The Elementals - The Ice Princess

Chapter 21

It's still dark when I open my eyes and notice that Alexander is lying beside me still holding my hand. This jump took a lot out of him as he lays still, eyes closed and breathing rapidly. I have no idea how much time may have passed, but I do know that we aren't in the school bathroom any longer. We're outside and I am looking up into a clear, starry night. I take a few moments to collect myself and steady my breathing before I begin to make it to my feet. Like other jumps, this has taken a toll on my stomach. It's not as bad as it has been in the past, so maybe it is getting easier to do it.

When I take a second look at Alexander, that thought is quickly erased because it looks like it is getting harder on him. He is pale in the moonlight and his breathing is more rapid than I originally thought. The grip that he has on my hand feels weaker.

I steady myself and get to my feet to look around. The snow under me has melted causing my clothes to stick to me a bit as I move. Judging by the fact that I am not completely soaked through, I am guessing we haven't been here long, maybe twenty minutes tops.

A small, yellow porch light provides enough light to show that Alexander and I have jumped into someone's backyard. This backyard has wooden playground equipment in it, built for smaller children. It's the kind with two swings, side-by-side and a slide that shoots off the side of it.

I had one when I was younger. I remember my mom used to push me on the swings for hours. She never tired of it. She always said that she used to the love the way I would laugh and smile back at her when we spent time alone, just her and I. Swinging was one of my favorite things to do when I was younger. The feeling of rocking back and forth was comforting to me, not unlike being rocked back and forth by a loved one when you feel that the world is going to come down around you. I felt that way when I first found out my mom died and I rocked myself back and forth in the old rocking chair that she had for us. It must have been days that I did that. Whenever I wasn't forced to do something, I spent time in that chair.

The thought of it brings back memories of her and the conversation that my dad and I had a few nights ago. I left him a note that said I didn't blame him for what happened to mom, but deep down inside I do harbor ill feelings toward him for mom's death. Maybe in time I can learn to understand why he made the choices he did, but for now, I'm not ready to accept it.

Alexander makes a moaning sound and begins to stir, so I lean down to check on him. When I do, I notice that a light has come on behind me. It's bright and it causes Alexander to partially cover his eyes. As if sensing some kind of danger, he instinctively grabs my arm but nothing happens. He is too weak for us to jump again. The last time he was weak like this it took him a couple of days to recover. I hope that he can recover soon because there is no better way for us to get out of danger than to teleport to somewhere else. I turn around and look towards the house but all I can see is the security light shining into my face. It's blinding me to anything that is coming from that direction.

I raise my hand to shield my eyes from some of the light but it doesn't help. I can make out the silhouette of a figure inching its way toward us. I cannot see hands with all of the light shining directly into my eyes. The figures shadow starts to get larger and when it does, it begins to look less and less human and more like one of the shadows that dad and Alexander described.

I look around for a weapon and finding none in the snow covered ground, I dig my heels in, listening to the crunch of the snow underneath my boot ready to inflict as much damage as I can with my bare hands if I need to. Alexander has saved me numerous times and I will do my best to save him if it comes to that.

Slowly the figure approaches. I grit my teeth and am moments away from pouncing when I hear a voice call out.

"Eira?"

I know the voice immediately. Alexander did it! He got us to where we needed to be. Not entirely where I was expecting, but close enough.

"Jared!" I get to my feet and as my eyes begin to adjust to the light as he stands closer, blocking more of the light, I can see the look on his face. He doesn't know what to make of us appearing in his backyard.

"How in the world are you here? And who is this guy? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"I will answer all of your questions as soon as I can. Do you think that you can sneak us in? We need a place to stay for a little bit."

Jared looks away from me for a moment as he thinks it over.

"Sure, you can come in the back."

We try for a few minutes to wake up Alexander, but it doesn't work. He is still incredibly pale and his lips are an odd color blue. It's decided that we will have to carry him in from the outdoors as the cold could kill him if we keep him out here much longer. Jared tries to do this alone but is unable to move him any great distance. He's going to need my help getting him in.

I collect his feet while Jared grabs Alexander around the shoulders. Even though Alexander looks like he is a smaller guy, he is actually quite heavy.

In the porch light, I can see Jared's teeth are mashed together as he concentrates on not dropping my unconscious friend. After a concerted effort from both Jared and I, we are able to get Alexander into a guest bed on the main level of the house. Luckily, when we came in the back of the house, the guest room was one of the first doors we came across. The thought of moving him up a flight of stairs this early in the morning would have been incredibly difficult.

Alexander lays as motionless as he did outside. His breathing is slow and steady. At least he will be comfortable here. The bed that he is in is queen size with a white duvet on it. The duvet is pulled up to Alexander's neck to keep him warm after we spent those hours after the jump in the cold. It doesn't affect me but had an obvious impact on Alexander.

I take a closer look and his lips are still blue. I am hoping that his lip color is a result of our jump and not something like hypothermia. I wouldn't know the first thing about treating that other than keeping him warm, which we are trying to do now.

I don't imagine we would have much luck at the hospital as both of us don't quite have identification on us, let alone insurance to cover the cost of a hospital visit. Plus, Alexander would have a hard time telling people that his family was all dead, saving a dimension from a darkness that is bent on world domination. That sounds like a one-way ticket into the hospital, but not quite into the "get better" rooms. More likely the "padded" room option.

Jared walks into the room with a cup of hot chocolate and hands it to me.

"Thanks." I tell him.

"No problem, just don't burn your hands on the glass, it might be a bit hot"

I smile. "Not for the hot chocolate, but for bringing us in. I was worried that you wouldn't remember me or that you wouldn't be able to help."

"You've actually picked a perfect time to come, my parents are gone on a month long cruise, so the house is yours; for a bit anyway."

He turns his attention away from Alexander to me. "I can't believe you're back in Fenton! It's so good to see you! So, when did you want to tell me how you ended up in my backyard with this guy?"

I turn and look at Jared who is waiting for me to begin my story. He looks older and more rugged than I remember. His face is no longer smooth as he sports a fairly solid five o'clock shadow. He must have spent the years that I have been moved in a gym because he is significantly larger in body mass than I remember. Puberty has definitely been very kind to him. I on the other hand get to have nightmares as I experience puberty. Jared's brown eyes are fixed firmly on me waiting for me to tell my story.

"You're going to think I am crazy and that none of this true." I finally say to him.

"Try me." He says.

I take a look at Alexander, then with a deep breathe I turn and tell Jared the story of how we ended up in his backyard.