Zane struggled to keep up with the string of fires erupting through different neighbourhoods—some so far apart it defied logic. Whole houses were swallowed in flames, while others were just a single tree burning inexplicably.

"It's not working!" Yara shouted, hands shaking as she fumbled with the hose, struggling to twist it onto the fire hydrant's rested threads.

"Keep trying!" Talia urged, helping others douse nearby flames.

So far, they'd managed to contain most of the fires, but three houses had already collapsed into blackened wreckage.

Zane gritted his teeth, muscles aching as he aimed the hose at the roof of a blazing house. Smoke poured into the sky as two terrified kids burst out the front door, coughing and screaming.

"Stay back!" he shouted, throwing his arm out to stop people from getting too close.

"Why is Ashley trying to burn down houses?" Colby Miller asked.

"Because she's crazy!" Talia snapped, barely sparing him a glance.

Zane dropped the hose as the last of the flames curled into smoke. He rushed to the front steps, kicked the blackened door open, and stepped into the scorched interior.

Charred furniture leaned against the soot-stained walls, and the ceiling sagged above him. They'd managed to contain the worst of it, but just barely.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his forearm, his body completely drained. His eyes stung from the smoke, and every breath felt like it scraped raw in his throat.

Talia stepped beside him, wiping away at her face with the sleeve of her jacket. The tears weren't from sadness, but from the heat and smoke that clung to everything. Yara had laughed at her earlier when they first realized they weren't emotional, just chemical.

"I could never be a real firefighter," Yara sighed, dragging a heavy hose across the street.

"Dealing with fires every day? No thanks. Why can't it just rain already?" Talia groaned, her eyes bloodshot.

They were good help, but Zane wasn't sure it would be enough if more fires broke out. A few other kids had joined when the chaos first started, usually showing up only when multiple blazes flared at once.

After loading the hose onto the truck, Yara climbed into the front passenger seat while Talia settled in the back. They'd become Zane's unofficial crew ever since Jason got tied up dealing with Greyson and the growing unrest of town.

"Nobody!" Colby shouted, scrambling into the back.

Zane eased the fire truck into reserve, steering carefully as if navigating a narrow culvert on a construction site. He'd done plenty of side jobs like this for extra cash ever since his mom lost her job.

"Why does Ashley want to kill most of us?" Talia asked aloud, her arm dangling out the window.

"Because she's dumb," Colby said.

"I thought this nightmare would last a day," Yara groaned, twisting in her seat. "It's been two weeks!"

"Do you think we'll get out soon?" Talia asked quietly.

"I have no clue," Zane admitted.

Would it be weeks? Months? Years? He didn't know, but it dragged on much longer, they might not survive at all. Ashley's destruction wasn't slowing down, and Divina wasn't exactly sane either. He'd have to come up with something fast before they lost more than just houses.

"It's kinda fun doing whatever though," Colby said with a shrug. "I learned how to boil water on the stove."

"Stop!" Yara suddenly screamed as Zane slammed on the brakes.

In front of the truck, Esme stood hunched over gasping for air, with Emma beside her with wide eyes. The two staggered forward like they'd been running for miles, collapsed onto the asphalt.

"I can't keep healing her feet," Emma gasped, her face pressed against the pavement.

"And the stuff in the fridge is gone," Esme blurted, waving her arms wildly. "My head's still spinning."

Zane crouched and helped Emma to her feet, steadying her as her eyes darted around, unfocused. "Do you know who took it?" he asked.

"Preston," Esme said, glancing sideways at Emma. "Why didn't I realize that sooner?"

"You've been dragging me around for three hours," Emma moaned, slumping her shoulders.

"Heal my feet again," Esme insisted, lifting one bloodied foot. "I know where he'll be."

"No," Emma said sharply. "I'm going with Zane."

Talia reached out and steadied Esme by the arm, keeping her from toppling. Clearly neither girl had a firm grasp on where that purple substance was—or they were just terrible with directions.

"It won't take long, Emma!" Esme pleaded.

"Can we catch a ride with you guys?" Emma asked, glancing between Zane and the others. "Esme can sit on the ladder."

"I'll sit on the ground!" Esme declared with a grin, winking at Talia as she helped Emma into the back.

"Where's Preston?" Zane asked as Emma leaned back in her seat.

"He's usually invisible," Esme said, half-leaning out the window. "Either spying on girls or gathering information for Greyson."

