The Elementals

Mission

"You have thirty seconds before I throw you off the boat." I say, "Aaaand, go."

The guy opens his mouth but the woman punches him. I could get used to her. "I understand you haven't had the, um, greatest experiences with the government-"

"You could say that," I mutter.

"Anyway," The woman clears her throat. "We're a different branch off of the government, a branch meant specifically for people like you. We're here to help."

Again the man goes to add something, but she stops him with a hard sock to the shoulder. That and the fact that she did keep it under thirty seconds makes me have a small liking. Slowly, the ice melts and the crew shakes off their feet, returning to their previous jobs.

"So where are my friends?" I ask, still a bit apprehensive.

The lady smiles at this. "Way ahead of you." She gestures to a trap door leading below deck.

I follow as she descends down the ladder. My caution disappears for a moment as I see Oh'Rian, Sparky, Maple, Terra, Steel, and Stella looking eagerly towards me.

"They found you!" Oh'Rian cries and we're enveloped in a suffocating group hug. I feel Coal go stiff next to me and I snicker. I smile sweetly as he glares at me.

"My name is Audrey Morgan, and that is Owen...Jacobs." Owen shoots Audrey a glare when she quietly says his last name. It doesn't take long for me to put two and two together.

"Agent O.J," I sound out, trying not to giggle immaturely. "Catchy. Has a nice ring to it."

"It's better than Tide." He scoffs, though I can tell my jab has hit its mark.

I tense. "How do you know my name?"

He points to the others. I roll my eyes on the inside. Of course Oh'Rian would immediately trust some random people that just happened to be around when our boat crashed. This leads to my next question;

"How did you find us?"

"You flooded an entire town, and then put on a water works show of a lifetime. Anybody could find you." Owen says petulantly.

My jaw drops. "I flooded the place?"

"No, you just-"

Audrey cuts him off. "Yes, you did. Whether you meant to or not."

I scan her face for any hint of a joke. Audrey has strawberry blonde hair, but it has all these darker red and golden brown tones in it. As it dries off it falls in front of her amber eyes occasionally. She has a thin face, sharp; I can tell not much passes below her attention.

Owen has chiseled features that make him seem like he's always frowning, like a hawk. His short, brown hair is messed up from the wind and salt water, sticking up in random spikes. He surveys the room with observant green eyes, but quickly returns his attention back to Audrey as she continues talking.

"So, in short," She says, and I'm glad she's summarizing because I wasn't listening. "We think you could be assets to the government, to help fight natural disasters, and bring in more people like yourself."

I look at her wearily. I glance around and see the others nodding in agreement, and realizing my caution is being overruled, I say, "We'll try it." Owen seems almost annoyed that I agreed and now I'm positive about my decision.

"Great," Audrey says, continually cutting Owen off before he can say something that will make me sink the boat. "We can start your first assignment now."

"Right now?" I ask, slightly disbelieving, and Audrey nods. "We need food first."

Sparky's head pops up from under the table at the mention of the word. Everyone nods vigorously in agreement, if not a little guiltily. Audrey smiles indulgently and points a finger to a small closet at the other end of the room. I can't see through the hungry mob of people rushing towards it, but I assume it has some form of food related contents.