Hi! So...I'm writing a book called Flames. And I decided I wanted to share it with other scratchers, and see what you all think. So, here it is! Hope you like it! It's... really bad, but I'll get better along the way, so I hope you understand. Chapter 1 “Roar!” the hideous beast growled at Juli. Of course she was being chased, not anybody else. Nobody. Not a single soul. She just had to keep running. She couldn’t stop under any circumstances. It was too much. The thoughts kept floating through her head ‘Why me?’ ‘What did I ever do?’ ‘Help! Please! Somebody!’ ‘I can’t take it any longer!’ Juli just wanted to close her eyes and give up. “Mom, Dad, Evalyn,” Juli whispered. The thought of losing them, but more importantly, how they would feel losing her… No. She couldn’t give up. It was too much to risk. She needed her family. She couldn’t die all alone, risking everything. Her heartbeat, to the rhythm she ran. She had to run. She had to win. The thoughts of her family helped her run faster. Faster, faster, faster she went. She would win. She would see her family again. She had to… she couldn’t risk their lives giving up hers. The monster growled again. The night sky darkened to the point that she could barely see. The only thing that helped her vision was the lightning, lighting up the night sky. As she was running, it struck right in front of Juli. The space around her bursted into flames. There was no way around it. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t, no, she wouldn’t die. As she was thinking during the time the beast crept closer and closer, something was weirdly… off. It was there, but Hannah just couldn’t grasp her hand around it. The beast was only a few feet away before she realized what it was. “ROAR!” the monster yelled. “Cold. The fire isn’t hot… It’s cold!” Juli said out loud, so she knew it was actually happening. She had to take her chances. She started with only putting her pointer finger in, then her whole hand, her arm, and soon enough, her whole body. She closed her eyes, and ran. She ran as fast as she possibly could. Faster, faster, faster. Then, she heard a hideous sound. She couldn’t resist looking behind her. The monster had turned into something amazing. It had turned into a girl. She looked like an older replica of Juli. She had the same red hair, blue eyes, and freckles. The only differences were the age and the haircut. Other than that, they looked like sisters. “Who-who are you?” Juli stuttered. She was scared. This all had to be a dream. There was absolutely no way it all could be real. It was all just a dream—a really, freakishly scary nightmare that she needed to wake up from. “I’m Robbyn,” The girl said, “I was sent to retrieve you to where you belong.” Robbyn seemed trustworthy but Juli still couldn’t trust her. “I already am where I belong. I have a family and I’m a perfectly normal person, thank you very much. I don’t need you to ‘take me to where I belong’ because I am already where I belong. Please leave me alone,” Juli replied, and she ran off as fast as she could “Juli, wait, please! I have the answer to how you just ran through the fire!” Robbyn yelled. Juli was confused. How did she know her name and how would a girl looking around 16 years old know how that happened. “How do you know my name?” Juli snapped at her. Robbyn caught up to Juli and explained. “Look, you’re not normal. Nor am I. We are called flames. We are humans with fire powers. It happens when you have a special gene, the same as Siamak. I was sent to find you. I need to get you back to the base to tell you any more information.” It was enough information for Juli to trust Robbyn but she still had two more questions to ask. “How did you—” “SHH,” Robbyn said. “I can’t tell you any more than I have already. That was even more than I was supposed to say. Now let’s get you to the base.” “Okay, fine. But only if you promise to answer my questions there,” Juli told Robbyn. It was enough to know that her questions would be answered. She had to know. It was important for her to know what was happening about her. She was chased, could walk through fire, and was something called a Flame. It was hard for her to take in. “Pinch me.” “What!?!?” said Robbyn in shock. “Just pinch me,” Juli said. Robbyn pinched her. “Ah!” She screamed. It did hurt. This all was real. “Oookay… well, um, to answer your question, yes, I will answer that once we get to a safer spot.” She said. Juli would have said that it was okay, but her thoughts drowned her in more thoughts before she could answer. “Take a deep breath. You can’t breathe during transportation.” “Wait, WHAT!?!?!” Juli asked in shock. “Shhhhhhhh. Quiet down. I’ll make the process take about ten seconds if you just listen.” Robbyn said, trying to calm her down. “Ready? Three, two, one.” The two took in a deep breath, and with that, they were gone.