"What on earth happened to your feet?" Colby asked, eyes wide.

"I was going too fast," Esme with a crooked grin. "Speed demon, that's me."

Zane had seen Esme's battered feet before—scars and fresh wounds earned from rushing into sinkholes Ashley had tore open. All these supernatural powers were being used to their advantage, but everything was still a giant mystery.

"Wait, shouldn't we ask Tumbles?" Esme asked, glancing at Emma.

Zane felt like he was trapped in a never-ending game of manhunt. The only difference was the sky above still looked normal—daylight fading into night—an illusion he hoped that should last.

"Tumbles is probably at the daycare," Esme said.

The fire truck engine hummed steadily as they rolled down the long street toward the daycare.

"Here, we'll go," Talia said, hopping out.

Esme slid backwards out of the truck, almost face-planting on the pavement. Emma caught her just in time, steadying her wobbling friend. Zane followed close behind, stepping cautiously into the building.

"Emma!" Ilya called from her seat, dark circles under her tired eyes. "Zane, and Esme too."

"Is Tumbles here?" Zane asked, scanning the cluttered play area.

Ilya nodded and led them toward the play area. Outside, a small playground sat with swings stood beside a shed overflowing with outdoor toys. Soft wood chips cushioned the ground, while a winding cement path weaved through.

They found Tumbles slumped on a plastic stump, dabbling at the fresh blood beneath her crooked nose.

"Tumbles!" Esme exclaimed but tripped again as her shoes barely held together. "We need to know where Preston is."

"He's doing something for Greyson," Tumbles said, gripping the gated fence to steady herself but collapsing face-first.

Emma knelt beside Tumbles, gently placing a hand on her cheek.

"I think..." Tumbles began, pinching the bridge of her nose—bent sharply to the left, as if smashed by a hammer.

"What's he doing?" Esme asked.

"I don't know, but Scarlett and Maverick are involved," Tumbles admitted.

Zane's stomach dropped. If Scarlett and Maverick were involved, things were about to get worse. He already suspected that Scarlett was hiding the substance, and he didn't want to experience the illusion of drowning underwater. Still, they needed to get it back.

"Let's go find one of them," Zane said firmly.

"Or we just confront Greyson," Esme interjected, holding her bloody feet.

"Greyson won't tell us," Emma said, looking at them.

Maverick is probably guarding the hardware store," Esme sighed. "Scarlett could be anywhere. Well, I'm going to grab some water before that hell."

Ilya turned toward Zane and sighed. "I never imagined myself being a mother to these children. But, it's been enjoyable."

Zane looked around and saw some children sat around a boy around his age. He had a book in his hand and was reading it to some of the younger toddlers.

"Angel is a huge help," Ilya added as the door creaked opened.

Esme's body trembled as she held multiple CDs in her hand. "One Direction CDs!" she exclaimed.

Emma seemed to have forgotten their original plans and rushed over to the CDs. The two girls were jumping around in joy, barely able to contain their excitement.

"Look!" Esme cheered, holding out three sets of One Direction albums.

Emma took it and stared as if they had found gold, with her eyes wide and her jaw dropped.

"Oh my gosh!" they both screamed, jumping around in joy.

Zane looked at Ilya because he didn't know how big of fans the two girls were, especially since the group wasn't even together anymore. The last thing he remembered hearing about One Direction was someone showing videos of a concert they went to a while ago.

"It's the Midnight Memories album!" Emma exclaimed with a wide smile on her face. "Where do we play them?"

Both stared at each other. "Doesn't a radio play them?" Esme asked.

"It might work in the fire truck," Zane said.

It was a known fact that the radio didn't stream anything between music or even a podcast channel; every time you tried turning up the volume, it would be completely silent, only showing the different stations.

"Thank you," Zane said, smiling at Ilya, who nodded her head.

As he walked around the small crowd of children, some of whom were crying, he made his way outside to find Esme and Emma hovered over the radio of the truck.

"Doesn't it fit there?" Esme questioned.

Zane hurried towards the opened door, where Emma was gesturing towards the CD player nestled inside. Esme took the CD and inserted it onto the player, as they all waited for it to start playing. However, after a moment of silence, nothing happened.

"Wait, let's start the truck!" Talia suggested enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling.

He nodded, and turned on the engine of the fire truck. As soon as he did, the song "Story of My Life" erupted from the speakers at full volume.

"Yay!" Esme cheered.

