The Six Elemental

by Ali House

  Calypso frowned.

  “Kit’s gone to medical,” Starr continued. “I think Calypso should go there after this and make sure that the burn on her face is okay.”

  Erikson nodded. “Starr, you may leave. Thank you as always for your unbiased opinion.”

  Starr nodded back at him and left the room.

  He looked at Calypso for a few seconds before talking.

  “You understand that we are supposed to make Katherine feel at home during this transition, don’t you?” he said. “Wes has spent a lot of time poking around in that girl’s head and I do not want anyone to do anything that might undo that work. The last time she remembered something from her past, we had to waste days convincing her of the truth, and I would prefer for that to never happen again. So, if for some reason you absolutely cannot make friends with her, I ask that you at least don’t injure her.”

  “I didn’t realize she was made of glass,” Calypso muttered.

  He glared at her and she instantly regretted her words. “If you cause her to remember which side she’s really on, then you will no longer be required for this mission. Do you understand that?”

  She looked down at the floor. “I understand.”

  “If you can’t go so far to apologize to Katherine, you can at least act civil around her. Risking her health or her reassignment is unacceptable behavior. Understood?”

  “Understood,” she echoed.

  “You may leave.”

  Calypso nodded and left the office. It was all so stupid. How was the Six-Elemental supposed to help them if she had to be placed in a bubble? Tecken didn’t even need the Six-Elemental’s help to win this war – they just needed to keep her from the Council. They should have forgotten this stupid reassignment idea and just killed her at the start.

  “Do you want to talk about that?” Jermaine asked once Calypso was out of the office.

  “Talk about what?”

  “About the fact that some of the soldiers can’t control themselves around Kit.”

  Erikson laughed. “They could control themselves if they wanted to – they’re simply being petty. Trust me when I say that I have ways to deal with such behavior. Right now the Six-Elemental is more important to me than any other soldier.”

  “But what if she starts to remember her past?”

  “Wes is a master in reassignment technique. We’ve got a man on Drakkar who was reprogrammed to think that he’s a double agent for us, and he’s been that way for over a year. Wes knows what she’s doing.”

  “But this reassignment didn’t take as long as the last one.”

  “Because she caught on quicker than the last person,” Erikson explained. “I don’t blame her, considering the kind of life she had. I don’t think that we should consider this anything but good fortune. If we pick and push, we’ll only undo what’s been done.”

  Jermaine still had his doubts, but he didn’t voice them. Erikson was very confident about his men, and he was very confident in Wes’ abilities. The Six-Elemental was on their side… for now. It was later that Jermaine was worried about. She was getting stronger every day, and if she started to remember her real life, they would all be in very big trouble.

  “She hates me,” Kit said bitterly. She leaned on the table, resting her head in her hands. The plate in front of her was barely touched. She wasn’t hungry.

  Akola had finished her meal and pushed her plate to the side. Currently she had her head stuck in a fiction book about Segment Alpha.

  “Calypso totally hates me...” Kit repeated.

  “Of course she does,” Akola replied, not looking up from her book.

  It was supper time, but almost everyone else had left the cafeteria by now. Saburo and Starr were talking privately two tables away, their voices so low that they had to lean close to each other. Kit wondered what they were talking about, and was ninety percent sure that it was the fight between her and Calypso.

  Kit could feel the bruise on her cheek every time she moved her face. It was sore from having been hit twice in a row and there were so many different colours that it looked like someone dumped a tray of paint on her face.

  “But why does she hate me so much?” she asked.

  Akola continued to read her book. “She hates you because she’s jealous. You’re the Six-Elemental, so you’re the powerful one who’s going to help Erikson win the war, and she’s just a lowly Electricity Elemental.”

  “Is that all?”

  “No. She’s also jealous of your hair.”

  Kit shot Akola an unimpressed look that she didn’t see. “Is that why they all hate me?”

  “Not everyone hates you. I don’t hate you, and neither does Eston.”

  “But Christian does. And Nathan.”

  “That’s because they are jerks. Their opinions don’t mean anything.”

  Kit wished that Akola’s words would bring her comfort, but she wanted to be liked. It was pure chance that she was the Six-Elemental. Why did everyone hate her for something that she had no choice over?

  “Did you have any strange dreams last night?” Akola asked, changing the subject.

  “A couple. There was a weird one where I was being chased by an ogre who was throwing books at me. We were in a labyrinth which was made out of blueprints, and there were flowers on the floor that I was trying to avoid stepping on, but the ogre was crushing them under his feet as he chased me.”

  Akola finally looked up from her book. “Your dreams are messed up, Kit. You should be writing this stuff down.”

  “I had another dream. It’s the same one I had a couple nights ago, where I’m trapped in a black box and there’s a dragon outside.”

  “You have to work out more. You won’t dream as much if you’re exhausted.”

  “It’s not my dreams that I’m worried about.” Kit sighed. “I just… I just want to know why Nathan hates me so much. I mean, I never did anything to him, but he can barely look at me without grimacing.”

