The Elementals

Avalanches Cause Hypothermia

My heart sinks when I see the helicopter. We haven't walked as far as we had coming up here because there was another large, relatively flat area for a very skilled pilot to land. And low and behold, there's a chopper waiting to take me to my doom.

"Tide!" Izila cries, coming up from behind the cockpit. "How nice to see you again." I give her the death glare but she just smiles broadly. "We have to stop meeting up like this."

The Coal clone's hand is right next to my arm. I can feel the heat already. He wants me to fight, so he can have a reason to kill me. How pleasant.

I take a step towards Izila. "What do you want now? World domination?"

"Oh, don't be silly." Izila cackles. "That's so mundane. It's you that I want."

"Why does everybody want me?" I demand, trying to stall. "What makes me so special?"

Izila tilts her head mockingly. "You really want to know, don't you? Curiosity killed the cat, they say."

"Well, I'm going to die anyway so why not?"

"What makes you think I'm going to kill you?" she drones, and suddenly I get the cold feeling that she can do things to me that are much worse than death. Izila lifts the ends of her animal fur coat, and steps over the piles of snow to come closer. "Oh yes, I have many things planned for you. You see, I'm a bit curious myself. Your powers are some of the strongest I've ever seen, and I want to know why."

I back away as she comes within a foot of me. "How do you know I'm going to cooperate?" I challenge.

"I have my ways." She observes her nails lazily. They're painted blood red, long and pointed like claws. She looks up at me. "You're wasting time. Get in the helicopter."

Anytime now would be great for someone to notice the clone...

"Go on," Izila hurries me along. "Are you scared?"

"No." I raise my head. "But you should be."

"Is that a threat?"

"It might be. Depends on how you look at it."

Izila narrows her eyes. "Get in the helicopter." she says coldly, "Now."

I take one last look around. Still no one in sight. Here goes nothing.

I whip around, kicking the Coal clone, and raise a pile of snow in the air. I throw it in little ice chunks at Izila but she's gone. My eyes flick nervously to the side.

The clone scrambles to his feet and I duck away from a blast of fire. I drill a handful of snow in his face but then cold hands snatch my wrists, yanking them behind my back.

"You shouldn't have done that." Izila hisses in my ear, dragging me into the helicopter.

"On the contrary," I growl back. "It felt really good to beat the pulp out of your little minion."

The Coal clone sends me a death look. I smile sweetly at him in return. Izila drops me to the floor, tying my hands to a bar going across the seats and the Coal clone stands guard as she climbs into the cockpit leaving the door open.

Which allows me to see a figure sprinting down the path and skid to stop, watching as the chopper begins to lift off the ground.

They start taking a running jump at the helicopter, and my mouth falls open. They can't seriously think they're going to make it, right?

Wrong.

I try not to watch them so the Coal clone doesn't suspect anything. I lose sight of them and then suddenly I hear a thump. The clone whips his head towards the noise. I see hands trying to pull a body up onto the helicopter and then I lash out, kicking the clone's shin as hard as I can. He falls, and I hear a painful crack as his head hits something metal, collapsing to the floor unconscious. I tug on the rope, but it's tied tightly.