Elemental

by Debbie Kump

  “What are you doing?” he countered with clear agitation. We had a straight shot to the sea.

  “We’ve got to go back,” I shouted as I fought my way through the current of bodies.

  For a second, I contemplated letting him go to guarantee his freedom, but the fright of being alone gripped my heart and willed my brain to weave my fingers tighter with his. Who knew that my blissful naïveté mingled with my arrogant, youthful inexperience would prove such a detrimental combination?

  Still, Lucius didn’t protest. Perhaps he assumed I’d found a better escape route to guarantee our safety.

  Nervously, I glanced over my shoulder and spotted the ominous visage of Gaia remaining fixed in her position, the corner of her mouth turned up in a menacing grin. Though she made no attempt to pursue us, I had a sinking suspicion she devised an alternate plan, ensuring our paths would cross again all too soon.

  We made our way out of the chaotic Forum and up the main street of the Cardo Maximus leading north through town, the winds shifted, sending the umbrella-shaped cloud drifting toward the sea. The fanning dark mass soon shrouded the bright sun, gradually transforming noon into night. Volcanic ash filled the air, landed like gray flakes of snow upon our hair, shoulders, and bare arms, and choked our every breath.

  Pumice rocks and shards of debris rained upon the stragglers in the crowded street. Fiery lava bombs fell from the sky, igniting everything in their path. People emerged from residences with pillows clutched above their heads. The cushion served as little protection for one unfortunate soul when a lava bomb hit her skull. Her body sprawled upon the ground, engulfed in flames. Frenzied pedestrians saw her body and fled, crying in terror and blaming the wrath of the gods upon Pompeii.

  But I knew the truth. Gaia created this catastrophe. And she’d stop at nothing to get me.

  The sky darkened, like a heavy velvet blanket draped over the town, pierced with balls of flames that dropped unexpectedly from the heavens. The ash fell thicker now, coating our hair and bodies with a muddy gray paste. Dodging flaming lava bombs, we sloshed up the street against the flow of refugees, and toward the cataclysmic power of Vesuvius.

  Lucius and I ducked inside one building after another, looking for a sound place to seek shelter. Nothing seemed impenetrable to the destructive rocks and debris that rained upon the city. Reaching a wide intersection, I stopped, disoriented by the darkness and bedlam.

  “Which way do we go now?” I shouted over the clamor.

  Lucius frowned. His eyes gauged me with distrust. Moments before, he had successfully led us away from the disaster until I twisted us around, driving us back toward its source. Some leader and friend I turned out to be.

  Releasing my hand, he shook his head sadly. He slowly spun on his heels to follow the wave of evacuees. But Gaia stood before him, blocking his escape.

  Anger overcame my initial fear of encountering her again. “How did you find me?” I blurted, my eyes filled with hate.

  “By your footsteps, my dear,” she said in a derisive tone.

  My ashen eyebrows knitted together. “Excuse me?”

  Gaia released an evil chuckle. “I can feel everyone’s feet upon the Earth’s surface, of course. Yours happen to stand out more than most.”

  I cursed myself for persuading Lucius to follow me toward the hills. We would’ve fared better had we headed out to sea as he originally planned.

  Glancing at him, I opened my mouth to apologize when I noticed Lucius looking from me to Gaia and back again in utter confusion. Apprehensive, he backed away.

  But Gaia halted his progress. Placing one hand squarely upon his chest, she knocked him to the ground like a shock wave stunning his heart. He lay there, gasping for breath, unable to rise to his feet.

  Memories of the recent loss of my family flooded my mind. “Stop that,” I screamed, stepping over his crippled body in a protective stance. “Leave him alone!”

  Blood boiled within my veins and down into my arms. My palms and fingers throbbed, growing painfully hot. Flames rocketed from my fingertips, aimed directly at Gaia’s mocking face.

  Amused, she ducked out of the way.

  I prepared to launch another blast of fire when I heard a gasp behind me. I turned toward Lucius, expecting him to find relief in my protection. Instead, he blinked, like regarding a stranger.

