Tension's Like a Fire

Immersed in a darkness that felt inescapable Sally became aware of her surroundings.

Her eyelids too heavy to open and let light pour into her eyes for the brain to receive and interpret into what she would have seen. So she used her other senses.

The air was stale, held the lingering scent of men’s cologne; it was a small closed in space and there was at least one man in it with her.

She felt her head against a hard surface her feet hitting one at the opposite side as well. Her arm hung off what ever it was she was laying on. ‘Short and narrow; the backseat of a car?’ She guessed.

She paused again trying to feel again.

Then she felt it, the subtle vibrations running through the car from the rough road that the city hadn’t repaired in far to long.

“The boss’ll be happy that we got one of ‘em.” This man’s deep yet very nasal voice sounded hopeful. “Right?”

The other man’s voice was a deep bass voice that was so low the sound boomed throughout the car even when he wasn’t intending to speak loudly. “I’m not sure. Shut up and drive, I’m concentrating on keeping her under.”

She couldn’t open her eyes because this man was keeping them shut with whatever power he had. She’d learned that she wasn’t the only one with these powers years after she ran away from her family’s little suburban home in Baltimore. She wished she’d known that. She also wished she hadn’t been so frightened by the power that began surging through her about the same time she hit puberty. Her powers -directly connected to her body- emerged from dormancy when her body began the huge change that is a little girl’s transformation into a woman.

“The girl’s stubborn as hell.” The man with the deeper voice spoke again. “Strong willed. It’s a pain in the ass trying to keep her asleep.”

In her mind she chuckled, ‘At least I’m giving him hell.’

She tried to remember how she got into the whole damned predicament.

“Jazz you can’t just leave the whole apartment a huge fucking mess!” She screamed at the untidy girl who shared the apartment with her.

“I’ll get to it!” She said back lazily as she pulled off her work shoes. “I just walked in the door.”

“You should have cleaned it up before you left!” Sally came home from a long night of working the graveyard shift at her shitty job and found Jazz’s mess.

She left the sink with dirty dishes in it, her dirty clothes in the hallway almost to the washer, a mess in the bathroom and a few other things that just got under Sally’s skin and made her blood boil.

How the two girls had lived together for the year and however long was beyond Sally at that moment.

Jazz looked up at her roommate shocked. “Are you fucking serious? I was rushing off to work just as much as you were at midnight when you were stomping, huffing, slamming shit, and waking me up.” She walked towards her room with the intension to change because she knew where this would end.

“Oh I’m sorry Princess did I wake you?” She seethed in sarcasm. Her eyes were aflame, or they appeared to be like they always did when she was angry. Anyone who’d take notice of the fire dancing in her eyes would be frightened by the very sight but Jazz would never notice.

Jazz just scoffed at the remark as she made it to her room and began angrily removing her work blouse without even closing her bedroom door knowing the fight wasn’t over and it would be pointless to close the door.

“Well I’m sorry for waking you I was just trying to get ready to earn my half of the rent. That’s really unimportant in comparison to your beauty rest.” Sally continued standing in Jazz’s doorway.

“Ah yes and I’m sorry that when I was in a hurry to get off to my job where I earn my half of the rent I didn’t have time to clean up.” Jazz spit back as she pulled on her black running top.

“Oh going running is so gonna help you solve this problem.” Sally said sarcastically rolling her eyes as she watched her friend pull on her running attire.

Jazz’s glare was intense. “Hey runaway don’t give me shit about running at least I come home.” She messed with the waistband of the jogging pants she just pulled on.

“Hey you know nothing about that!” Sally's anger doubled with that statement.

Jazz just laughed bitterly and grabbed her hoodie. “No I don’t. The thing that’s left you the most emotionally scarred and you won’t talk about it to try and help yourself get better.” Jazz slid by Sally in the doorframe so she was walking back to the front door. “Not even to your ‘best friend.’ You’re never gonna heal, but then again I’m not sure if you want to.”

By the end of that statement she was to the door and the small collection of shoes they kept by it.

She jammed her feet into her running shoes bending down to tie and adjust them right after.

“Some best friend you are. A real best friend wouldn’t tear open old wounds in a fight.” Sally hissed venomously.

Jazz just shock her head and stood back up. “You know what fuck you.” With that she stormed out the door slamming it behind her hard enough to knock a picture off the wall.

Sally just looked at the door after her shocked that Jazz would honestly behave like that. Jazz wasn’t like that, of course neither was Sally.

Sally knew she took things to far. Of course by the time she realized this Jazz was already halfway down the block and she was just standing there in awe of their fight.

She shook her head trying to snap out of her trance that left her staring at the door.

She picked up the picture frame and the shards of glass from the floor that had once been the photo inside the frame’s protection.

Sally took the photograph from the frame and set it on the table by the door where their keys instantly went the second they came inside.

The picture was of her and Jazz on a day that was far better than what they’d just endured. They both looked at the camera smiles intact and Jazz’s eye shining true happiness.

Sally’s hadn’t shone like that since she left home. A piece of her heart was always missing no matter how hard she tried to pretend to be ok. She was lucky enough to have found Jazz. The sweet girl who never noticed the way her eyes hardly ever changed from the crystal blue of sadness or black from the way her heart aches to be back in the presence of her family and first love to a color that meant better things. Of course Sally was thankful that Jazz didn’t notice or she’d know that Sally was a freak and she’d have to runaway again.

She walked toward the kitchen to discard of the broken frame.

Until she was grabbed from behind by a man that hadn’t been in the apartment moments before and she felt herself begin to slip from consciousness for no apparent reason.

“Go look for the other girl.” The same deep voice that was in the car with her spoke. His voice right by her ear, he was the one holding her.

‘Thank God Jazz isn‘t here.’ She thought as she went under.

The large man easily tossed her over his shoulder.

In the car she realized that the men were after Jazz too.

She didn’t know what Jazz would do. Jazz was just a normal girl how would she fight these guys?

Why were they after them?