Chapter 4
This house is on fire!
Oh God... Wait, what?!

This is Echo's first full chapter and the next one will be Oliver's. I hope you like it!

-Choco <3

{Echo}

While my brother and his girlfriend were looking at the wrong place, I stayed on the roof with Felix. We were having lots of fun talking, so we didn't bother looking down at the front-yard, where the soldiers were gathering.

The idiots didn't even bother warning us, they simply opened fire- quite literally I might add- as the house caught on fire. When we realised what was going on it was a little late, as we had already started smelling the burnt wood.

«So what do you think about growing up?» Felix asked me.

«I hate it. I will have to get out there and do stuff.» I replied and he laughed.

«Do you smell that?» I asked him panicking.

«You mean the fire?» he replied and we both looked down.

«Dammit!» we both yelled and ran to the edge to climb down. And let me tell you, I have a really  bad relationship with fire and I absolutely hate it to the core.

«How the hell are we going to get down there?» I asked him.

«Wait right here.» he said and carefully, but quickly, climbed down the wall.

«What the hell am I supposed to do now? I can't climb!» I yelled at him. I was panicking more and more as the time passed.

«Jump!» he said, and I doubted I heard well.

«I think I heard wrong, can you repeat what you just said?»

«You heard me, jump!»

«Are you trying to get me killed?»

«If you stay up there you are dead anyway! You are at the roof of a burning building, do you think you have a chance of surviving it?»

«I don't think I have a chance of surviving a fall!» I yelled at him.

«I'll catch you, come on!» he shouted and I grumbled. I know I have had trouble with living before, but I have never been suicidal.

«Are you sure?»

«No...»

«Well, that  was reassuring!»

«Are you going to stay there all night?» he asked and he was right. The fire was circling in and soon I wouldn't be able to jump at all, not that I wanted to. It was either jumping of a building, or being burnt alive on a roof, so I did the former. I wasn't going to-- nevermind.

But, unfortunately, it was the only way.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and I jumped, quite hesitantly, I may add. I might  have screamed a little.

Might.

I opened one eye to see Felix looking at me and I looked back at him. I cringed at the cheesiness a bit.

«Felix!» we heard Celine yell.

«We're here!» he yelled back and put me down.

I know I said it was cheesy, but... Nevermind.

I followed Felix to Celine, who was (of course!) with Oliver.

«Where have you two been?» she asked,

«On the roof.» both Felix and I said at the same time.

«Are you okay?» Oliver asked me. He knows how I feel about fire and I have a huge suspicion he feels the same. I nodded.

«Wait, where are your parents?» I asked panic taking over me. I had known Andy and Mallory for only a week, but they had grown on me. If anything happened to them...

«We haven't seen them.» Celine said her voice cracking.

«We got out looking for the two of you and then the fire broke out...»

«There must be something we can do! If they are in there... We can't just leave them!» Celine yelled at Oliver. It was obvious they had already been through this.

«We can't get in there! The whole house is on fire!» he yelled back.

«You know, I was wrong about you. You are a coward.» she told Oliver and looked at him irritatingly. If you looked at his face you could see the hurt in his eyes.

«Hey! Watch it!» I told her. «Believe me, there is nothing we can do! We can't just barge into a burning building! We are just teenagers, not firefighters! You can't just demand impossible things, leave him alone! Nobody talks like that to my little  brother, but me.» everyone stood frozen at my outburst, which was surprising, because they should have expected it. It's not like they didn't know me. I think Oliver was about to say that he is older when Celine interrupted him and spoke first.

«Lose a parent first and then talk!» Celine yelled at me.

«You have no idea what you're talking about, so shut it!»

«Oh, I know what I'm talking about! Just because you have family issues it doesn't mean we all have! You can't just take responsibility of my parents' lives and let them die!»

«I didn't even save my  dad and you expect me to save both your parents! You don't know what's going on at my house and what I hear every day! I killed my own father so if you want to add more guilt on my shoulders go ahead!» that shut her up. I would have been really proud at that moment, except part of me knew she was right. I was arguing with someone and left two people be burnt alive in their own house, and all that while being just a few feet away. Celine had a point, but she couldn't just ask us to risk our lives and be mad at us when we didn't. It was her parents, I get it, but what she was asking for was impossible. If we went in there we wouldn't get out alive.

«Uh... girls?» Oliver said.

«What?» Celine and I replied at the same time aggressively. And then we saw the soldiers surrounding us.

«Oh...» I said.

«Dammit!» Celine added.

Oops?

The guards started closing in and we really didn't have a way out.

«Celine? I think you should--» Felix started.

«No. Shut up.» Celine interrupted him.

«She should what?» Oliver asked. We were closing in, towards the center, too. Soon all our backs were touching.

«Forget it! I am doing nothing!» she yelled at him.

«What did I tell you about yelling at my brother? Only I  get to do it!»

«Celine do it!» Felix yelled at her.

«No!» one of the soldiers closest to us grabbed the compass from my neck. Nobody seemed to notice but me, but I would tell the others when we were under less a stressful situation.

