The Fire-Bringer

t. Nikki is sitting next to me, Olive is shotgun, and Hollister is driving. My skin is on fire and I'm sweating all over the leather seats. I pull the collar of my shirt away from my neck, but it doe

ttons fly in every direction, one of them hitting t

d and gapes at me. "

I have ever seen in my life wearing only my ratty pink GAP bra and fumbling with the button an

he says. "I think she's in major trouble. Her skin is the color of

the straps broke this morning. And then I don't care anymore. My blood has turned into molten magma. I'm boiling from the inside and the pain is nothing like I have ever experienced. I want to peel my skin off. I want to get out of the car, break open a fire hydrant, and blast myself with water. I reach for the door handle and attempt to open it, but shriek

r, hurry,"

," Hollister says. "We'll

my jeans at this point, so I'm in his arms in only a bra and my laundry day panties. If he is bothered by the heat of my skin or my state of undress, he gives no indication. He runs for the elevato

again, he can probably lift a car over his head with just one hand and not break a sweat. My skin feels

what sounds like Cantonese in a soothing voice meant to calm and even thou

.. how does he

wakes up in a tub of ice and discovers his kidney missing. I try to move, but find that I am actually buried up to my neck in ice and Nikki is reaching for another

ut you in a coma because you were in so much pain. He and Olive are trying to find out right now what's going

ter and jealous person, but the thought of the two of them together ignites something in me that I don't feel very often. Pure unadulterated fury.

gasps. "Guys, a

ghtened, but I'm not. I sink deeper into the water until it laps at my jaw. Steam begins to rise, floating to the ceiling, and the water begins to boil. And yet

her hands on her hips as she looks down at me. "Hollister! You said

ith a frown. "It's a Tibetan fre

in boiling water," Nikki yells. "Wh

She doesn't seem

ut being the only human in the room and sitting naked in a tub filled with boiling wat

ower you didn't know

l water," I mut

y mind, but it is something. I think back to all the conversations I've had with my mother ever since I was a child who would come home from school crying because the kids called me a Mundy. She told me I was special in my own way and

rubber ducky?

Hollister seems to be a neat-freak and I am unable to find an errant l

ured cheek with the sleeve of her shirt. "Yo

I'm sitting in

ut he easily pushes her out of the bathroom, drags Nikki along, and slams the door shut. My friends bang on the solid wood, threatening to break it down, bu

demand. "I thought you were

g up a few tricks here and there." He braces his palm on the wall above my head and leans over me. "Now what kind of