  Akola turned back to her book. “Stop dwelling on things you can’t change. Nathan’s an idiot and you shouldn’t be worried about his opinion on anything. Just forget…” her voice trailed off and she looked up at Kit. “Oh no…”

  “What?”

  “Kit, tell me you’re not that stupid.”

  “Stupid about what?”

  Akola frowned. “You like Nathan.”

  “What?”

  “You like like him.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t have to.” Akola shoved the book away. “You’ve got to forget about whatever you’re feeling – liking Nathan isn’t going to help you in any way. Pick someone else. Anyone else. What about Eston or Tanner or Nexus?”

  “I don’t like Nathan.”

  “Lies,” Akola stated.

  Kit buried her head in her hands. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

  “If you promise to forget about it, then I will take it to my grave.”

  “I’ll try...”

  “Promise.”

  Kit didn’t understand why Akola was so insistent. It was just a little crush. “Fine, I promise.”

  “Good. Now suck it up and stop trying to make people like you. You’re the Six-Elemental, Kit, not a six year old.”

  It was close to ten o’clock as Kit walked down the hallway. She’d been in the Elemental training room again, working on her power. She still felt like she was missing something, but at least her elements were getting stronger.

  She was aware that she would have to pass by Nathan’s room to get to hers. Akola’s words resonated in her mind, but it wasn’t so easy for her to forget her feelings. There was something about Nathan that she couldn’t let go of.

  As she passed by Nathan’s door, she noticed that it was shut. She wanted to knock on the door and see if he was inside, but she knew that it would be a bad idea. Nathan was a jerk, true, but Kit knew that he was more than that.
Right now he was angry because she was getting all of Erikson’s attention. He was also angry because he’d been confined to the compound for weeks. Normally he’d be out in Stanton trying to find people who were sympathetic to Tecken’s ideals, along with Christian, Nexus, and Starr, but now he was stuck inside with nothing to do but train.

  Kit walked past the door and continued down the hallway to her room. She had to forget about Nathan – she’d promised Akola that she would. The most important thing right now was to concentrate on her powers and not on stupid crushes.

  As she turned the corner, she bumped into someone.

  “I’m sorry,” she said quickly. Her face flushed as she noticed who she’d bumped into.

  “Whatever,” Nathan grumbled, moving past her.

  “I mean it,” Kit said. “I’m sorry. And not just about this.”

  Nathan turned around. “What are you talking about?”

  She looked at the floor before looking at him. “I’m sorry that I’m the one who ended up being the Six-Elemental. I know that there are others who deserve it more, but for some reason it came to me. I can’t change it, but if I could...”

  Nathan stared at her, confused. What was she talking about?

  “Umm... Yeah,” she said, hurrying off.

  He wasn’t sure what to make of what had just happened. Kit had actually apologized for being the Six-Elemental. Why? Yes, she’d been told that people were jealous of her power, but why would she apologize to him? He doubted that she would do so to Christian or Calypso.

  The three of them had been called into Erikson’s office yesterday for a ‘chat’. Erikson had basically threatened them to be nicer to Kit, saying that if any of them damaged her reassignment, then he’d have a very large problem to deal with. Nathan had a vague idea of what that meant, but it was the vagueness that made it terrifying.

  Nathan was more than a little angry at the way it had all played out. He had been the one to discover her, but now that she was here she was the one getting all the glory. It was impossible for him to be nice to her, considering that she was the reason behind his house arrest and had almost killed him, which was why his current plan had been to avoid her at all costs. Civility was much easier to maintain if you never saw the person.

  But why did she apologize to him? If Erikson knew that he was being a jerk to Kit, surely Kit knew that he didn’t like her. Why did she care? The only reason she’d bother apologizing would be because she wanted him to like her, and she’d only want him to like her if…

  A smile broke out on Nathan’s face. He felt like laughing. Was it true? Was this the reason behind Kit’s apology? He’d have thought that it was impossible, but perhaps the reassignment really did mess up her head. There had to be something wrong for her to have a crush on him.

  He didn’t want to believe it, but the more he thought about it, the truer it became. Sometimes she’d stare at him when she thought no one was looking. At first he thought it was because she was starting to remember something from her real life, so it had made him paranoid, but there was never any malice in her looks.

  The real question was what was he going to do with this information? He didn’t want Erikson to have another reason to be angry with him, but he couldn’t just let something like this go. Nathan stood in the hallway for a few more minutes contemplating what to do. Finally he started walking down the hallway.

  When he reached Kit’s door, he knocked on it. She opened it, her eyes widening at the surprise of seeing him on the other side.

  “Can we talk?” he asked. “Privately?”

  She nodded, opening the door so that he could step into her room. She stood by her desk as Nathan closed the door.

  “I accept your apology,” he said. “And I want to offer one of my own.”

  “What for?”

  “For acting like a child. It’s not your fault that I’m not the Six-Elemental, and it’s not your fault that I don’t have an element. I’m angry that I didn’t get a vision and I’m taking it out on you, even though you had nothing to do with it.”

  Kit’s was shocked. She’d never expected something like this from Nathan.

  “So, I’m sorry for being mean,” he continued. “You don’t deserve it.”

