Elementals

Chapter 53-Cracked Walls, Broken Spirit

Chapter 53

•Alex's P.O.V•

We made our way through the corridors of the huge castle, turning corners, going up and down flights of stairs and passing rooms for what seemed like hours. It was like the eight of us were in a large, dark, cracked maze. As Celest shone her light, highlighting the dark bricks of the castle, I noticed Cameron's expression, thoughtful, nervous, afraid...

"Okay, am I the only one who's concerned about what we're gonna do if we bump into the Corrupted King?" He asked from the back of the group. We all turned to him, slightly puzzled.

"That's a bit random..." Aaron admitted. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because we could possibly be going up against the most deadly elemental in the entire realm?" Cameron replied. The fear in his eyes was evident, a strange sight to see on someone like Cameron, though he did a fair job of hiding it.

"...Cam, are you scared?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No...well, I mean, yes? I dunno." He said. "It's just...are we really ready to face someone who could destroy everything in one touch?"

Aarya sighed. "Look, it's not like we didn't prepare for this."

"Yeah. Don't you remember how Mr Silva made us do intense combat training until eight in the evening since Bliss attacked us?" Zack said.

"Plus, we've unlocked some pretty cool new moves." Zielo said with a small smirk. "Yours are especially cool."

"You think so?" Cameron asked doubtfully. Celest shot him a smile.

"We've all levelled up a bit since then." Celest said cheerfully. "If Damian could teleport all ten of us back there, imagine how much stronger the rest of us have become. Imagine what we would all do now."

"Celest is right. If he shows up, we'll at least be able to hold our own against him for a while." I reassured him. He looked at the ground with his hands on his pockets.

"Yeah, but..." He stopped in his tracks. I turned to him as a bit of ice spread across his chin.

"...what if it's not enough...?" He said quietly. "What if we get corrupted, huh?"

I noticed a tear starting to accumulate in his eye. "Cameron..." I muttered.

"We might not survive this, you guys. What about our families? What are the teachers gonna tell them if we don't make it back?"

"Cameron, Don't think like that." Aaron said. A tear fell down Cameron's cheek. He wiped his nose with his sleeve and looked down.

"We have no idea what we're up against, what might happen, hell, it isn't even guaranteed that we might make it out of here without black veins all over our bodies."

I felt my heart break. Cameron wasn't ever seen so gloomy. His funny, trickster attitude had melted away. Now, he was paranoid. Afraid...

I walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. He lifted his head to look at me with a few stray tears falling down his face. I flashed him a small smile.

"I know how you feel." I whispered softly. "I understand where you're coming from. And you're right to be scared. We all are. But at least you don't have to go through it on your own."

Cameron looked to the side for a second.

"As long as you've got us, you don't ever have to be afraid." I continued.