As the flames from the fire removed the ache from his toe, Michael felt them shimmer, not his toes, but the flames. It wasn't how the tips of a flame normally move, dancing at random, this was his fire, it moved only when and how he commanded it to. The only time that his elemental flames ever had moved without his initiative is when there has been something else--someone else that took the reins from him.

Pulling his fingers out of the fire, Michael stood up and turned around, hearing the gentle sound of the sand shifting in the distance. He picked up his wadded black jacket, which had been strewn in the sand, and he shook it out before throwing it over his back and pulling his arms through it's sleeves.

"Everyone, get up," he firmly ordered, sensing danger on the horizon.

He saw his friends all do as he'd said while he prepared to find exactly what was out there. He walked over towards the cooler and lifted it's lid. Beside the beers were his electric torch was being stored. As he put his hand towards the torch, his eyes flickered a few feet away, resting in the sand, a bit closer to the fire, were his sword and his shield. He picked up the torch and put in his pocket before he dropped the cooler's lid and scurried towards his sword and shield, both of which were family heirlooms with magical beast-slaying properties. The sword was about three and a half feet long with an easily distinguishable, yet plain, steel handle that lacked much decoration at all. His shield was also quite plain, the only distinguishable thing that let him spot it amongst the sand was the thin silver layer topping the wood below it.

Without turning it on yet, he grabbed his torch from his pocket, as his hand fumbled past his pepper spray, and held the torch in both hands, first looking around him without yet activating it. Then, he saw someone coming. Adjusting his maroon beanie and pulling it down over most of his head, his face shifted from a crooked smile to a solemnly nervous stare. He pressed the button on his torch, and activated a faint light that only barely managed to reach the ghastly figure that was approaching.

"I get a bad feeling about this," Mike whispered as he stepped back towards the fire. Sawllowing hard, he abruptly stopped inching back and yelled out, "Who goes there?"