Tension's Like a Fire

The guys were gathered by the front entrance of the building.

Rian had already done laps around the building and had seen no signs of any guards of any sort. Alex guessed he was wrong about that arrogance thing. It was just an old dilapidated building on the outside of the city. The edge of the city where all the warehouses and businesses all used to be but now it was just the outside of town where you wouldn’t want to try to open a business out of one of these buildings again because you wouldn’t want to try to evict the squatters. These guys were just squatters.

The car Jack saw Jazz thrown into was parked right in front of the door so they knew the tracker didn’t lead them in the wrong direction.

Jack stood still for a moment, feeling the scene. Using his subtle psychic gift, the same one that told him the guy after Jazz wasn’t going for a typical mugging. It was hardly a power at all really just a gut feeling that was never wrong.

“They don’t have a clue we’re here.” He stated simply and quietly. “Zack handle the door quietly and we might just be able to ninja in.”

Zack gave one quick head nod in return and grabbed the handle of the door and crushed it in his palm while forcing it to turn so all you‘d have to do is push it open. He stepped aside motioning for someone else to open it so he knew he wouldn‘t throw it off the hinges with a shove.

Rian stepped up and slowly pushed the door open cringing as it creaked slightly but as they looked inside they saw no sign of anyone to sound an alarm of their presence.

They crept in slowly, Jack somehow finding his way to the front to lead. He kept his eyes closed focusing on any familiar feeling, hoping he’d be able to feel the girls.

They’d only come in about ten feet, they were still in the same dingy hallway when he stopped and turned toward a door on his left and opened his eyes.

“Sally.” He sighed out barely above a whisper with a smile touching the corners of his lips. He turned toward the guys. “She’s in here.” He said only loud enough for them to hear before grabbing the knob and unlocking it before flinging it open as quietly as he could manage.

He rushed in followed as closely as possible by Alex.

Once they got in the room and saw the girl looking weak an frail strapped to the table. Alex almost cried. He was finally in the same room with his only living sibling for the first time in five years and she was strapped to a table look far worse for wear.

“My God.” The words cascaded passed his lips almost in a sob. “Sally.” He was the first to approach his sister.

He could see her chest still rising and falling, she was alive and that was all he needed to know before he grabbed at the restraints around her wrists. “Sally wake up.” He spoke rushed knowing they still had to get to Jazz and it wouldn’t be long until these people realized someone came through their door that wasn’t supposed to be there.

The fact of the matter was they were going to get caught there.

They were actually surprised they’d gotten this far.

They just hoped to be farther through their plan when it happened. They wanted to be able to stand in front of the girls and shout for them to run and keep the monsters that kept them trapped there at bay.

Her eyes slowly began to slide open and she stiffened in shock when she saw the man leaning over her. Her brother, who was a mere teenager when she left now an adult.

“Alex?” She gaped out hardly believing her eyes.

He looked down at his kid sister and smiled lightly. “Who else?”

Tears slipped through the ducts and ran down her face. “I’m so glad to see you.” She said as he released her second hand for the binds and wrapped her arms around him as soon as she was free.

“We gotta hurry and find Jazz.” He said pulling away gently moving to undo the binds around her ankles.

Her face dropped to one of fear. “They got Jazz?” After she asked she felt the urgency the guys felt and moved to undo the bind Alex wasn’t working on.

The other guys stood inside the door looking out watching for people to come to catch them. Except Jack who was staring at Sally. Seeing her as a grown woman for the first time he wasn’t disappointed, she was just as beautiful as he recalled.

She hopped off the table almost falling when her legs had to support her weight for the first time in days. Alex being the closest caught her and helped steady her while her legs readjusted. He let go of her as soon as she gave him the ok, telling him quietly that she could do it on her own.

Her steps although unsteady at first became more regular and ready to leave the room.

The guys stood peering out the door as they had been making sure no one was coming and they rushed out, moving as fast as they could while moving Jack back to the front trying to get him to find the next room, the room with Jazz in it.

He closed his eyes but all he felt was Sally for the first moment or so. All the guys got antsy when he stopped dead in his tracks and obviously struggled to regain his focus.

