The Four - Book 1

Chapter 2

Aira

It's the smoke in the air that overall frightens me.

I'm trapped in a small dome-like glass, with a person who has fire as their element.

Are these people trying to kill me?

But I'm curious. So curious I push my fear back and follow the smoke, hiding behind the bushes as I follow.

But then I see a big splash of water.

I gasp as the two teenagers come into view. I first see a girl, tall and lanky, her short curly brown hair a big blob. She lets out a wave of water at the boy, who ducks right in time. He's large and muscular, his brown hair a shade of gold under the sun. But I almost scream when he lets out a huge ball of fire right at the girl. Though she was ready, and blocks it with water.

They are going to kill each other.

The boy keeps walking towards her, letting out nonstop fire. The girl struggles, blocking the fire but stumbles. She falls, her hands under her for just a second. The boy takes the advantage.

And so do I.

"Stop!" I cry, raising my hands and pushing them at the boy. A gust of wind hits him, and he flies back, his body slamming against the dome. He hits the ground, his body limp. I stare at the boy in shock, blood dripping down the side of his head. I take in a shaky breath. I just did that. I did this.

"He's going to fucking kill you when he wakes up," I hear the girl behind me. She stands up, and I raise my hands in defense, causing a little wind. The girl holds her curly hair. "Don't need to make this more messy than it is." She says. "I won't hurt you. But fire boy over here really got me mad."

"Who are you?" I manage to spit out. The girl smiles.

"Lana. You came from the white room too, I'm assuming?"

The white room.

"Yes, yes! I did. And you..you did too? You.."

"Relax." Lana cuts me off. "It's confusing, I know. Yes, I came from the white room." She gestures to the boy. "And so did fire boy over there. That's Paytah. Don't get him mad."

"Why are we here?" I ask, but it comes out more like a plead.

Lana shrugs. "I don't know. But it seems fucked up, you know?" She asks, and I stare at her with big eyes. "Okay, you're element is air, and mines water, and Paytah's is..."

"Fire." I hear a mumble to my right, and I stare at the boy I just knocked out. He stands up, his eyes closed tight for a moment, shutting out the pain. He then looks right at me, and I take a step back. When Paytah takes another step forward, Lana stands in between us.

"Don't get mad at her. She didn't want to see me getting burned alive, alright?" Lana says to Paytah. All he does is stare at me blankly. I stare back, examining him. He's well built, his shoulders wide and body strong. His eyes are unique, a light orange with a tint of red in them. His jaw line looks sharp and delicate at the same time. Handsome, nonetheless.

"What I was saying was that we're all different elements, trapped in some dome." Lana says. I stare at Paytah's hands, and it scares me to realize fire comes out of them. Actual fire.

"Aira? Air girl, you listening?" I turn my head at Lana and nod.

"So, the only element we're missing is.."

"Earth." I gasp at the unfamiliar voice behind me, and I quick turn, facing a boy. I raise my hands, startled. A gust of air accidentally comes out, and the boy reacts fast. I find myself on the ground, a bunch of vines wrapped around my body. I cry out in shock.

"Enough." I look up and see Paytah, his hands filled with fire. The other boy takes a step back, surrendering. Paytah then kneels down by me, grabbing one of the vines. I watch as it burns into ashes in front of me. I'm able to unwrap myself free, and I get out of the vines and jump back to my feet. I get a better look at the other boy. He's tall, almost awkwardly tall with his noodle arms and big feet. His eyes are so green, it looks just like the grass below us. His features aren't as sharp as Paytah's, though. His hair is as black as it gets, his jawline barely noticeable with his big cheeks. Although, he does look nicer than Paytah. His appearance isn't as scary.

"And now Earth boy. What's you're name?" Lana asks.

"Juris." He mumbles, eyeing all of us. "And who are you?"

"In Lana, that's Aira, and this is Paytah." Lana speaks for us. She's definitely the talking type. Her insanely curly brown hair rests right at her neck. If she could start a fight with Paytah like that, she must be brave.

We are all tense. First off, I've never seen any element but air in my entire life. We aren't allowed, or welcomed, into other elements territories. We ignore each other, and that's that.

"I haven't seen any cameras yet. Did they let us go?" Juris asks.

"The dome is the camera, you idiot." Paytah spits out. I never thought of that, but I know it's true. They are still watching us.

"We're stuck in a dome?" Juris asks, his eyes wide. Lana nods and knocks her hand on the glass. He looks at me and I nod too.

"Okay, so now what?" He asks.

"You stop asking dumb questions." Paytah growls.

"Okay, we don't want to start a forest fire with you two. Can we just all think for a moment?" Lana interrupts. Juris sighs and looks around.

"We're the four elements. Together." I say. "Different elements should never be together."

"Maybe they want to see which one is the best. Whoever survives wins." Juris says.

"Okay, no killing each other yet," Lana says.

Us three sit down, stumped. Paytah glares at all of us, an annoyed look on his face. "Are you all really that clueless?" He asks, and I stand back up, looking at him. "What?" I ask, and I find him looking at my light blue eyes.

"Elements have never been together. And now we're together, trapped. Their testing to see if elements can get along. And they've picked us, out of everyone else that has our elements. We're the test subjects. This is a test." He says angrily, probably realizing how crazy it sounds. But I know it's true.

This is all a test.

••••••

Hello! So, chapter two is finally up!! What do you think of all the characters and their personalities?!

Also, please keep voting and commenting!!💜

Shoutout to animalsjam1 for the aesthetic!

Thank you😊