twenty-six

                                    

                                          
As soon as the huge boom! was over, the loudspeaker turned on with a crackling sound:
                          
    "Students, flee to the safe room! This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not --" the speaker was cut off by some muffling and it turned off.
                          
    There was a moment of silence before Orion started barking orders. "Everyone! I'll lead us to the safe room and remember, stay together and keep an eye on me!" All of the little kids in our room like Ben and Frankie started crying as older kids took their hands and helped them to follow Orion. August and I jumped off the top bunk to follow the others. I had no idea where the safe room was, so, in my pajamas, followed Orion blindly through the facility to the library.
                          
Miss Stacey was ushering students into what looked like a closet in the corner of the room. They were in single file, most of them yelling or hyperventilating. When I turned beside me to say something to August, I found that she wasn't with me. Not panicking, I assumed she went ahead. So when I finally made it to the closet, there was actually a trapdoor in the floor and stairs that led down into unseeable shadows. The underground floor was very heated since there were so many warm bodies down here. There were small lights dotted around the room. And from what I could tell, the room was about as large as half a football field.
                          
"August!" I called out, cupping my hands around my mouth to stretch the echo of my voice. "August, it's Des! Where are you?" About ten people told me to be quiet but I kept calling anyway. After five minutes of shouting her name with no reply except for angered shushes, I gave up and tried to reach out to her mentally.
                          
"Aug, you there? It's Des. Are you here in the safe room? I can't find you. If you can hear me, please come find me. I'm worried about you."
                          
I hoped she heard me. Even though she told me she can intercept every thought for about a mile without even trying, I still had a little doubt in my gut that she couldn't hear me. But after ten minutes of worrying, I still didn't get any answer from August. So, fed up with waiting, I marched up to the stairs, trying to find my way out of the room. Miss Stacey tried to stop me.
                          
"Destine, you cannot go outside the room right now," she said in a hushed and comforting whisper as if I was a sleepy newborn baby. "The facility is under attack and I need all of you students to be safe."
                          
"Ma'am, with all due respect," I gulped, not believing what I was about to do. Andy is going to rip my head off after finding out what I did. "I need to leave the room. My little sister, August, is not answering me. She can read minds and she's not communicating with me mentally at all. I lost her on my way here."
                          
Miss Stacey, even though a little light illuminated her face, I could tell she was really concerned. "Destine, sweetheart, I am worried about any kid that is stuck outside this room. But the staff will take care of them. They have got this under control. I am under direct orders from Mr. Kabadi to not let anyone out."
                          
I sighed, running my fingers through my hair, preparing myself. "I'm really sorry, Miss Stacey. I like you a lot, so don't take this personally."
                          
"What?"
                          
    I pushed the librarian to the ground and bolted open the door before she could stop me. I didn't even close the door, I just ran as fast as I could over to the library exit. All the lights were out except for the emergency ones that barely lit up my path out the door.
                          
    "Destine, come back here this second!" Miss Stacey's booming voice went out of my hearing range like water tunneling down a drain.
                          
    I really didn't want to hurt Miss Stacey because, to be honest, she was the most friendliest person here at this facility. But I needed to find August. That was more important than anything right now. What kind of older sister would I be if I didn't protect my own little sister?
                          
    So I ran out the exit door that led outside to see what that giant boom was. And possibly August could have come out here for safety. But I couldn't see anything abnormal outside ... except for the black vans and pieces of rubble everywhere, staining the grassy lawn. I wandered around towards the school building where I found an enormous hole in the corner of the structure. It was like someone punched a brick wall to little bits.
                          
    The giant hole opened into the cafeteria, where about one-fourth of the facility kids and staff were stuck. A lot of the children were in lockdown mode, leaning over under tables and covering their heads. Many were crying or traumatized, silently watching everything around them. A sudden and high-pitched scream broke my concentration.
                          
    "Aieeeeeeeeeee!"
                          
    I whipped my head towards the sound, in the corner of the cafeteria. August, my beloved and adorable little sister, was being held down by a ruthless man in the corner of the room.
                          
    "Let me go!" She squirmed in his strong arms, trying to break herself free. Aug was lying on her stomach and her hands were being held behind her back.
                          
    As I watched my only sister being held captive, something snapped. My temper just exploded. I made a running start toward the guy and I didn't even have a plan. My power wasn't much use so I decided to attack with my fists. It wasn't much of a plan but I had to try something. Anything to get my August to safety.
                          
    "Let her go, you big jerk!" I was merely a few yards away from him ... before my right fist burst into flames.
                          
    "Des! Your hands!" August cried.
                          
    I didn't even notice until she told me. I stopped where I was and looked at my hands and immediately yelped. While I was trying to put it out, what seemed like a million pairs of eyes were looking at me, including the guy holding Aug down. It was really uncomfortable. But what's more, the flame didn't go out. In fact, it didn't even hurt.
                          
    I stood up, my plan formulating in my mind in the split second, and I slapped the man on the back of the head with my fiery hand. And you know what happens when hair catches on fire?
                          
    Yeah. His head was basically on fire.
                          
    He let August go and ran out of the room, screaming in pain. And he totally deserved it for handling my little sister like that.
                          
    "Are you okay, Aug?" I ask, helping her to her feet after the flames went out. She dusted herself off and wiggled her arms. She grinned that adorable one-tooth-missing smile of hers. It made my heart melt.
                          
    "I'm fine. Thank you so much." She wrapped my arms around me into an embrace.
                          
    And just like that the tender moment was over.