He pushed the way he craved to get close to Sally away and tried to find a girl’s presence that wasn’t hers.

But it wasn’t working.

“Shit.” He muttered out.

Alex moved up to stand next to him.

“Dude,” He whispered so only Jack would hear him. “I know you’re excited to have Sally back but we know she’s safe now. We need to get Jazz safe now.” He paused than softly pleaded. “Please.”

Jack looked over at his best friend and nodded. He had to do this for him at least.

He got himself back “in the zone” and began moving again. To their luck it wasn’t far from Sally’s room. There was another door just like Sally’s but on the right side of the dilapidated building’s hall.

This time he knew they were blown so he knew they wouldn’t have to use a lot of energy to try to be unnoticed.

“Zack,” He spoke softly. “The quiet plan’s gone I’m gonna fling the door open and you’re going to have to knock over whoever’s in there with her and just break her restraints and we all run.” He delegated the new plan and they all moved forward to be ready for it to be put to action.

Rian hung back keeping Sally with him. If shit got really bad he could toss her over his shoulder and run to get her to safety.

Jack stepped to the door put his left hand on the knob and held his right hand up counting down from three with his fingers.

He flung the door open once the last finger came down and Zack and Alex ran straight in. Slowing when they saw the monster of a man that was Sleeper standing over Jazz inspecting her.

He instantly turned ready for a fight once the he realized they were in the room with him and they weren’t the people who worked with him.

Alex’s hands instantly flew up ready with flames and blasted Sleeper and Zack ran up to him -avoiding the fire ablaze on his shirt- and hit him in the face to knock him unconscious.

The man fell to the floor, Zack shoved him so he fell on his chest smothering the flames.

Jazz was watching them with eager eyes as tears streamed down her face. She’d been so scared, the big lumbering man spoke to her softly and tried not to scare her but he’d captured her there was no way he wasn’t going to scare her.

Zack grabbed the chains and broke them one at a time as fast as he could he was on the last one when they all heard:

“THEY’RE HERE!?” Bellowed from a very angry man with a very thick Italian accent.

That’s when they all looked to each other and muttered “Fuck” almost in unison.

Than the voice was louder it was going over a speaker system.

“Get Them.” Was all but growled.

Alex grabbed Jazz off the table and sat her on the floor taking her hand as they began to run out of the room. There were people rushing at them from the other side of the building.

The Alex let go of Jazz urging her on and created a barrier of fire between the people behind them and kept running knowing it would only slow them momentarily.

Rian was already out in the car ready to peel out as soon as everybody else made it there. Sally told him she was fine and he had to go without her she wanted to stay with everyone else.

Right when they thought they were almost home free they were all half way out the door when more of the people that worked for the man with the accent came from around the side of the building from one of the other exits.

Jack lifted his hand and the man in the front of the crowd running at them and threw him back at his friends with all the force he could knocking them to the ground.

Zack stopped and ripped the hand rail from the small set of steps in front of the door and ripped it from the ground hurling at the ones not knocked over by their buddy.

They’d pushed the girls behind them so the others would have to get through them but they didn’t realize that someone with hydrokinesis had already put out the flames.

A guy the boss called “Stretch” grabbed Jazz and was reaching out to grab her with the other hand. Sally saw this first and jumped in first pulling her away from him as much as she could and went for the confusion tactic.

Jazz was far enough away for her to spin the both of them around a few times as her hair fell darker and she grew 5 inches and when they both faced the man again he was stunned.

She's morphed into the perfect duplicate of Jazz.

“Which one of us did you want?” Her voice rang just like Jazz’s.

He just furrowed his brows in anger hating that girl for trying to get the better of him than lunged his hands toward the both of them.

The guys finally had the time to help. Zack caught the man's arms and started flinging him around by them, he was hitting the walls of the building as well as everybody near him. Alex and Jack both looped their arms over the waist of one of the girls and dragged them into the neighbors van.

The four of them in the middle seat really only designed for two as Sally morphed back to herself on Jack’s lap.

Zack was only halfway into the car before Rian was hitting the gas. The door was finally shut as they hit the actual road.

“You know any old person could get into your car.”