Uncontrollable

Chapter Twenty

I was in shock.

"Shit!" Grey exclaimed out loud. "Vanessa, keep doing what you're doing right now. Just keep holding on and keep powering the force field. I'll get you help."

With that, Grey disappeared into thin air. Vanessa's constant warnings began to trail off, her voice dying completely.

I felt helpless as Vanessa's eyes rolled into the back of her head, all motions stopping. The force field was still flickering.

Falling down to my knees, I grabbed Vanessa's hand. I was desperate to help, I just couldn't figure out how.

"It's gonna be okay," I began whispering over and over, regardless of how I didn't believe it. There was something very wrong, although I couldn't place my finger on what.

A bitter wind blew over the field, attacking any of my exposed skin. While the breeze passed over the field, the force field went with it, bits of dust that it crumbled into the only reminder it ever stood.

I stood once again, releasing Vanessa's hand. With the cloud cover overhead, it was hard to tell, but it looked almost as if figures were coming toward us from across the massive field. Wherever they were coming from, they were still a far distance away. If they were coming to kill me, I still had time to get out of here.

Vanessa groaned on the ground beneath me. It was the first sign of life she had shown since her lull in motion.

I averted my gaze down toward her, and my eyes widened immediately. Her chest was rising toward the sky and then slamming back into the ground as if being yanked up and then thrown down.

The sound of my heart beating filled my ears. My temples throbbed. Adrenaline pulsed through my veins.

 Her eyes flew open, wider than a scared cat, and then she began breathing heavily.

"R-Ryder?" Vanessa's eyes were filled with fear. I surged forward, grabbing her body and pulling her closer to me.

"W-What are you doing here? Why would you stay here? Leave me! I'm not as important as you! Go! They're c-c-coming."

Her eyes began to close again, her body sinking down into my arms like a drunk woman passing out.

"Vanessa?" I asked, a weak tone in my voice. She was clearly unconscious, her chest barely rising and falling.

I switched my focus towards the figures again. They were much closer than before. Another breeze blew over the field, ruffling the small bits of yellow-brown grass left. 

I needed a plan. And fast.

The first thing I did, was take my panic, and sent it streaming towards my finger tips. The process of using this magic was becoming more and more efficient. Within seconds, I was ready to release the magic.

I thought of hot, explosive fire, and sent it bursting out of my hand, watching as it rocketed towards the ground.

Once it hit the dead, stubs of grass, I moved my hand over, making a large circle around Vanessa and I.

To my dismay, the flames barely rose off of the ground. The grass was too short, the ground too cold.

I needed a new plan.

"Ryder!" a voice came behind me. I turned and saw a face that was vaguely familiar. The dusty blonde hair, the hooked nose. And his scarlet eyes - I don't think I'd ever forget them.

"Bruno, is it?" I asked. He nodded, walking toward me and stepping over the small flames.

"You're going to need a better defense than this," he said, gesturing to the flames rising not even a foot off the ground.

"I know. I thought this might work but it didn't. You got any ideas?" I asked. My heart was beating fast, the figures growing closer by the second causing panic to shoot through me.