FIRESTORM:

  The next day, Grace kissed Zayne hello.

  “You’re safe. Not snatched,” he said.

  “Still no sign of my parents, but look what I found.” She pulled another set of keys from her backpack and went through the ring, one by one.

  Key after key, there wasn’t a match.

  “Oh no. Not again.” Grace stomped her foot on the verge of a nervous breakdown; her strawberry blonde hair frazzled, dirt in her fingernails.

  She tried the last key. The instant click of the lock caught them both by surprise.

  They laughed as Grace swung the cage door open.

  Zayne raced out and scooped her into his arms.

  They got used to the bars being a barrier between them, and now the spark from their bodies touching exploded inside them.

  Their skin flushed with anticipation.

  Someone banged on the door from outside, ramping their emotional frenzy to a boiling point.

  “I changed the combination.” Grace gave a naughty smirk. “They can’t get in. They will never hurt you again, Zayne. Let’s wait until they leave. Then we’ll run away.”

  “No,” he said. “I face him now.” He dreamed of revenge against his captors every night for the last few years. Now was his chance.

  He pulled the knife from his waistband.

  “Be careful,” Grace urged.

  Zayne grabbed a shock stick from the nearby dusty shelf for added protection. He motioned for her to stay and moved to the door with precision.

  Grace tiptoed behind. Despite taking another injection of the mysterious serum earlier that morning, she wasn’t prepared to fight anyone yet.

  The thirst for vengeance took over as Zayne thrust the warehouse door open.

  It smacked the hazmat man in the face, knocking him back.

  Zayne kicked him while down and pounded the shock stick into his torso.

  The man convulsed on the ground and passed out.

  It was too easy. Zayne wanted more of a fight. He wanted that man to suffer as he had.

  He readied his knife for the kill, but Grace stopped him.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” she said. “You’re free.”

  Zayne had stepped outside his prison for the first time in years. He was finally free.

  He dropped the knife into the grass as the years of suffering melted in the sun. With arms outstretched, he closed his eyes and smiled as daylight shone from behind the Grid.

  The warm breeze tousled his jet-black hair.

  Grace clapped. “Let’s charter a boat off this God-forsaken island. Still no sign of my parents. If victims aren’t found in the first 48 hours…” She choked back her sorrow. “We need help. Father is friends with the Chief of Police.”

  “First…” Zayne ripped the hood off the man’s hazmat suit, revealing his face.

  “No Tinga,” he said to Grace.

  She leaned in for a closer look. He was pale with a long, hooked nose that cast a sharp shadow across his face, giving him a hawkish, watchful air even when unconscious.

  “That’s Life Rite hitman,” Jackie said as she watched the stream unfold.

  “I don’t recognize him. Who is he?” Grace asked.

  Zayne grabbed the man’s arms, dragged him inside the warehouse, and threw him into the cage. He locked the door and took the key.

  “We will ask him later,” Zayne said. “First, we find your father and mother.”

  Grace sighed with relief. They found the monster behind the madness.

  Her hero, Zayne, took her by the hand. They ran out of the building giggling.

  Zayne had never felt more alive. He had his freedom, his girl, and he would soon reunite with his family after spending years in that cage. He couldn’t wait for Grace to meet his loved ones in the village.

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  On the way there, he stopped by the stream to splash water on his face.

  The air around the babbling brook was fresh and cool, filled with the soothing sound of flowing liquid tumbling over moss-covered stones.

  He gasped as the water drenched his hair, trickling down his sculpted chest. Goosebumps covered his body.

  He splashed Grace, and she screamed with delight.

  She splashed back, and they chased each other in and out of the refreshing creek.

  Zayne took her hand and led Grace through a field of flowers, wild and untamed. Delicate petals in shades of violet and gold swayed gently in the breeze. Bees hummed busily, darting from bloom to bloom.

  He picked a blossom for her.

  She inhaled its beauty and tucked it behind her ear. They exchanged sweet kisses in the fragrant meadow.

  Grace looked up at the Grid. “Do you ever wonder why the Grid is there and what it's made of? The big mysteries of life, that's what keeps me awake at night.”

  “The ancestors know all. I show you the beauty of this land,” Zayne whispered. “Join me to protect the bounty.”

  He grabbed Grace’s waist, pulled her into his body, and caressed her soft skin. He stared into her deep brown eyes and kissed her neck.

  She melted into him, purring.

