Flames and Ash -Fixed

Jack tugged his arms off the stiff and cold concrete. He gasped and trembled, seeing the pool of blood scatter. His eyes widened as the trail got closer, and at the end stood a familiar head.

He struggled to move his body, flinching and wailing, he pinched his thigh, but this was no dream.

His eyes went dark. His brown hair fell beneath his face, and he assembled his courage for a few seconds before moving near the corpse. The forehead and the long hair were a dead giveaway. Jack managed to identify the body cause of these features.

Blood still trickled a bright crimson; the wounds were fresh. Jack clenched his heart, but soon he realized he felt nothing. His eyes shook: Why was he not scared? Somehow, it felt natural.

Jack didn't like this feeling, as emptiness surrounded his mind and body. He couldn't describe what he felt, scared, yet he was not. What exactly did he fear? The boy let go of his fists before shaking away the burning clip.

He couldn't help but gaze at the lifeless eyes.

'I lived, but how did he die?' Jack thought, his eyes drifting to the slice.

He clenched his teeth, looking at the body with disgusted eyes. He looked like a chipmunk as he leaned toward the body. He picked up the defiled head, and he thought to destroy it.

His palm felt warm like a campfire, something fiery sparking out of his arms; The blood in his hands became vapor, and the head floated away with the rain.

"What the hell?" Jack muttered as the evidence became part of the air. His head felt light, staring at the flames floating on his palms. He tried to shake it off, accidentally burning his thumb.

Jack calmed his mind imagining the heat being cut off by a barrage. The flames subsided, and the heavy rain poured onto his chestnut hair.

'It feels like a body part,' Jack thought about the power.

The flames seemed familiar as he could tune its control to perfection. He imagined the barrage shaking and targeted the direction of the heat, and he could create fire or vaporize the tumbling rain.

Jack smiled, "Did everybody else feel this way too? This rush… It feels like a dream." Almost like a manual had been placed onto his head teaching him how to play, but in this case, it was his ability.

His face soon fell to dismay as the gravity of knowledge hit.

"What the fuck is going on?" His dark eyes snapped open, "Where am I? What happened to Sage; did I lose?"

Jack shouted. He didn't remember anything past being knocked out, like a man who wakes up next to a girl after having a night's drink. His brain had temporarily stopped making memories to unlock his abilities.

He had become wary, jumping onto his guard, thinking Sage was alive. Maybe, he had chosen to spare him, he thought. But if Sage had lived, Jack would be out of this world.

He refused to let go of his guard before approaching the streets, shaking from his damp clothes. He loosened up and sprinted towards the hotel. The air gushed into his body, shaking off the droplets from his gray hoodie.

Jack had been covered with cuts and scratches, so it was only natural to catch the eye of curios folk. People stared as he rushed through the streets, wondering what had happened, but they had an idea as to why.

The gangs had been luring down people, attacking them, and stealing their belongings. And they left no remark of the owner, and the few who had survived ran with all their might; most died, but the ones who lived told the tale.

…

"Where the hell is Jack? He should have been here hours ago. He also has the spare key!" Brett ran in circles, scratching his pointy chin. Snake scrolled through his phone, not listening to his friends ramble, while Sai flopped his head around, trying to stay awake.

They wanted to plummet their heads into the soft pillow, but Brett was set on waiting for Jack. He had suggested splitting up and searching for him, but Snake had it shut down immediately.

This was not the first time Jack pulled a stunt like this. He had a knack for disappearing. One time it took hours to find him, only to learn he was already coming back.

"Calm down, your acting like you lost your cat." Snake sighed, and Sai nodded, "He will come back, so just let us sleep. I don't know why you are so attached to waiting, but it isn't like you lost an animal. Jack is a human, you know."

Snake rambled as he was too exhausted to make a proper sentence. His eyes were dawning in, and the couch started to feel way more comfortable than it used to. Brett clicked his tongue and drew his angry eyes towards him.

'You guys know how much of a trouble magnet he is, right!' He screamed in his mind, unable to say it out loud. Jack could never keep a low profile, as he was terrible at reading the room. Imagine a dense protagonist and double it; that was how terrible his skills were.

Brett finally gave in, jumping onto the round couch. The group looked over Snake's phone, where he was scrolling down at the short videos, mostly about sports. Brett's phone had died, and he couldn't play games either.

So when they were about to call it a day, a wave of heat breezed through the lobby, shutting them awake.

A boy with chestnut hair barged in from the revolving door. He panted in the pool of his sweat, bending over to his knees, barely standing on his feet.

"Finally, where the hell was you at? We had to listen to Brett complain for hours," Sai snapped, seeing him enter after hours. Suddenly he didn't feel so sleepy.

"…Uhhh,"

The group noticed his filed body before scratching their eyes.

"Let's just sleep."

They said, and Jack nodded.

[BONUS STORY]

Jack's eyes were bloodshot and open as he rolled around on his bed. The dark covered the fancy room filled with glass wardrobes. He muttered and shook out of excitement like he had gallons of coffee. He smirked before heating the room.

He had figured out how to use his ability. This was how he celebrated it; annoying his poor friends.

"Are you awake?" Giggled Jack, and the others rolled their eyes.

"Are you awake?" He repeated, the others popped a vessel trying to ignore it. But soon enough they started to sweat, and their patience had been closed.

"SLEEP ALREADY!" They shouted making Jack whimper.

After that, no word was spoken, yet they still couldn't sleep. The couch was missed and so was exhaustion.

(Authors corner)

50 Powers stones = 1 extra chapters

100 power stones = 2 extra chapters

200 power stones = Death by exhaustion

10 collections in 1 day = 2 extra Chapters

20 collections in 1 day = 4 extra chapters.