The Devil's Bane: (slightly more than) a short story

Chapter II: Anthony

As they ran into the forest, they could only see flashes of the trees beside them. Charlotte was the first to stop.

"I... I can't go further," Charlotte breathed. "I'm so- so tired."

Everyone scooted to a halt. "I guess it's time to stop- where are we?" Dess questioned.

Felix coughed. They all reached a small, open space of land in the forest. Charlotte's dad, Benny, wheezed, "I..I don't know. But I sure do know, we are lost!"

Dess's dad, George, glanced around. "Bessa, do you know where we are?" Bessa was Felix's adoptive mom.

"I do know we are about fifteen miles into the forest...Or, that's my guess. Jade would know better," Bessa answered.

Jade, Dess's mom, replied with, "Yes, about fifteen. I'm surprised we all ran that far."

Everyone thought for a moment. Then, a dark-skinned boy with pointy ears jumped out of the looming forest. He said, "Hi strangers, I'm Anthony!"

It was said in a strange language, probably Elvin. Somehow Felix knew Elvish and quickly translated it to everyone.

Then, Anthony said, "Hi again. I'm a woodland elf. My element is water and I can teach you what your elements are destined to be." It was in perfect English.

They all stared at the elf with broken glasses and short, dark hair. How could they trust this Anthony guy?

"Alright," Dess said as he rolled his eyes. This guy was obviously a fake. "Teach us."

Anthony smiled brightly. "Good!" A sphere of water appeared above his hand.

They all believed this guy now.

"Do you want me to explain to you what your elements are and how to activate them?" he asked.

They all screamed "Yes!!" at the same time.

Anthony then told them to activate their abilities, they have to look for their emotions deep inside them and think about what they want to do.

"You are fire," Anthony said as he pointed to Dess. Dess pumped their fist in the air.

"You are earth," the elf said as he pointed to Charlotte, and she cheered.

"You..are..." Anthony pointed to Felix.

"Steel," Felix said before he could finish

Everyone looked at him like he was crazy.

"Anyway, the adults are powerless," Anthony finished. "Sorry folks! Only this generation can have such abilities." The adults shrugged.

As they tried to activate their abilities, they realized that their powers were not as powerful as they thought.

"The powers at the beginning are not as powerful and graceful as a master's. Come, follow me," Anthony advised.

They learned more about the history of their powers. "Your elements, or powers, or whatever you want to call them, have been around for millennia. There are seven Central Elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Lightning, Steel, and Darkness," Anthony explained. "If we complete our courses to learn our elements, we can defeat The Devil."

As they walked through the forest, it became more and more clear that they were getting close to the elf city. The sights were changing, more elf-y looking structures were appearing. Then, the group rounded a corner. A city came into view. Tall, looming treehouse-type buildings were scattered everywhere.

"Welcome to Euphoria City, the capital of the Elf Kingdom!" Anthony said proudly.