The Elements

Chapter Two

I quickly slammed the sun shade down over the window I sat closest to because I was not able to watch the flight take off without my stomach clenching into a knot. On the way to the airport, I had hopes that I would be able to jump onto the plane and fall asleep before takeoff even occurred, but the thought of crashing through the sky in a flaming ball of metal kept me awake. My hands gripped around the leather seat arm rests and I squeezed my eyes shut, praying to anyone that would hear me that this jet would land in one piece.

It seemed that Tracy was provided with the big bucks for this trip and we were flying on a small, private jet. While smaller than a normal aircraft, it still contained two tables, four large and actually comfortable chairs, and a mini fridge. When I asked Tracy how they managed to afford this luxury, she said, "the government funds our school."

"The government? They know about us?" I couldn't believe that the tax payer's dollars were going towards a program that would help people like me, especially when they don't know that people like me exist.

"Oh, of course. If our kinds get out of hand, it is the government's job to rebuild all that was destroyed. That is why they fund our program. This ensures a lot less destruction and ensures that people like us are able to handle their ability and live normal lives without allowing the normals to know that supernaturals exist. In actuality, funding the program actually saves the government money from repairs."
So that was how I ended up on a private jet, without a plane ticket in sight, heading towards Montana. Why the "school" as they called it was in Montana, I had no idea.

Once the plane reached cruising altitude, I felt my fingers lessen their grips. Having to fly upwards into the sky was not pleasing, but now I could just imagine that I was riding in a car as long as I did not look out any of the other windows. "You really don't like flying, do you?" Finn's voice pried my eyes open, making me aware of him sitting in the seat across the small table from me. The parallelism of this situation to that when we were in the interrogation room had me wanting to smile, but I was still fear struck.

"I haven't been off of the ground enough to develop an actual phobia if that is what you are asking." Even I could hear the snappiness in my voice, and I mentally told myself to calm down before I ruined this opportunity. I couldn't develop enemies before I even arrived to the school. "I'm sorry, I'm just jittery."

Finn actually smiled a little and twiddled with his fingers. Once we were safely on the plane, Finn actually calmed down and showed a more relaxed side than the one I met. It seemed that Finn was in survival mode when he and Tracy came to get me and that did not let up until we were left alone. "It's fine. I'm not the biggest fan of flying, either."

We hit a bump of turbulence and my grip on the armrests tightened. "Woah, there, Pyro. Let go of the chair." I looked down to see my fingers digging into the leather and leaving burn marks. I quickly released my grip and clamped my hands together on my lap.

This was going to be a rough flight.

Finn noticed my unease and took pity on me by trying to distract me with conversation. "How long have you had the ability to control fire?"

"Since I was five. You?"

His grey eyes widened when I told him the age I first began controlling fire. At that time, I wasn't able to make it come from my body. It was mostly making the flames in a fireplace dance or create a larger flame from a candle. It wasn't as if I was allowed to handle these types of objects at that young of an age, but all I would have to do is imagine what I wanted the fire to do next and it would follow my mental commands. When I was older and managed to produce the fire from my own body, that seemed to be the point of no return and now I can't keep the flames under control.