The Elementals

Breeze

Breeze knew. She had really known as soon as the chip went in. It’s funny, knowing. You don’t panic, you don’t scream and run around. You become careful. You think things out fully, plan. Breeze knew what she was going to do. She had seen it done before. She winced in the dark. The memories hurt. Everything hurt. Her body lay crumpled against the cold walls, broken. The headaches were now constant, the never ending pounding just behind her forehead. But now Breeze’s heart hurt too.

   “Sarah? What are you doing?” Juliet could see Sarah holding the blade, a look in her eyes. It was scary, at first, but Juliet understood that look now.

    “Juliet,” Sarah said. “I’m sorry.”

    “Sarah?” Juliet walked cautiously up to her sister. “Are you still upset about the house?”

    “I didn’t mean to blow the house away, Juliet.” Sarah said calmly, but despair hung on every word. “She made me do it.”

Juliet was confused. “Who is she?” Sarah didn’t answer for a while. Her reflection was warped by the curve of the knife.

    “The chip.” Sarah whispered to herself quietly, but Juliet could still hear her. “It’s only a matter of time.”

    “Sarah,” Juliet said frantically, “We can still hide your powers. We can, we can-“

    “I destroyed the house in a tornado!” Sarah shouted. Juliet flinched at her tone. “I killed Ma and Pa.” Sarah slumped back down. Juliet didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t want to remember the howling winds, the cold, pale skin of her mother-

    “I, Sarah, the wind Elemental,” Sarah started, touching the knife to her skin.

    “Sarah, please!” Juliet begged. Sarah didn’t listen.

    “On my blood,” the blade cut a thin, red line on the back of her hand. “Give my powers to Juliet, my sister, when I die.” Juliet felt the tears well up, and they spilled out, rolling down her cheeks. Sarah gave a last, weak smile to Juliet and then her head rolled back, neck limp.

    “No,” Juliet whispered. “No, Sarah, no.” She stumbled back, not wanting to look at Sarah’s dull eyes. Then, slowly, the sadness built up to anger. Why her sister? Her sister was bright and kind and cheerful. Juliet wanted to be like that. “No!” She shouted. The wind picked up. Juliet clenched her fists. The grass blew sideways, and dirt flew into the air. It felt good and bad. The energy was being released, but the memories were tearing Juliet apart. The wind howled, a twister coming down from the clouds. Juliet screamed and it consumed her. The power, it slammed into her and she fell, sobbing, to the ground. The tornado roared around her, throwing everything away.

When the wind finally died, she heard sirens. “Are you alright, miss…?” the cop trailed off, waiting for her to finish the sentence.

    “Breeze. My name is Breeze.” Juliet said. She cleared her throat. “I’m an orphan.”

Breeze shook in the dark. She was cold, so cold. And she knew. She knew it was coming. Slowly, she let her frozen hands drop from they’re tight grip on her shoulders. She didn’t have a knife, but her nails would do. Breeze barely felt the pain when she dug her fingers into her palm. It wasn’t any worse than what she had already endured.

    “I, Juliet, the wind Elemental,” She whispered into the pitch black silence. Her voice shook but she took a breath and steadied it. “On my blood,”