Fire and Ice

Jenna sat at the kitchen table on Halloween night. She had been invited to a Halloween party, but chose not to go. Lin disapproved of her choice.

“You are young,” Lin lectured in her Chinese accent. “You should enjoy it while you can. It is your senior year of high school.”

“I’m enjoying my youth just fine,” Jenna replied, indicating her orange pajama t-shirt with the words “Love at first bite” printed across her chest in black. For emphasis she stretched out one of her legs covered in thin linen pants spotted with orange grinning jack-o-lanterns.

Lin shook her head, and left for work. After a few hours of “click-clacking on her laptop,” as Lin called it, Jenna glanced at the clock on the microwave. Midnight, she thought, the witching hour. She gave her best spooky sound, and dramatic shutter. The clang of the doorbell made her jump and squeak. A bit late for trick-or-treaters, she thought as she got shakily to her feet. She opened the door to a figure dressed in black, wearing a ghost face mask.

“Happy Halloween!” It cackled, and reached for her. It let out a yell of surprise when she grabbed its wrist, twisted so that its arm was wrenched behind its back, and pulled the mask off with her other hand. Her ex-boyfriend looked up at her his body shaking with silent laughter. “Oh, man, Jenna, you should have seen your face! I got you so good!”

“No you didn’t!” Jenna snapped shoving him inside, and slapping the mask against his chest. “That was really dumb Drew. I could have dislocated your shoulder!”

“Ah! Come on baby!” Drew followed her as she strode back to her laptop. “I was just kidding around.”

Jenna squirmed as his arms snaked around her waist. The smell of beer, pot, and sex were strong indicators that he came from the party she chose not to attend. Drew loved to party, which was part of the reason Jenna ended their relationship. The other part was stunts like the one he just pulled. A brilliant flash of lightning lit up the outside world, drawing their attention.

“A storm at midnight on all Hollow’s Eve,” Jenna mused. “Mother Nature, you do have a flare for the dramatic.”

“What’s that?” Drew inquired, nuzzling her ear. “You’re not going to throw me out in the storm are you?”

“It’d serve you right if I did,” Jenna ground through her teeth. “Why don’t you sleep it off on the couch.”

“I only had a few beers.” Drew murmured as he nipped at her neck. “I’d rather sleep upstairs with you.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Jenna smiled up at him politely. “Sorry, Drew, but fool me once and all.”

A crackle of thunder announced the storm’s arrival. The rhythmic pitter-patter of rain added to the atmosphere of the evening. Another flash of lightning plunged them into darkness. A clap of thunder resounded through the darkness like a canon shot. Jenna shrieked, turned in Drew’s arms, and clung to him.

“It’s ok baby,” Drew soothed petting her hair. “I’ll protect you from the big bad storm.”

His attempt to sooth would have worked if his other hand did not slide down her back, and cup her ass. Jenna pulled back, and landed a stinging slap on his cheek. Drew stepped back rubbing his stinging cheek.

“Ok, I deserved that,” he laughed. “Seriously though, I know I fucked up and I want to make it right.”

“The storm probably knocked out the power.” Jenna pointedly ignored his attempt to smooth things over. She’d heard all of this from him before.

She moved to the cabinet where Lin kept the emergency Colman lantern. She pulled it out, and switched it on. In the ambient glow of the halogen light she saw a figure in black and yellow standing behind Drew. Before she could say a word it grabbed Drew’s head in both hands, and with a slight jerk snapped his neck. Jenna let out a scream as Drew’s body crumpled to the ground. The creature stepped over Drew’s lifeless body toward her. He remove the mask that covered his face, revealing a skull with flaming eyes. Jenna backed up into the curtains that hung in front of the sliding glass door to the backyard. The mouth of the skull opened, and a stream of fire flew toward her. She dove out of the way as the flames made contact with the fabric of the curtains. Her assailant tried a few more times to turn her into a human torch, but she managed to dodge each attempt. Each stream of fire blocked an exit from the house trapping her in a raging inferno. The creature, satisfied that it had done its job, dove through the curtains shattering the glass of the sliding door. Jenna considered following him, but the flames were still blocking her path.

Jenna watched in horror as the flames devoured the area around her. They closed in on her like a pack of predators on a wounded animal. She turned to grab the phone to call for help, but the flames had already consumed it. She turned back to the table to retrieve the lantern, and managed to shield her face with her arms as the flames consumed it, sending shards of glass everywhere. Jenna dropped to the ground to avoid the cloud of acrid smoke that slowly consumed the air. The smell of smoke mixed with the smell of burning flesh as the flames consumed Drew’s body. Jenna could feel her lungs constricting as her breath became shallow. Her heart pounded in a desperate attempt to keep her alive. She felt herself slipping away as the flames continued to consume. Her last conscious thought was I’m here, someone please help me!

“HOLD ON!” A voice called out to her.