Without hesitation, she began screaming the lyrics at the top of her lungs while leaning out the window and flashing a peace sign to those staring. Most onlookers were either security or wandering around.

"At least we have music!" Esme cheered, her arms lifted high in the air.

Zane had heard of party buses but not of party fire trucks. Esme was yelling the lyrics more than she was actually singing. Emma and Talia both sang, while Colby and Yara laughed at their behaviour.

Zane cracked a smile but remained focused on the task. All of them needed to find Preston to know if he knew anything, since Tumbles did state that it had been Greyson's idea.

"Still so stupid," Divina taunted.

Ashley clenched her teeth and turned her head. Her gaze fell on a small cement statue of a man, gripping a hockey stick in his hand. The statue had a small helmet, a blue hockey jersey, jogging pants, and skates.

"Don't you know that most houses have fire alarms?" Divina sneered.

"You're just some statue," Ashley snarled with a smirk.

As she watched the statue, she noticed its hands beginning to move slowly, with a clanking sound that echoed through the air. She covered her ears and grated her teeth, while Divina gripped the hockey stick like a baseball bat.

In a split second, Ashley was hurled into the fences of nearby houses. When she landed on the hard ground, sharp pain flared through her limbs. Pieces of broken wood dug into her skin, leaving deep scratches across her arms and legs.

Ashley held out a trembling hand for Vickie and David to attack. Both charged at Divina, but vanished the moment they made contact, dissolving like a puff of dust.

She knew her stupid followers wouldn't be able to defeat Divina. But she still held had the power to kill those around her.

Divina hopped in front of her, wearing a sly smile. "I found a loophole."

"Loophole?" Ashley echoed, frowning in confusion.

Inside, she tried to search for knowledge but found nothing. She didn't understand why this mind didn't have knowledge of the word when all humans are the same.

"An easier way to stop you," Divina said with dismay. "Honestly, I forgot how stupid you are."

"Are you going to be a fish?" Ashley spat.

Divina grin widened with a gaping through mouth of the large statue in front of her. Suddenly, an invisible force struck Ashley, knocking her to the ground and sending her rolling across the grass.

The impact burned like a hot knife pressed against her temple. She screamed at the pain overwhelmed her. She dug her fingers into the grass, trying to stand, but he r limbs refused to obey.

"Yup, I'll be a goldfish," Divina shot back mockingly.

If Divina was a fish, she could easily kill it. All she would need to do was use acid to fry the fish or set it ablaze. The only problem would be finding it inside the large lake.

Divina laughed with that same wicked grin. "Doesn't even understand sarcasm."

Suddenly, the statue made a loud thump as it hopped toward her. Ashley extended her palm, preparing to summon another one of her dead slaves.

"What if I'm human?" Divina taunted. "I can put out those fires and fill the holes."

Ashley went to grab the statue, but it disappeared.

"Too slow."

It struck her in the back of the head.

Stunned, Ashley fell onto her stomach, landing face-first in the muddy ground. She spat out a mouthful of dirt, struggling to push herself up into a sitting position.

"I control everything," Ashley hissed.

A sly smile crept on Divina's lips. Its form began to morph—shifting into the illusion of boy. He had had pale skin and shoulder-length black hair. Icy eyes that glowed ominously when they locked with Ashley's. He wore a black shirt and pants that clung tightly to his thin frame.

"Maybe I'm a boy," Divina began, the illusion shifting again. "Or maybe I'm a girl."

The girl had similar features: shoulder-length black hair, round glowing icy eyes, uneven eyebrows, and thin lips set into a line. Instead of the casual clothes, she wore a black dress, belted dark blue.

Both illusions stood side by side, with the boy slyly smiling while the girl wore a glare.

The female illusion merged into the boy's frame, who slammed his foot onto the back of her neck.

"Maybe you'll die choking," Divina laughed.

Ashley gasped, feeling an invisible grip tighten around her throat, making it difficult to breathe. She stuck a hand out, sending another follower. It resulted in Divina shifting away from her and coughing multiple times.

Divina ran a hand through his jet-black hair, smirking. He was about the age of this body.

"Are you saying you'll do something?" Ashley spat.

"No, I'm just going to sit on a bench and watch the birds," he laughed.

Ashley seethed, her body boiling from his pathetic attempt to be funny. She watched as Divina yanked the hockey stick from the statue. The stick grew easily, transforming into the size of a baseball bat.

"This isn't a sports game," Ashley growled.

