Elements

Chapter Twenty-Five

Hazel

I wake up from a sleep I don't remember falling into with a splitting headache and a piercing sensation in my leg. I bring my hand to my head to feel a thick, warm liquid oozing out. Blood. What happened?

Something heavy is lying on my hurting leg. I look up. A large branch has landed on it. I try to shift my leg away, but it only hurts more; the branch is weighing it down, anyway.

I try to remember what happened. The ground was shaking and things were falling and I was running. I never remember actually getting hit. I went back for Matt...

I glance to my right. Covered in blood and out like a light is Matt. His arm is clearly broken, scarily so. The bone is pushing against his skin, like it's fighting to escape. It's not a particularly nice sight.

I try to sit up. It's painful, but I need to at least try to get this branch off of my leg. At least my arms are okay. Then again, I wasn't particularly strong to start with, and the branch is heavier than I anticipated. I grab a nearby stick to use as a pulley. The branch shifts upwards just enough for me to move my leg. The branch falls back down heavily. I can almost feel Matt's bones breaking further, and cringe.

Then, I look at my leg. A large gash is over my knee, which appears to be smashed into several pieces. It looks infected. I vomit. I've never been very good with the sight of blood. It's the only reason I'd never manage as a vet, which is what I actually wanted to do. But there's no chance of that now, I guess, if I have to be protecting the earth.

I hear a buzzing noise. As I'm reaching for the Elvan device, a light flashes before my eyes, and I'm lying in a hospital bed.

"Wha-" I open my mouth to speak, but I'm attacked with some antiseptic cloths before I can say anything. It stings. At least I'm getting healed in some way.

As soon as the nurses move onto Matt, a rather angry-looking doctor bursts into the room.

"Are you crazy?! Do you have a freaking death wish?!" he screams at me.

"What did I do?" I ask, worried.

"Do you know what the hell the ultimate power does?" he yells.

"Um... no." I say, slowly.

"Collecting the ultimate power kills you, Hazel. Your soul goes to the centre of the earth to control the element you have power over from there, but your body and mind die."

Brooke

The first rays of sunlight peek over the horizon. I haven't had a wink of sleep; I've been too nervous about swimming. Today is the day I go properly in, with no one there to make sure I don't get hurt. As much as Megan annoys me, I wish she was coming with me, just so I can stay safe.

I watch the sun as it rises completely and try to calm my nerves. I already know I can breathe underwater – I have control over the damn thing – so why am I so scared?

I decide to change into my swimsuit before Megan wakes up so I don't have to awkwardly hide behind a towel. It's not an item of clothing I'd have ever chosen myself: it's a weird frilly one piece with these short things and in possibly the ugliest shade of orange I've ever seen. If I wasn't getting a diving suit, I'd at least expect something you couldn't mistake for a heavily polluted sunrise.

The Elvan device buzzes with the morning food delivery. I shake Megan awake and we eat in silence.

Megan coughs awkwardly. "Are you really anxious about today? We can put it off a little longer if you're really worried."

"No." I say with a definitive sigh. "If I don't get over it now, I never will."

Megan says nothing. I scrape the last bit of food off my plate and send it back. I stand up and stretch, and notice the fire from last night is still burning slightly. I'm beyond caring; I throw water over it, putting it out. Suddenly, weeks of wound up frustration uncoil. I sort of scream in anger and shoot a fast flow of water several hundred metres across the white sands.

Megan rests a hand on my shoulder. "You aren't in a good state of mind to enter an environment you feel uncomfortable in. You need to-"

"I'm fine." I snap, twisting out of her condescending grip. Grabbing the device, I storm off towards the sea and swim out as far as I can.