  I’ll never forget that look of distrust upon his ash-smeared face. That I betrayed him by withholding vital information, that I alone bore the credit of leading him to his doom.

  Tears brimmed in my eyes. “You don’t understand. I never meant to hurt you.”

  And to prove it, I closed my eyes, focusing my hate for Gaia and her role in murdering my family into a huge surge of energy. An agonizing wail escaped from the recesses of my throat as flames erupted from my palms, stretching from one side of the street to the next to create a wall of fire between her and us.

  I looked back at Lucius, praying he’d excuse me now that he realized my intent, when a flaming chunk of molten rock fell from the sky, right above Lucius.

  I dropped my hands, forgetting the firewall, and stepped toward him. Before I could shield his immobilized body from the deadly projectile, it landed upon his torso and crushed his ribs. Lucius screamed. His arms and legs writhed in pain and his body convulsed spasmodically. I dropped to my knees, pushing the fiery rock off his chest, but not fast enough. His convulsions had already quieted.

  “I’m sorry. So sorry!” I wailed, clasping his hand between mine. For a second, Lucius’s head rolled to face me. When his eyes met mine, they softened with forgiveness.

  A wicked cackle rose from the depths of Gaia’s throat.

  “You did this?” I yelled, spinning toward her. “Haven’t you taken enough from me already?”

  My mounting fury made Gaia emit an evil, chilling laugh.

  I balled my fists, raising my arms until they pointed directly at her face. “What do you want from me?” I snarled.

  Gaia’s laugh faded. Her voice sounded deep and guttural when she responded, “What everyone wants, my dear. Power, of course.”

  My eyes narrowed into thin slits. “Not me. I wanted my family. My friends. And you stole them from me.”

  My accusations hardly fazed Gaia. Instead, she continued, “Together we can control the future. We possess the power to shape the destiny of man.”

  Had I expected a similar response from the oracle in Delphi? An explanation for the curse I bore? The prophecy of my destiny?

  “What do you mean?” I asked, straining to keep my voice steady.

  Her emerald eyes glowed in a terrifying way. She chortled, condescendingly. “It’s like I told you before. You are an Elemental. One of the four, chosen as the embodiment of the element, fire. And when we find the others, we will be unstoppable. We will yield limitless power over the forces of nature and the cosmos. Our strength will swell until we can defeat the Fifth Elemental, Aether, from the heavens. Together, we can save the whole Earth from his threat. Mere mortals will bow to us and forever revere our names. They will make us rulers over all.”

  How does she know all that? And why should I trust her to tell me the truth when she had done nothing but instill fear in my heart? But I said, “So you think that killing Lucius and my family will get me to join you?”

  “There is no other way.” Her voice turned steely cold. “You will join me. And if you do not, you shall perish and I will find someone else to take your place. Someone more willing to agree to my demands, I expect.”

  Since neither choice sounded desirable, I knew exactly what I must do. Though I might not have the chance to destroy her for killing my family and Lucius right now, that day would eventually come. With fresh determination, I looked at her, then up to the sky.

  She extended one hand, encouraging me to take it. Instead, I stepped backward two paces and glanced up again, spotting a huge lava bomb that sailed toward me through the blackened sky. I stretched up one hand and with a sudden burst of pain, shot a
spire of flame at the rock. The immense fiery rock collided with my shoulder, crushing my collarbone and flattening me upon the ashy ground. Flames caught my toga and spread down the length of my body with incredible speed. I howled, thrashing about in the blinding heat, wondering why I must endure such suffering. And wishing I could perish like poor Lucius to halt this recurring torture.

  I glanced up at Gaia’s ruthless face, certain she knew more than she revealed. Some day, I vowed to unlock her secrets…some day when I could focus beyond this agony. My mouth contorted, releasing another horrific wail while the fire engulfed every inch of my body.

  Within seconds, the destruction of Pompeii vanished into blackness, sending me spiraling through time again. In that precise moment, I knew regardless of what future dangers might befall me, I’d never, ever, join Gaia.