"That's right," Divina said, slamming the stick hard into the back of her neck. "Going to start crying? What a pity."

He gripped the collar of her shirt tightly and her dragged down a street. Tears welled up in Ashley's eyes. It was pathetic to let human emotions take hold of her. Pain shouldn't affect her. She needed a healing ability, but thar wasn't possible yet.

With a grunt, Divina hurled her into the cold water fountain in the main plaza. She landed with a splash, drenched in clumps of dirt and soggy leaves. The cement setting above broke into pieces on the ground.

People screamed and scattered in different directions.

"See, you're so ugly, they flee," Divina sneered, lifting a heavy piece of debris with ease. "Bye-bye."

Suddenly, someone knocked the piece of fountain right out of his hand, and clattered loudly onto the ground.

Divina's smirk instantly vanished, and glared back, as Ashley spotted Jason and Bella.

"Get lost," he hissed at them.

Ashley smiled inwardly. She could use this. If she played her cards right, she could fake being the feeble human Jason still thought she was. If she pretended that the weak child still had some control, she could slip away.

"This isn't a war zone," Jason said.

Divina's raised an eyebrow. "Well, would you rather have fires around?"

Without waiting for an answer, Divina grabbed another chunk of the broken fountain. In his hands, it grew to the size of a transport truck, then hovered effortlessly in the air.

Ashley slowly stood up in the ruined fountain, glaring. That thing needed to die. Humiliating a god was beyond idiotic, since she was the most powerful.

"Can't you just leave?" Ashley yelled before the wind was knocked out of her.

"You're lucky I can't shrink you," Divina snarled.

Divina extended his hand towards Collin, who transformed into a purple blob. With two fingers pressed together, he pointed them towards the substance that all drained from the centre of downtown.

"Run!" Divina yelled as Jason and Bella fled.

"How unfortunate," Divina remarked, yanking her head up to meet his eyes.

Tears streamed down Ashley's cheeks. She covered her face with one hand. Human emotions weren't meant for her. Crying was for weak, pathetic humans.

Divina morphed back into her female illusion with a wicked smile on her face. "Do you need a tissue?"

Ashley was yanked from the fountain, dragged roughly toward Jason and Bella. Her back sharped against the ground. Her head hit the road hard. Through the haze of pain, she noticed they were near apartment that burned down. It might be smart to burn down buildings.

"I brought you a dog," Divina mocked, bending down. "Maybe it will bark."

"No," Ashley spat.

Divina smiled widened as she grabbed a handful of Ashley's ginger hair. Without warning, an unseen force slammed her into the road. Her chest ached, as if someone had punched her in the lungs.

"The land will be healed soon," Divina said.

"Liar," Ashley spat, wiping the tears from her face.

She twisted out of Divina's grasp and threw herself sideways. Slowly, she forced her self upright, pain flaring through ever bone. Blood trickled from her right arm, but she didn't care. Injuries weren't something that mattered because nobody would be able to kill her with the power she had.

"Stop toying around," Ashley spat.

Divina cupped a hand to her ear in mockery. "Keep toying around? That sounds entertaining."

Ashley felt her body lift high in the air, trying to worm her way out, but it wasn't working. She needed to gain abilities fast because these followers weren't going to get her far anymore.

"See, I'm not a psycho," Divina said, appearing behind her now. "I just want you dead."

Divina had an inward smile on her face and joy throughout. In an instant, Ashley's body dropped quickly to the ground. She landed on her back with blood spewing out from her mouth. Her entire head ached but something cracked, seeing her right arm twisted like a pretzel.

"Well, time to go," Divina remarked, disappearing into a cloud of dust.

"Jason, what's that?" someone asked.

Jason and Bella just stared at her, but refused to help her. These humans were starting to understand she wasn't a feeble child, but that needed to change. She needed to kill more people that would worship her and assist with her own plans.

"Something that everyone should avoid," Jason said.

Many mumbled around, and some screamed, seeing her arm in sight. Would it even heal on its own? No, she still had to wait. It wasn't that she had everyone's powers that she could use to her advantage.

Using Vickie, she helped her slowly onto her feet. "We lost Collin?" she asked.

"Yes," Ashley hissed, seeing how her arm moved like a wet noodle.

If Divina were to find a different method for securing a body host, Ashley knew she would be screwed. Even worse—not just Divina getting a body, but someone developing all the goddess powers. No, she restricted anyone from obtaining those. If such a person existed, she'd have to kill them. They couldn't know how to use all of her powers.

