.

Julio patrolled by the porch when his eyes caught sight of immediate danger.

He gasped. “Duck!”

Swiftly, he tackled Mackenzie as another firecracker zipped overhead, engulfing a few tables and porch umbrellas in flames. Mackenzie looked up in shock as she dusted herself off.

Julio looked just as terrified. “Where are all these firecrackers coming from?”

Mackenzie’s face went pale. “I—I dunno… I haven’t seen anything like this before…”

They looked up the balcony that had just been blown up, seeing that it was slowly rebuilding itself brick by brick.

I blinked, making sure that I wasn’t going insane. Viv was right. The Spanish House could restore itself.

The smoky trail the balcony firecracker had left was beginning to fade. At this, Mackenzie snarled, securing an arrow to her bow. “Stand back! I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”

Julio yanked on her arm. “No. Stay in the ranks, soldier.”

“And what? Hide and crawl until the entire place blows to bits?”

“What are you talking about? The House can repair itself, it’ll be—”

“But it’s taking too long. Look…”

They looked at the balcony. It had only been able to reform a small portion of its landing, and the rebuilding process looked painstakingly time-consuming.

And they didn’t have time at all.

From the looks of it, it wouldn’t be long ’till the house could no longer withstand damages. To make things worse, another firecracker crashed into the house, setting the roof on fire. Bricks were beginning to reform, fighting the blaze, but the struggle was in vain.

“I need to go,” Mackenzie said firmly. “I dunno what’s going on with the House, but I need to stop these explosions. I’ve got to try.”

Julio looked grimly at the phenomenon and nodded, his face going pale.

“Be careful,” he said. “And that’s an order.”

Mackenzie nodded. “I will.” Taking one last look back, she disappeared into the forest.

The scene shifted once more.

I was deeper into the forest by the banks of the Lethe, the river chilling my bones. The sound of its currents would have relaxed my nerves—if they didn’t wipe out memories. I didn’t have a flashlight with me, so I was wandering around in the dark.

I was alone—well, hopefully, I was.

I didn’t know what I’d do if I faced Cassandra, mostly because I no longer felt pity for her. Ever since I found out that the Author had replaced her with me, I wanted to help her, but now, something in me had snapped. I wanted to get back at her for what she had done to Harumi, but how? I could mortally wound her like how Rachael had gotten deleted from the timeline once, but would it work? I wasn’t good at close combat, though, and Cassandra was so crazy powerful that she had injured many of the kids back at the Spanish House. Plus, she could probably heal herself, too.

Let’s face it; I was hopeless.

I wished this dream would end. I began to have this unsettling feeling that I wasn’t alone. My mind was probably just playing tricks with me, but I started to notice that something was crawling in the bushes, lurking closer… and closer…

It called my name. “I—is that you?” it then asked.

I recognized the voice, but I wasn’t entirely sure. I could name many events that gave me some serious trust issues.

Nevertheless, I called her name. “T—Tamara?”

A beam of light flickered from a nearby bush, and Tamara emerged with a flashlight in hand and a wound on her arm—complete with Christmas bazaar shark hat. “I—it really is you.”

My first instinct was to check my head, making sure that Julio’s beanie was still on. While there were people like him who’d fight and do anything to capture Cassandra, Tamara had been emotionally distraught by the ambush on the Spanish House a few months back. I was sure that the last thing the poor girl needed was another heart attack. I just seemed to have dozed off that night, so I must have forgotten to take off the beanie. I had conveniently brought the hat to the dream world with me.

Hold on. I was dreaming. And Tamara could see me?

I might have dreamt of real events, but I had my fair share of visions, too. There was Julio by that expansive field, Rachael being chained up in the clouds, and all those messages from Cassandra…

“Why do you look so blurry?” Tamara then asked.

I then looked down at myself, scared to death as I found that my body was flickering in the beam of Tamara’s flashlight. “I think it’s because I’m not really here.”

Tamara gave me a look like I was crazy. Maybe this wasn’t a vision after all. Maybe Tamara could really see me.

“It’s fine,” she finally said. “Look, you’ve gotta help me. I don’t remember much of what happened. I know Julio came… then Cassandra… she… oh my God…”

She began hyperventilating again. Even though I was a flickering ghost, I tried my best to comfort her, but I frowned when my hand just passed through her shoulder.

“I—I think I was going to attack you guys,” she whimpered. “I didn’t mean to, but it felt like someone was taking control of me. I—I couldn’t stop it.”

“Hey… it’s okay.” I cooed. “I know you’re upset, but you’re not a frontline soldier for nothing. You can’t let Cassandra keep ruling your life.”

I was a hypocrite, I know. Those were some strong words coming from someone like me.

“Your friends need you,” I continued. “The Spanish House is under—”

Tamara gasped. “Hide!”

“What?”

Before she could answer, Tamara hid in the bushes and turned off her flashlight.

In the dim light, the other side of the Lethe flickered into view. There was a boy playing with firecrackers by the riverbank, and the Spanish House’ burning roof peaked through the trees as the sound of screaming kids echoed in the distance. The boy launched another firecracker into the sky, and the rocket zipped toward the House’s direction. When it crashed, he scoured in the dark for another firecracker, and when they lit a match, I was able to briefly see their features.

To my horror, he was wearing a St. John’s uniform…