The Elementals

Confessions

Everything is black, like a thick, inky fog. Out of the darkness, Breeze emerges. She looks wispy and frail. It seems like the weight of the sheer absence of light is almost too much to hold. Her mouth is moving, but she’s not making a sound.

    “What?” I ask, but my voice is swallowed by the infinite blackness. “Where are you? Where is Terra?”

Breeze looks pained, but she keeps mouthing the same words. She fades and I try to chase after her. Right before she disappears I understand what she is saying.

Help. Help us. Please.

I wake up, gasping; clutching something like it’s the only thing keeping me alive. Someone pries my fingers off and I realize I’m grabbing Coal’s arm so tightly it’s leaving a mark. I drop my hand and it falls limply to the ground.

    “Sorry.” I mumble, face hot.

He shrugs, handing me a candy bar and some water. I devour them both quickly. We’re hidden away from sight under some branches. The soft patter of rain comes from above. The moon is high in the sky, filtering through the leaves. Coal is sitting, leaning against the tree trunk calmly.

    “We have to go after them.” I say, getting up unsteadily to my feet.

    “What?”

    “Breeze and Terra.” I reply.

    “You don’t want to go where they’re going.” Coal says, his face darkening, shutting down.

    “You know where they are?”

    “Look,” Coal stands up. “I’ve been there. It’s bad. Imagine your worst nightmare, and then triple it.”

    “That’s why I can’t let Terra and Breeze stay there.” I don’t mention that my nightmares are about burning buildings and the screams of tortured people. “Where is it?” Coal is silent, glaring at me, but that’s only the top. I see fear, and pain, there too.

    “You don’t have to come,” I tell him, “But I swear, if you don’t tell me where they are, I will drown you.” The truth is; I don’t even feel like I can walk very far right now, much less use my powers.

I have the distinct feeling that Coal sees through my bluff, but instead of calling it out, he says grudgingly, “In Maine.”

    “Thank you,” I say curtly, then after pausing awkwardly, I turn and start walking away. “Bye.”

I’ll just find a town, get a map, and go from there. Easy. The air feels empty next to me without having someone to constantly be throwing jabs at me. Even though I feel exhausted, I push on harder. The rain collects on the leaves, and then dumps large droplets on me. I’m too upset and tired to do anything about my cold condition.

I’m headed off to a place that I know is in Maine. Coal is afraid of this place, so it won’t be a cake walk. I also know the people there have taken Breeze and Terra, and obviously encountered Elementals before. These people are now aware of my existence, and we probably didn’t get off to a good start when I froze off their toes. Also, I have no idea where I’m going.

Wonderful. It appears that I have a death wish.

The leaves are wet and slippery. The ground makes a squelching noise with every step. Suddenly, with a blinding flash of lightning and a deafening crack of thunder, I lose my footing. I fall into something-a tree, maybe-and it stops my fall.

Trees aren’t warm.

I stumble backward, blinking away the spots in my eyes. Trees don’t send a wave of heat through your body, instantly drying you off.