Once outside the Arena, I stop, along with most of the people running, and finally, I get a chance to see what is actually happening. There is a large fire at the center of the Arena, and that fire is rapidly spreading. Still, that doesn’t tell me much. In the end, I use the enhancement noer, wanting to make use of its ability to enhance my senses. A second later, most of the conversations around me become clear.
“...happened?”
“I don’t know man, I don’t know. There was an explosion and some of the people near the stage just dropped. They just dropped, dude. Then there was screaming, people started running. I… I saw a guy fall-”
“...my daughter. Have you seen my daughter, please? She was just behind me-”
“Where the hell are the fire department, and the police, security-”
Unable to take it anymore, I shut down the enhancement noer, my heart heavy. Please be safe, I can’t help but pray for Cassandra and the rest. I keep my eyes peeled on the people running out of the Arena searching desperately for Cassandra and her friends. I don’t know how long I stand there, unmoving as I scan every face I can see, looking for even one familiar one. Then I see one. Diane. I begin to run toward her and slowly more familiar faces come into view. The other friend of Cassandra, Brian, and then… no one else. My heart runs cold.
Diane spots me and her face lights up a bit as she likewise runs toward me. “Ian! Thank god you’re safe, we-”
“Where’s Cassandra?” I ask, interrupting her.
She stops and takes a look around her, then her expression changes to one of fear. She turns to Brian and speaks, her voice dangerously low. “I thought I said we should all stay close to each other. You were holding her hand, where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Brian says. His eyes are red and almost strangely blank. “The crowd separated us, there were too many people. I couldn’t keep holding on.”
Diane’s expression darkens. For a moment she looks as though she is about to begin shouting, then she turns around and begins walking away. “We need to do something. We can’t just do nothing. There are firemen over there, maybe they can help.”
Her words finally remind me to take a good look around myself. To my pleasant surprise, I can see a group of fire trucks parked in front of the Arena. Some firemen are talking to what looks like security personnel, an urgent look on their faces, others are beginning to unload the equipment as well as perform other miscellaneous tasks. Diane walks up to the firemen and begins to speak with them. It doesn’t seem to go well and not too long after, she returns to us, crestfallen.
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“What did they say?” Brian asks.
“That I should wait and that I was interrupting their work. That she’s not the only one in danger,” at this point tears begin to stream down her face. “I swear if anything happens to her I’ll… I’ll…”
I turn back towards the Arena. The fire has now spread, and it seems to be spreading even faster, as though someone was fanning the flames; and I am sure I know who that someone is. I look at the firemen who were beginning to act and come to a quick realization. They are too slow. They are doing the best they can, yes, but they are still too slow. If things continue like this, even if Cassandra isn’t dead yet, she probably will die.
My mind jumps from one place to another as I try to figure out if there’s anything I can do. In the end, I can think of only one feasible way to guarantee her safety. Magic. A knowledgeable enough Laen could probably save her, but apart from Drew and his team I know no one else, and at this moment they just aren’t going to cut it. They are nowhere near here, and in the time it’ll take to call them and then for them to get here, anything could happen. Apart from them, there is only one other option. Me. But as I stare at the raging flames in front of me, I can’t help but feel daunted. If I go in there, I have no guarantee that I’ll be able to come back out; but if I don’t go in there, well, I don’t think things will end well for Cassandra. The fact that she still hadn’t come out just shows that something must have happened to her there.
I take a deep breath and try to think. Even if I go in there, I know little to no noers that can help me survive in a fire, so what can I do? Okay, I think, if I go in there, I’m undoubtedly going to need some oxygen to breathe, a way to get rid of any fire or debris in my path, and finally, a way to find Cassandra. The main problems I’m going to face are the first two, and after a second, I get an idea that could probably solve the first problem and help with the second. Telekinesis.
According to what I was taught, telekinesis is in essence just force. If I could cover an area with telekinesis, and make sure the force is directed inward, that could prevent all the air within that area from getting out, since the moment they touch the telekinetic barrier they would just be bounced back inward. To add security I could also create another barrier over the first, but this time, I’ll direct it outward and that should prevent anything outside from getting in, effectively forming a pseudo oxygen tank that wouldn't get contaminated by things like smoke. Also, by using telekinesis, I could get rid of any debris in my path. As for handling the flames, I think of something that just might work. When I first started learning noers, I once learned a noer that could absorb energy. Using that noer as a base, with a few modifications, I should be able to create a noer that can be used to absorb heat energy. That should be enough to handle the flames.
Still, I decided to test things out, starting with the pseudo oxygen tank. Looking around to make sure no one is paying attention to me, I release a large amount of telekinetic energy, using it to form a large sphere above me and then forming another sphere over the first according to my original idea. I clench my fist and compress the spheres into something the size of a football. It is a bit difficult, but I get it done nonetheless. For the final test, I create, with telekinesis, a small pipe leading from the sphere to a point in front of my face. A second later I feel a blast of air hit my face. Success.
I dispel the pseudo oxygen tank and create another one; after, I do my best to remember the energy absorbing noer and keep it partially formed within me. With my preparations done, I turn to the others.
“Where were you when you got separated from Cassandra?” I ask Brian. He describes it to me and I nod. Taking a deep breath, I turn to look at the burning Arena. I am about to do something very stupid.
The next moment, after making sure that the pseudo oxygen tank is next to me, I activate the enhancement noer, and pushing it to its limits, I begin to run. The security who are cordoning off the Arena spot me and begin to shout at me to stop. Of course, I don’t listen, choosing instead to run faster. I get closer and closer to them and in a desperate attempt to stop me, one of them pulls out a taser, but it is too late. I easily dodge the taser and jump over the barriers they had placed at the entrance. In the next moment, I run into the flaming building, ignoring the fear within my heart and the voices shouting behind me to stop.