«If you don't, we're all dead!»

«Who cares?»

«I  do, dammit!» Felix told her gritting his teeth. Celine glanced around nervously and then the strangest thing happened.

The wind started howling within seconds and took all the soldiers away. It took me a while to realize that Celine was the one doing it and this happened after I noticed her nose bleeding.

All the soldiers were literally swept of their feet and ended up on trees. When Celine stopped, we all made a run for it.

We ended up panting in the small woods behind the house.

«What the hell was that?!» I said clutching my knees. Celine looked offended.

«That was me, saving you lives!» she protested.

«I'm not talking about that! I am talking about how they found us! I couldn't care less about your powers, Windy!» I replied and it was the truth.

«What do you mean by that? And don't call me Windy.»

«Before we came here we were face to face with a shapeshifter. Besides, you're still you. Who cares if you can cause hurricanes or something? And that was not meant to sound sarcastic, Windy.» Celine seemed surprised by my reaction.

«Don't mind her, she loves giving nicknames to others to annoy them. Ask Damon.» Oliver said.

«Who's Damon?» I asked.

«Alfred.» he replied.

«Oh, right.»

«Back to the important stuff. How the hell did they find us?» Felix asked.

«They showed up downtown! People saw them leave with us, and the guards chasing us. It mustn't have been hard for them to sell us out, and now my parents are dead. Thanks a lot, Felix.» Windy replied.

«What does that have to do with me?» he asked shocked.

«I told  you it was risky to go at my home and you didn't listen!»

«What's it with you and blaming everyone else? You could have changed my mind it's not like I'm stubborn! I know you're grieving but everyone here has been through what you are right now!» he reasoned.

«I'm not trying to be the bad guy here! Ever since we met that old guy our lives went to hell!»

«You keep mentioning him, who was he?» Oliver asked. My little brother always asks the right questions and makes me proud.

«Just another Earth guy.» Felix said.

«I mean his name.» Oliver explained.

«William Crate or something.» Windy answered. Her voice was sore. I couldn't see if she had been crying because of the dark, but she probably was. I looked at Ollie terrified.

«As in uncky Will that left us the house, William Crate?» I asked him and I could see his figure nodding.

«Wait, what?! That old dude was your uncle?» Felix yelped.

«But how did Alfred find him in his bed if he died here?» Oliver asked.

«Maybe the Queen took him back after killing him.» Celine said and I saw her shrug slightly.

«And how did she know where to take him? I mean, she put him back in his room. She didn't only find his house, but also his room in a bloody mansion. I couldn't even find the bathroom!» I replied and Oliver chuckled. «Don't laugh at me.» I told him coldly and he shut up.

«I have no idea.» Felix replied.

«Well, I have one.» I said and they looked at me. «Why don't we ask her when we find her?»

«What the hell are you talking about?» Oliver asked me.

«They took the necklace.»

«What?! Echo I'm going to kill you!»

«Have we not been through this, little bro?»

«I am older.» he gritted his teeth.

«In your dreams.» I whispered mockingly.

«So you lost your only way home? Well, that changes my entire view on you.» Windy stated.

«What the hell are you talking about?» I asked her.

«Isn't it convenient that you disappeared into thin air and when we found you the house was in flames, my parents dead and now the compass is missing? You  were the one that didn't want to go home and now you have no way of doing so.»

«Wh- I would never do that! I am a lot of things but I am not selfish! If Oliver wants to go home, who am I to stop him?» I reasoned.

«Honestly, I don't really take you as the caring person.»

«Celine, stop it.» Oliver told her.

«I'm just trying to help everyone out here! She is no saint!»

«I know!» Ollie and I exclaimed. I found it a little offending that he believed that, but it was the truth, so I didn't think much of it. He is just as secretive as I am (if not more), but he keeps that a secret too.

«The point is that I know my little sister and she is not that kind of person. She is a bit paranoid, I give her that, but she would never do that.» I faked being hurt Rumpelstiltskin style (for you Oncers out there) and my brother shook his head.

«I would agree completely with what you said, but you called me little.» I remarked.

«Shut up, mom says I'm older.» he replied.

«Mom--»

«Hates you, I know. So I've heard.» he mocked me and I glared at him.

«Can we all get back on the same page? The compass is missing, probably Queen Deidre has it, and we are all homeless. Any ideas?» leave it to Felix to get us back on point.

«I say we go find that Queen and kick her butt.» I offered.

«Echo!» Oliver whispered warningly.

«What?» I asked him innocently.

«We need to go back to the Barn.» Celine suggested.

«What? Why?» Ollie asked.

«We have weapons there. We can't just break in the Queen's palace unarmed. And we need to train you two.»

«We?» Felix inquired.

«You are better at shooting arrows than me.» she explained and smiled cheekily.

«I think we are all going to regret this...» I muttered.

«Why? What could possibly  make things worse?» Oliver asked.

«For one it could be a trap. Two, you just jinxed it. Three? This is us we are talking about.»

And I couldn't have been more right.

Sometimes I wish I wasn't that smart, you know?