Katie walked back to the auditorium and was greeted by an overly enthusiastic Emily. “There you are!”
Graduation had already started. The valedictorian was talking to the audience. Katie walked in line beside Emily.
“What took so long?” Tyson asked under his breath.
“Nothing important, some weird girl in the bathroom,” said Katie.
“Guys,” Emily said. “We should get into our proper places. They will call the graduates on stage alphabetically by last name.”
They all shuffled into their respective places. Katie had just stepped back in line when the graduates’ names started being called out. The students stepped up on stage, received their diplomas, and stood in another line, facing the audience from the stage.
It wasn’t long before they called Katie onto the stage and Tyson was just a few people behind her. The list went on and soon enough Emily joined them on stage, as did the rest of the graduating class.
The audience was cheering and applauding, some parents had tears in their eyes. Katie even felt a touch emotional at her accomplishment.
Suddenly, the sound of explosions and crackling rang out through the auditorium and screams of terror filled the air. The railing above the backdrop of the stage had caught fire. Some of the audience pointed towards the stage. Katie turned back and saw flames eating away at the curtains. Several of the students had already scrambled across the stage towards safety.
The flames leaped around the metal poles at the sides of the stage and they fell, hitting a student. Another student dragged him across the auditorium floor and out of the fire. Katie saw Emily running and called out to her. Emily didn’t respond.
“Emily!” Katie called out again. Emily was running towards the exit.
The large bird had caught fire. As if it happened in slow motion, Katie watched as Emily ran under the bird as it crashed down on her. When it hit the floor, the fire spread everywhere.
Katie was coughing and her eyes stung, but she was determined to see that Emily was safe.
“Emily!” she cried out, this time in fear and sadness. She ran towards Emily to try to help her, but there was nothing to be done. Katie instinctively reached inside herself and tried to contact her powers. She pushed her hands out, hoping she could create water to douse the fire but nothing happened. She called out Emily’s name again.
Tyson ran up to Katie and tried to pull her away. Katie couldn’t breathe.
“Let’s go,” Tyson said but as he did, the bird exploded. The force of it knocked Katie and Tyson off their feet, sending them flying backward several feet before they hit the ground.
Tyson quickly got to his feet. “You alright?” he asked Katie as he helped her to her feet. Because Tyson had tried shielding himself with his arms from the explosion, they were severely burnt. The sleeves of his shirt were singed.
“I’m fine,” Katie panted, not bothering to brush herself off, though she was covered in ash. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Not yet. I need to find my mom and make sure she’s okay,” Tyson said.
Another burst of flame caused the sound of an explosion. The fire had spread out to the front door of the auditorium.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Katie said, coughing as the smoke crept into her lungs. “But we won’t be if we stay here.”
Tyson nodded and they both crouched low and made their way to one of the emergency exits that hadn’t yet caught fire. Many of the chairs were toppled over from the stampeding crowd that had rushed to safety.
They could hear sirens fast approaching. Katie and Tyson sped up and soon found themselves out of the auditorium and relatively safe. Minutes later firefighters barged into the auditorium, carrying a large hose.
“I don’t get why any of the sprinklers didn’t turn on,” Tyson said. Katie didn’t know the answer.
“Tyson!”
At the sound of his name, Tyson turned around and saw his mother and little brother running up to him. They engulfed each other in a big hug. Benjamin, Tyson’s little brother, was ten years old with the same light brown hair but his eyes were green. Marla, Tyson’s mother, though she was getting on in years, had blonde hair and a pleasant face that told Katie that she had been very attractive in her younger years. Even now, she looked ten years younger than she was.
“You’re okay,” Tyson’s mother cried. “And you too, Katie.” She gave Katie a hug.
“Where’s Mark?” Tyson asked. Mark was Tyson’s “soon-to-be” stepfather.
“Thankfully, he was held up at work and couldn’t make it in time,” said Marla Everties. “I’ve already called him to let him know. He’s on his way now.”
“Alright,” Tyson said. “You two should go home, tell Mark not to come.”
“Aren’t you coming with us?” Marla asked her son.
Tyson shook his head. “I’m going to take Katie home and make sure she’s okay,” he replied.
Marla smiled. “Of course. Come home as soon as you can,” and she took Benjamin’s hand and walked away.
Katie really liked Marla Everties. She was always kind and generous. She was also understanding and very trusting of her son.
Tyson led Katie to his car. They got in and pulled away from the burning building.
“So, I know there’s something you’re not telling me, so I will ask nicely,” Tyson paused for a second. “What are you not telling me?”
Katie let out a breath and started to speak, but couldn’t get the words out.
“What’s wrong?” Tyson asked. His voice was determined, but not unkind.
“What do you mean? Which part?” Katie asked. “The school burning down? Emily being crush and engulfed in flames? Or do you mean that my parents told me I have superpowers and that I’m from another world, and I’m