  “Thanks.” She looked down at the floor, not wanting him to see her smile. She didn’t want to admit how much this apology meant to her.

  Nathan walked over to her, put his hand under her chin and raised her head until she was looking him in the eye.

  “Am I forgiven?” he asked.

  Her heart started beating faster. “Of course,” she replied.

  “So can we be friends now? Or... Would you rather we be something else?”

  She felt her breath catch in her throat. Akola would hate this. Akola would never approve.

  Nathan leaned towards her. Their lips met for a brief kiss before he pulled back ever so slightly.

  “So?” he asked quietly.

  Kit smiled. “Yes,” she said, closing the small space between their lips.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Akola had volunteered to be Kit’s best friend for her reassignment. She had been the only one who had volunteered, since Eston figured that she might still resent him and everyone else mistrusted or hated her. It required a lot of work, but Akola didn’t mind if it meant that they would win. She had to monitor Kit constantly to make sure that she didn’t say anything that would indicate that the reassignment was failing. Then she had to be careful not to be too specific about past events, to keep a lot of information vague, and to constantly come up with reasons why Kit would feel alienated or unpracticed. She also had to talk to Kit about her dreams every day and report them to Wes, making sure that the dreams were harmless.

  The work didn’t bother her. Akola would do her job for as long as they needed Kit with no complaints. Right now though, she was bothered by Kit’s fixation on Nathan. Why would Kit like someone who hated her so much? Was it possible that there had been an attraction before the reassignment, and without the hostility and hate it had increased? Or had the reassignment messed up something in Kit’s head, turning those feelings into fascination? She hoped that Kit was doing what she promised and was forgetting about Nathan. They had more important things to think about, like getting Kit’s power to where it should be.

  Akola looked at the clock. Kit was officially ten minutes late. They were supposed to meet in the elemental training room so that Kit could practice some more, but Akola was all alone. It wasn’t like Kit to be late.

  She left the training room and walked to Kit’s room. As she knocked on the door, she wondered if Kit was inside. Maybe she’d forgotten or been called to Erickson’s office. Whatever the reason, Akola hoped that the lateness wasn’t due to a reassignment failure.

  “Kit, are you in there?”

  “Coming!” Kit’s voice yelled through the door.

  Akola frowned. What was she doing that was so important that she forgot about training?

  Kit opened the door a crack and looked outside. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was messed. “What do you want?”

  “We were supposed to meet twenty minutes ago.”

  Kit’s hand flew to her mouth. “Sorry, I lost track of time.”

  Akola paused. “Is there someone in there with you?”

  “No?”

  She shoved open the door. Sitting on Kit’s bed, with his shirt off, was Nathan.

  “Evening,” he smiled at her.

  “Get out,” Akola growled at him. “Get out now.”

  He stood up, grabbed his shit off the floor, and pulled it on over his head. He gave Kit a kiss on the cheek before walking past Akola, still smirking.

  “We were just talking,” Kit said feebly.

  “Kit, how many times have I told you to stay away from him?”

  “I know, but it’s different now. He even apologized for being a jerk. It’s all good.”

  Akola put her head in her hands. “Kit, Nathan will always be a jer
k. He’s not good for you.”

  “Trust me, it’s different. He’s different.”

  Akola knew that this was going to end badly, but when she looked at Kit all she could see was the goofy smile on her face. Why did Kit have to be so damn happy about this? Akola wanted to bury Nathan alive, but it was too late – the damage was already done.

  “Kit,” she said carefully, “your shirt is on backwards.”

  Kit’s cheeks flushed. “Sorry.”

  “That’s okay. Since you’re not busy anymore, do you want to train?”

  “Just give me few minutes to change.”

  Akola nodded and walked into the hallway. She couldn’t believe how angry she was. Since she had a few minutes, she could afford a small detour. When she reached Nathan’s door, she walked inside without knocking.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Nathan asked as she stormed over to him.

  She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shoved him up against the nearest wall.

  “Why did you think that that would be a good idea?” she growled.

  “Hey, she’s the one who came on to me.”

  “You didn’t have to encourage her.”

  “No, but if I shot her down she’d wonder why. I thought it’d be safer to just go with it,” he said, trying to look innocent.

  “Erikson is going to kill you when he finds out. You’re jeopardizing the whole plan.”

  “No, I’m not. By being with Kit, I’m no longer making her wonder why I hate her. She likes me, so if I like her back she’ll be even happier and want to stay on our side.”

  “That’s complete crap.”

  “Maybe, but if you try to break us up, Kit will want to know why. Do you think you can come up with a good enough reason? Or do you think that it might cause a crack in her conditioning?”

  Akola tightened her grip on his shirt. “I will end you if you screw this up.”

  “Go ahead.” Nathan brought his hands in and up, pushing Akola’s arms away. “Besides, I’m not the one who gave her this crush. I’m just doing what comes naturally between soldiers.”

  She wanted to punch him in his smug little face, but instead she stormed out of his room. Erikson had to know what Nathan was doing. It was true that it was too late to stop this, but Erikson needed to know that one of his soldiers was messing around with the Six-Elemental.