Jenna looked up at the sound. She saw a man walking through the flames toward her. He was surrounded in a bluish field, which kept the flames from touching him. Jenna tried to stand, but her body was just too weak from the lack of air. The last thing she felt before losing consciousness was a pair of large cool arms wrapping around her, and lifting her from the burning ground.


Jenna shifted under a sheet, and her eyes slid open. She tried to sit up, but she was still too weak. The IV in her arm was feeding her a slow drip of something, which was making her drowsy, and a bit nauseous. Three men stood around the bed she lay in. One an elderly man in black with long grey hair, and a clean shaven face. He was speaking to two younger men; one with long dark hair, dark skin, and brown eyes; the other with short cropped dark hair, pale skin, and ice blue eyes. She noticed a scar over the right eye.

“Ah, you’re awake,” the older man smiled kindly at her, and moved to the head of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel a little…” her words were cut off by vomit. Someone put her in an upright position, and stuck something in front of her to catch the vomit. When she finished her mouth was wiped with a damp cloth. She was eased back down, and covered with the blanket. “Where am I?”

“You’re safe,” the older man stated resting a hand on her forehead. “Rest now, we’ll talk again when you’re stronger.”

“Drew?” Jenna choked. “He was in the fire, he…”

“The flames consumed him,” the man with the scar over his eye informed her. “I am sorry.”

“I told him not to come over,” Jenna whimpered. Her eyes filled with tears, which rolled down her face. “I just wanted to be alone.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” the older man assured her.

“My mother?”

“She’s safe,” he assured her. “Someone is bringing her here as we speak.”

“Who are you?” Jenna asked as the drip through the IV was strengthened.

“We’ll meet properly when you’re more coherent,” the older man reached out, and caressed her face. “Welcome home child.”

She slipped back into unconsciousness before she could respond.


When she opened her eyes again she was staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. She sat up slowly, and listened to the noises around her. The kitchen radio was on, and Lin was attempting a horrible rendition of Katy Perry’s Firework. The sound of sizzling meat traveled through the house followed by the sizzling sound of bacon. Jenna slid out of bed, and hurried down to the first floor of the house. She half expected to see a burned shell of what the house used to be but no sign of the fire existed. Lin stood in front of their gas oven turning strips of bacon in the frying pan. Jenna smiled in relief as she moved toward her mother. It was just a nightmare. As she moved closer the blue flames of the burner shot out, catching the silk robe Lin wore. Lin turned to face her as the blue and orange flames engulfed her. She shrieked in terror. Jenna surged forward, but something wrapped around her to stop her. She looked up and saw the face of the creature from her nightmare. It clamped its boney hand on her head, and made her watch as the flames consumed Lin.

“First her,” it hissed. Once the flames had turned the woman before them to a pile of ash it turned Jenna’s face so they were eye to eye. “Then you.”

Jenna let out a silent scream as the creatures mouth opened. The last thing she saw was a blast of flame aimed directly at her face; then blackness.


An ear-piercing scream drew Night Wolf out of a dose. He turned to see the woman they rescued sitting straight up in the hospital bed her face frozen in terror. She fell back, and the heart monitor beside her flat lined. He rushed over, and began chest compressions to get her heart moving. A bolt of lightning and a clap of thunder announced Raiden’s arrival.

“What the hell happened?” Raiden demanded.

“I’m not sure,” Night Wolf continued pushing on the woman’s chest. “She screamed in her sleep, and then…” He jerked his head indicating the flat line on the heart monitor.

“All of this medical equipment and no defibrillator,” Raiden grumbled. “Move!”

Raiden used his divine ability to summon lightning to his hands. He laid them on Jenna’s chest, and used pulses of lightning to restart her heart. Her body flopped lifelessly on the first few tries. The doors to the infirmary slid open, and Lin rushed in with Liu Kang on her heels. Night Wolf cut her off before she could get too close.

“OUT OF MY WAY!” Lin cried. “THAT IS MY BABY!”

Liu Kang turned her to face him, and pulled her against him in a tight embrace. “She’ll be fine, Lin. Just let them do their work.”

Raiden laid his hands over Jenna’s chest, looked up at the ceiling of the infirmary. “You already took one of my children away,” he murmured. He closed his eyes and fired one last pulse into Jenna’s body. “Please, let me save this one.”

Jenna’s body flopped, and the line on the heart monitor spiked. The monitor maintained a steady rhythm for the next few minutes. Lin freed herself from Liu Kang, and rushed to her daughter’s bedside. She took the hand that was not attached to the IV in both of hers. Jenna’s eyes slid open, and she stared into her mother’s eyes.

“Mom,” Jenna sniffled. “I thought that thing got you.”

“No, baby, I am fine,” Lin looked up at the others. “May I have a moment with my daughter please?”

“Take all the time you need.” Raiden ushered the other two men out.

“I can explain everything,” Lin assured.

“Funny, I feel like that should be my line,” Jenna smiled weakly.

“Not this time.”
Word Count: 1,999