The Rise [1]

XII. ― HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BAMBI

TWELVE ― HAPPY BIRTHDAY

("IN YOUR SOUL, IN MY VEINS.")

                    Her ears rang. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't remove her eyes from the scene. Seconds turned into moments as Amber stared into the void of the stage, with the ashes of her uncle taking up that field of her vision where the tears collected.

"Amber!"

A voice next to her attempted to break the apparent shock that still travelled through Amber's veins, but the girl didn't seem to recover. By now she was in deep denial ― while everyone in the group exchanged alarming looks, uncertain what exactly was going on. There was only person that seemed to understand, and he felt a sick sensation twist his guts.

"Jesus."

Amber was still faltering from the shock when Seth's voice finally reached her thoughts. Her wet eyes jumped up to his intensely worried gaze, oblivious that this very devastated sight of her made something inside him crack.

"Amber?"

Amber's eyes wanly wandered to Jacob Fuller, who kneeled next to her, and she registered that he had placed his arm on her back in a comforting manner ― his eyes, filled with the same worry as everyone else's. Richie stood behind him and caught glimpses of her, already figured what had happened by the way she looked like a loose cannon, like a detonated bomb, and his grip around the phone loosened with guilt.

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Jacob inquired concerned and eventually Amber's gaze slowly flickered back to him.

And then, for the first time, Amber opened her mouth to say something ― anything. Everything inside her screamed in pain and it was cruelly ironic that no sound at all escaped the young woman. No words could describe what she was feeling. Seeing the dismay in their faces, Amber felt reminded of the sight, of the realization that was too terrible to be true.

She finally parted her lips, but all that came out was a hoarse sob. But even that sob full of pain, was interrupted by hissing.

"There not all dead yet," Richie realized first and the group watched involuntarily and in fear as a few culebras rose from the ashes of the deceased.

"Shit," Seth cursed, and in the same moment, Scott suddenly jumped up. The boy rushed around the table and grabbed a stake lying on the ground. Holding it firmly in his hand, he attacked the culebras coming for him.

"Scott!" Kate and Jacob called out at once and for a brief moment Amber was distracted from the pain. It wasn't over yet.

Kate turned her head several times in search for a weapon while her eyes landed on Amber a few times, the caring attitude that made her the person she was, winning the upper hand.