  The sweet moment ended abruptly with wailing calls from the wild creatures of Bennu Island. They were close, and they were hungry.

  Zayne moved to protect Grace as they crept through the field toward the safety of the treeline.

  “The Bennu birds were kind,” he whispered. “First Tinga’s boy goes missing, then another. Tinga went to the nests for his boy, but…”

  Zayne slashed his face with his finger.

  “That’s how he got that creepy scar on his face?” Grace asked.

  Zayne nodded. “My people worship Bennu. The birds turned, showing the elders a disharmony we don’t understand.”

  “What should we do?” Grace asked.

  Zayne put his finger to his lips. Looking over his shoulder, he confirmed they were being stalked.

  The ruthless beasts hunt in packs, and three sets of beady eyes watched the couple from their hiding spots.

  “Run,” Zayne whispered.

  He pulled Grace forward. They broke into a sprint as three Bennu scavengers pounced from the trees.

  The creatures lunged forward to bite their heels, but narrowly missed. The powerful beasts thrust their wings and flew after their prey.

  Grace looked back to see the birds for the first time. They were huge, dragon-like, with a wingspan and height at least double hers. Scaly skin with talons large enough to grab her head and snap it clean off.

  Their bird-like heads curved into sharp beaks, their long necks lunged forward to attack violently.

  Zayne wished he’d kept that shock stick.

  Instead, his best protection was to run as fast as he could. He hoped Grace would keep pace, but she struggled and stumbled.

  A Bennu bird snapped its pointed teeth at her.

  Zayne turned and punched it in its hooded eye.

  The defense was effective because of all the injections he’d received. Zayne was strong, that’s for sure.

  Was he truly indestructible? He hoped not to be tested by a Bennu’s razor sharp talons.

  “Firestorm, help them,” Jackie cried.

  Jackie reached deeper into the stream and knocked a Bennu bird away like an invisible hand of a god.

  “Jackie, leave it,” I yelled.

  The change Jackie made in the stream was meaningless, but I didn’t want her going rogue trying to affect things before she understood the whole picture. We needed to stay focused.

  The other two birds roared, and despite her terror, Grace got back to her feet.

  They ran away, hand in hand.

  Zayne would never leave her or let these creatures get the best of him, not after all he’d been through.

  The birds took flight, swarming overhead.

  “Here.” Zayne pulled Grace into a nearby cave.

  They ran inside for cover.

  Zayne slid onto his back like a baseball player sliding into home. He kicked a Bennu bird that dipped its head into the lip of the cave.

  The bird screeched.

  Grace grabbed a rock and threw it at the beast.

  It recoiled, realizing they weren’t easy prey. The swarm of birds called out a warning as they flew away.

  Grace and Zayne embraced, out of breath and sweaty from the deadly chase.

  “I never saw them before,” Grace said. “I only heard them. They’re absolutely terrifying.”

  Zayne checked to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

  There was a small, bloody gash in her abdomen.

  “Ow.” She winced when he touched it.

  Her skin slowly healed itself.

  She hadn’t had many injections, but there were clearly some low-level benefits from what she had received already.

  “I’ll be okay,” Grace assured him. “We’re together, and that’s all that matters.”

  She ran her fingers softly over his arms and pulled him in close.

  He shuddered when she brushed against the scars on his back, so she focused on his chest instead.

  Goosebumps formed under her touch. There was no longer a cage to separate them physically, and she was eager to take advantage of that fact.

  As Grace leaned in for a kiss, Zayne gasped and exclaimed something in his native language.

  “What is it?” Grace turned to see a field of glowing radioactive green eggs.

  “Whoa, what are those?” Jackie asked from the Slipstream.

  “Bennu eggs,” Zayne whispered, almost in response to Jackie. “My family… We tell them. We protect the island and all its bounty.”

  Before Grace could respond, the scene grew dark and faded away.

  “Firestorm, what’s happening?” Jackie cried. “I’m losing my… grip…”

  “Stay focused,” I told Jackie. “You have to see what happens next. It’s the most important part.”

  “I… I can’t. Something is sucking me out of the stream. I feel weak against it…”

  Jackie cut out.

  I yanked myself out of the stream to find Jackie.

  Why was she pulled out of the Slipstream so soon?

  I knew time was short, but that was less than expected. I couldn’t lose her, not before she saw the tragic end awaiting Grace and Zayne.