Midnight Fire - Rise of the Dark Angel - Book One (3 page)

             
“
Well, that’s because I’m the most amazing person ever and your only sister. I’ll race you to the herb patch,” she warned him
before taking
off in a sprint
,
with him quickly trailing behind. He may be much bigger than her but she could outrun just about all the guys. She was incredibly fast.

             
“You cheated,” he gasped when they reached the spot. She was breathing a little
heavy
but nothing like him. She darted around him and they quickly finished their task, the day slipping away far too soon.

             
Phoenix and John finished their chores
,
then
made their way back toward
home. She’
d much rather be out in the forest
but
it had been drilled into their heads to be quick
about their work
,
then
get back inside. There were ma
ny dangers in the
forest
and if their camp was compromised it could be the end of their safety.

             
She
dreaded
heading into the cave.
There was no doubt
you
were living in a
giant mountain
because of the never-ending darkness
always surrounding
you
, but at least it was huge
. It wasn’t really
all
bad
but
she liked natural light and a breeze on her face.

             
The
elders
had done an amazing job of creating their sa
nctuary. From the outside world you’
d never know there was a virtual city through th
e narrow opening
s. They’
d spent
three years creating the perfect
hideaway
and it was beyond what anyone could ever imagine
.

             
John and Phoenix
approached o
ne of the entrances
and she looked, still
awed
,
even after thre
e years
. She knew
she’
d never be able to find the place if
she didn’t know the
way
.
She also knew there were guards watching them, knowing exactly who entered their home. The enemy had never even come near their borders without being eliminated.

             
Phoenix
walked inside,
then
went
down the long, cold hallway
that opened
into a huge cavern. There
was always a fire burning
in that room,
to keep the chill away
.
That
was
where
the
people met each day. She actually l
ooked forward to those meetings
because the
elders
tried to make it fun for the kids.
T
here was a lot the elders kept from
them
, which was most likely a good thing
. She didn’t really want to know the realities of the
struggling
world.

             
Thei
r camp had grown over the years as
m
ore people wandered into the forest
,
looking for sanctuary.
Thousands of them now
inhabited their space. There was room for
five times
more
population
since
the
elders
had
prepare
d
for the worst.

             
Phoenix
sat by the fire and pulled her
notebook
out of
her bag. There woul
d be a meeting in about an hour,
giving
her time to
write down more
thoughts from
the past
.
Maybe
because it was her
birthday
she was
more sentimental
than usual.
But also,
there
were
strange
things
happening
and she felt like she was running out of time.

             
She
didn’t know how long she sat alone
,
next to
the fire. Enough time passed
that
she was startled when Brian interrupted her.

             
“Seriously, do you even realize other people
are
around when you have your face in
that
note
book?” Brian
asked
as he sat down.

             
Phoenix’s face flushed with embarrassment. There was no way she wanted Brian to know her most intima
te thoughts
and she really didn’
t want him to know how much he was a part of th
em
.

             
“I just enjoy
reading and
writing,” she quickly mumbled. He ruffled her head, which
stoked her normally easy going temper
. She wanted him to see her as a potential girlfriend, not
his
adopted
little sister.

             
“Yeah, you’
ve always liked to have your head in a book,” he said with a wink.

             
Phoenix wanted to reach out and plant a kiss on
his
cocky mouth.
Why couldn’t he
realize she was a young woman
,
n
ot the
eleven
year old he’
d met six years
earlier?
She sighed
, knowing she wasn’
t brave
enough
to go through with it
.

             
“There’
s nothing wrong with
reading or writing
,” she finally snapped,
making
his brows
rise
at her tone of voice.

             
“I didn’t say
there was anything wrong. Y
ou’
re just not
a
typical tee
nager, worried about your looks
or what other people have to say,” he told her.

             
Phoenix looked at him, not sure whether to cry or laugh. She ble
w out her breath in frustration
realizing
he was never going to like her. She needed to
get over her crush
but
it wasn’
t like there
were a lot of other
guys
to choose from.

             
I
n the last three years
there’
d been several marriages in their little commun
ity. The rules were very strict
and i
f you were caught breaking them
,
there were consequence
s.
There were too few people living in the small space to have couples jumping into relationships, only to leap back out. You were allowed to date, just not go from one bed to the next.
I
nstead of breaking rules
,
kids barely out of their teens chose to get married
,
turn
ing
into adults early.

             
There was a lot that went into maintaining the community
but
no money exchanged
hands. Everyone p
ut in their equal share of work
and had the same
kind of
belongings
. No one was
a
higher
or lower class. It was
pretty much
a
utopian
society.

             
Phoenix’s
parents were part of the group
who’
d founded the community. It had taken them,
along with some other
parents to complete the almost insurmountable task
. It
originally took
millions of dollars to pu
rchase all the materials they
needed.
It was a good thing they
’d thought ahead, as many of them would
most likely be dead by now if it weren’t for their pre-planning.

             
“Did you go off in your own head again?” Brian asked. Phoenix looked at him with wide,
startled eyes. She normally didn’
t drift for even a moment when she was in his presence.

             
“I’
ve been
writing
a
lot and it’
s remind
ing me so much of the past. I’
ll never
forget
that first drive here and
how scary
it
was
,
or how cold
the cave felt
the first time we walked in,” she said with a shudder. Brian placed his arm around her shoulders
,
pulling
her
tightly against his side
.

             
“I know how you feel
. Our lives have really changed
,
but
always remember
we’
re the lucky ones
.
I
f you
can remember that
,
then none of this is so bad. Think about all
the
people
who
’
ve stumbled in
here
over the years. They think this place is heaven, especially after
trekking
through the forest for
the past year, dodging gunfire
and praying to not be captured,” he reminded her. She snuggled closer, not
even caring what he was saying
as long as his arm stayed in place. She had to fight the sigh
from escaping
her lips.

             
“Well, don’t you t
w
o look
cozy?” Jessica said
as she sat down,
way
t
o
o close to Brian
,
in Phoenix’s opinion
. Phoenix
barely managed
to cut off the retort she wanted to say to the
obnoxious
girl.

             
“Hey Jess, we
’
re just reliving the past for a moment. Do you know where everyone is? This was supposed to start about ten minutes ago,” Brian
asked
. Phoenix was relieved she did
n’
t ha
ve to respond to Jessica
and even happier Brian’s arm was still wrapped around her.

             
“Who knows where the elders are.
I get so sick of these meetings
and all these stupid rules.
Seriously, I don’t think they’
d even notice if we were gone for a while. Do you want to sneak off to
the hot spring?” she asked him
,
while running
her bright red nail up his
arm
, showing another of her vanity items she’d brought with her.
She
laughed
in what Phoenix assumed was a seductive
tone
.
Brian always seemed to respond to her, though Phoenix couldn’t understand how he didn’t see
her true colors
.

             
Phoenix could actually f
eel the bile rise in her throat
and had never wanted to scratch
someone’s
eyes out as much as she wanted to
with
Jessica. She
hadn’
t l
iked her from the moment they’
d met a year ago and her feelings
of dislike
had only grown stronger
.

             
Jessica
had been after
Brian
from the first day she arrived
and any other gi
rl
who
dared to flirt with him
instantly became her enemy. Some girls still braved her wrath to flirt with Brian
but
most had
backed off. Jessica was good
at
putting on a show in front of the
elders but
the teens knew who and what she was.