Council of Evil Read Online Free
Author: Andy Briggs
cauldron of fire, but strangely, Jake didnât feel the heat at all. He looked down at the prone body of his teacher, who moments before didnât have the time of day to listen to reason. Now the flames were approaching him with each passing second.
Jake hesitated. He knew he should go back inside and drag his teacher out, but the room was blazing and he doubted that anyone could survive a rescue mission.
And whatever power had erupted from him now seemed to have faded away, so there was no certainty he would survive either.
Precious seconds ticked by as Jake hesitatedâ¦.
A Meeting in the Dark
Clouds of steam billowed from the remains of the art room as the fire crews bathed it with high-pressure hoses. The seasoned firefighters marveled at the ferocity of this outburst; they had rarely seen anything that could melt metal the way this conflagration had.
Jake was sitting on the bumper of an ambulance looking, and feeling, completely fine. He didnât even have signs of smoke inhalation. He had eventually doubled back and dragged Mr. Falconer from the inferno. Despite the teacherâs thin appearance, he was incredibly heavy and Jake had made slow progress. But if he had delayed another few seconds, then Mr. Falconer would now be lying under half a ton of rubble. A support beam had burned through, causing the roof to crash in, and with it the contents of the classroom above.
The school principal, Mr. Harris, watched with Jake as the ambulance carrying Falconer pulled away, its lights flashing and siren whooping. Falconer had momentarily regained consciousness and mumbledincoherently about Jake glowing green. The paramedics assumed it was a side effect of the traumatic ordeal.
âYouâre a brave boy,â said Mr. Harris. The firemen could find no immediate cause of the fire, and the principal was well aware of Jakeâs reputation as a troublemaker. But because heâd pulled the teacher out of the flames, without a doubt saving his life, he couldnât exactly accuse him of arson. But it felt strange calling the bully a hero.
Jake mulled things over as he walked home. The green haze coming from him had definitely been real, and not a hallucination brought on by the asphyxiating smoke, that much he was sure about. The glow had increased with his anger but then slowly ebbed away when he calmed down.
But what was it? And why couldnât he feel the heat himself? When he pulled Mr. Falconer from the conflagration the shimmering green energy field had reappeared, covering him completely. Fire had rolled across the wall next to him, and he hadnât felt the flames lick across his face.
Jake would be the first to admit he wasnât a straight-A student, but he certainly wasnât stupid. He knew that he shouldnât have been able to stand in a room where the metal chairs were melting into puddles. No matter how much he twisted the facts, they all pointed back to the previous night when he visited that Web site and clicked on the radioactive button. Heâdseen the monitor warpâthat couldnât have been an optical illusion as heâd originally assumed. Somehow, he had been given the power to produce radiation, and apparently to control it with his anger and fear. Jake decided that when he got home, he was going to get to the bottom of the mystery one way or another.
News travels fast. Almost at light speed if it moves from your school to your parents. Jake hadnât even inserted his key in the lock before his mother swung the door open and grabbed him in an emotional hug.
âJacob! Youâre okay!â
âYes, Iâm fine,â he managed as he pushed her away.
âBrave thing you did,â his father said, standing a little farther back. âJust glad youâre okay! It gave my heart a start when I heard the news. Running into a burning building took some guts!â
Jake shrugged in response. âYeah, whatever. I have to go and get changed.
Jake hesitated. He knew he should go back inside and drag his teacher out, but the room was blazing and he doubted that anyone could survive a rescue mission.
And whatever power had erupted from him now seemed to have faded away, so there was no certainty he would survive either.
Precious seconds ticked by as Jake hesitatedâ¦.
A Meeting in the Dark
Clouds of steam billowed from the remains of the art room as the fire crews bathed it with high-pressure hoses. The seasoned firefighters marveled at the ferocity of this outburst; they had rarely seen anything that could melt metal the way this conflagration had.
Jake was sitting on the bumper of an ambulance looking, and feeling, completely fine. He didnât even have signs of smoke inhalation. He had eventually doubled back and dragged Mr. Falconer from the inferno. Despite the teacherâs thin appearance, he was incredibly heavy and Jake had made slow progress. But if he had delayed another few seconds, then Mr. Falconer would now be lying under half a ton of rubble. A support beam had burned through, causing the roof to crash in, and with it the contents of the classroom above.
The school principal, Mr. Harris, watched with Jake as the ambulance carrying Falconer pulled away, its lights flashing and siren whooping. Falconer had momentarily regained consciousness and mumbledincoherently about Jake glowing green. The paramedics assumed it was a side effect of the traumatic ordeal.
âYouâre a brave boy,â said Mr. Harris. The firemen could find no immediate cause of the fire, and the principal was well aware of Jakeâs reputation as a troublemaker. But because heâd pulled the teacher out of the flames, without a doubt saving his life, he couldnât exactly accuse him of arson. But it felt strange calling the bully a hero.
Jake mulled things over as he walked home. The green haze coming from him had definitely been real, and not a hallucination brought on by the asphyxiating smoke, that much he was sure about. The glow had increased with his anger but then slowly ebbed away when he calmed down.
But what was it? And why couldnât he feel the heat himself? When he pulled Mr. Falconer from the conflagration the shimmering green energy field had reappeared, covering him completely. Fire had rolled across the wall next to him, and he hadnât felt the flames lick across his face.
Jake would be the first to admit he wasnât a straight-A student, but he certainly wasnât stupid. He knew that he shouldnât have been able to stand in a room where the metal chairs were melting into puddles. No matter how much he twisted the facts, they all pointed back to the previous night when he visited that Web site and clicked on the radioactive button. Heâdseen the monitor warpâthat couldnât have been an optical illusion as heâd originally assumed. Somehow, he had been given the power to produce radiation, and apparently to control it with his anger and fear. Jake decided that when he got home, he was going to get to the bottom of the mystery one way or another.
News travels fast. Almost at light speed if it moves from your school to your parents. Jake hadnât even inserted his key in the lock before his mother swung the door open and grabbed him in an emotional hug.
âJacob! Youâre okay!â
âYes, Iâm fine,â he managed as he pushed her away.
âBrave thing you did,â his father said, standing a little farther back. âJust glad youâre okay! It gave my heart a start when I heard the news. Running into a burning building took some guts!â
Jake shrugged in response. âYeah, whatever. I have to go and get changed.
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