Something hit the back of her head, making her drop to the ground. She tried to lift her head, but she could barely support it to look up. Divina mainly injuring the upper part of her body had left her sore, especially her neck.

"Imagine if someone acquired my power," Divina's male voice taunted in her mind. "You'll be dead."

Seeing Scarlett walk toward him with a smirk never meant good news. "We found something you'd want to see," she said, sitting down on a chair.

The house was located in the neighbourhood near Simcoe's school. It was on a dead-end road where nobody lived since Luke raided the house, looking for anyone that lived there. Now, nobody was allowed inside that house, unless they had been on Greyson's side.

"What?" James asked.

"The substance and what your trip will require," Scarlett said, holding up two fingers and placing an olive-skinned hand on his cheek. "We don't want to keep the Dauntless Leader waiting."

James sprang to his feet and followed Scarlett. He didn't want like being ordered around like a dog, but Scarlett still had the power to expose his ability to Greyson, and that was the last thing he wanted.

He opened the door to one of the waiting SUVs, where Preston sat half-invisible in the backseat. As James climbed into the vehicle, anxiety washed over him when he realized that Greyson was behind the wheel.

"I need you to test this," Greyson said, turning slightly in his seat.

Preston lifted a test tube containing a swirling purple substance. James took hold of the warm glass, feeling the heat through his fingers as he examined it. At first glance, it appeared to be a normal chemical mixture, until he noticed the blood at the bottom.

"We're going to test it on someone," Greyson said coolly as they pulled up outside the mayor's office.

"Test how?" James asked as he climbed out of the SUV.

"We'll have someone drink it," Greyson said.

"The consequences could be that someone dies! This is mainly acid," James exclaimed.

He had conducted enough research to know this substance was linked to Ashley and whatever entity was now resided within her body. Given its corrosive nature and the heat it emitted, he feared exposure could result to severe burns or death.

"Who can we use?" Greyson asked, sitting in his chair and biting his pinky nail.

"Just use one of Henry's thugs," Scarlett suggested nonchalantly.

"Trevor," Greyson said, snapping his fingers.

James knew who Trevor was. He'd been humiliated after failing to feed the freaks. Even from what little he knew of the substance, it contained acid.

Oscar came into the room, looking between all of them.

"Get Henry and his thugs to bring Trevor to the gym," Greyson ordered.

"I need something to support the test tube," James said.

"Get a test tube rack from the science lab," Greyson barked at Preston.

James felt a twinge of doubt over whether Preston would understand what was being asked of him. After all, Preston had only turned ten two months ago, and James couldn't remember if they'd even covered such equipment in science.

"I'll probably need tongs," James said, still staring at Preston.

"Okay, boss," Preston agreed, turning invisible again.

"Why don't we just test it on a plant or an animal instead?" Scarlett asked, crossing her arms and directing the question at Greyson.

James knew that Scarlett always gave her own opinion to Greyson. This wasn't about her being snarky or mocking; she was trying to steer Greyson away from the test he wanted to perform.

"No, it would make more sense to have someone drink it," Greyson replied.

"Fine," Scarlett spat, giving James a smirk.

Soon, he would need to tell Jason how to prevent himself from disappearing.

"We'll do it at Uden. We need to make sure nobody finds out about it," Greyson explained, locking eyes with James.

Scarlett had kept most of their conversation secret, but her orders were important to follow. Part of James wanted to tell Jason—Esme seemed to trust him—but Scarlett still had leverage over him.

"When we do this test, I'll be even closer to discovering the true connection of this substance," Greyson remarked.

"Let's go, James," Scarlett said, leading him out of the office. As he closed the door behind him, she smirked. "Don't forget about our agreement."

"Why aren't you telling Greyson?" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

"It would be quite boring without the Dauntless Leader," Scarlet replied, descending the stairs.

James followed her, heading to Simcoe's school to see if Preston had actually completed his task.

Witnessing someone possibly die wasn't something James could handle again. When David had nearly shot Scarlett, Greyson had reflected the bullet back at him. It wasn't technically murder, but it was still taking a life. Greyson and Luke had both called it suicide, and anyone who asked knew it was.

Now James had to figure out how they'd even conduct this experiment. If the purple substance was as dangerous as he suspected, whoever took it would be facing death.

Don't forget to comment and vote!
-Lexi