  Instead, I made a solemn promise…to do everything in my power to keep her and the other Elementals from controlling the planet.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  I never made it to the Oracle in Delphi.

  I touched my collarbone, remembering the tragedy of that day as I sat upon the California hillside for hours and contemplated my fate. The other Elementals had already destroyed entire cities. What would stop them from annihilating the whole Bay Area?

  Nothing. Except me.

  And with them too close for my own comfort, I knew I should run clear across the continent, to the far reaches of civilization. Someplace where they could hurt only me and no one else.

  I glanced down at my cast. The doctor said I had another couple of weeks before it came off and then I'd have to wrap it with an Ace bandage instead. I doubted Gaia and her crew could make it here that fast.

  A few weeks. Then I’d take off on a chase to the ends of the Earth where we would meet again in battle, just like every other time.

  But a voice piped up in my head that said, You’re growing soft. You usually don’t stick around this long, you know.

  Stupid conscience. Always knew how to rub things in at the most inopportune times.

  “No,” I told myself, “it’s my arm.”

  Sure it is.

  “Really. It’s that and…I’m tired. Tired of running.”

  Well, let’s see how tired you are when everyone you know ends up dead.

  I spent the rest of the day in that spot, considering my past and my future. Only when dusk approached did I bother to head down the hillside and make my way back to Micah’s house. My stomach grumbled angrily at me for fasting all day but my head felt clearer with the knowledge of what I must do, once free of the cast.

  But when I walked in the house, I expected a warmer welcome than the one I received. Celia waited on the phone, her face wrought with grief. The second she saw me, she hung up.

  “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick about you,” she exclaimed, louder and more irate than I’d ever heard anyone before.

  “Um…” I began, suddenly understanding how Micah felt that day she interrogated him in the hospital.

  Without pausing for my reply, Celia launched into a lengthy tirade about the importance of school and getting a good education to prepare for college. Life was difficult these days because of the recession and many young people in our society vied for the scarce job openings, so I needed to be as prepared as possible for entering the workforce. I should responsibly attend school every day unless I suffered from an injury or lay sick in bed. Skipping school soon spiraled into other problems like underage drinking and drug abuse and pregnancy when teens had too much time on their hands. And she made it abundantly clear that she would not tolerate delinquency or any of those issues in her home.

  “So what do you have to say for yourself?” she asked in a threatening tone. “What was so vitally important that you decided to skip school?”

  I thought of Mt. Vesuvius with its towering gray cloud of superheated ash. I recalled the flames that devoured Pompeii while residents fled in panic and dodged fiery lava bombs that dropped unexpectedly from the sky. I remembered how Lucius’s body writhed in pain. Even though I pushed the molten rock off his chest, I couldn’t save him.

  Then I looked back at Celia, her normally styled short hair sat askew atop her head. Her deep brown eyes studied me in earnest. Nothing would make her believe the horrors I’d endured. Or what terrors might befall this entire region, all because of me.

  Unsure of how to respond, I managed a small, “I went up the hill to think.”

  “Up the hill? Are you out of your mind?”

  Who knew my simple reply would instigate a whole new tirade?

  “There are way too many crazies out there,” she continued. “Someone could have abducted you, out there all by yourself. Or a mountain lion could’ve attacked you. You do know there are mountain lions around here, right?”

  Actually, I didn’t. But I felt like I should say, “Yes,” anyway.

  “Don’t you ever do that to me again! I was about to call the cops, wasn’t I, Micah?”

  He nodded, but more out of fear than affirmation. Fear that the blame could easily shift toward him for laughing at me during breakfast. That might explain why he looked so relieved when his phone buzzed to notify him of an incoming message.

  “If you skip school again, you can bet your life that I will call the cops, young lady.” She crossed her arms to hammer home her point.

  Bet my life. What an interesting—yet appropriate—choice of words.

  I swallowed hard. Alerting the authorities meant sending up a red flare to The Three pinpointing my exact location.

  I opened my mouth to explain and then shut it again. They didn’t believe me the first time I told them. What made me think it would be any different now?

  Celia heaved a heavy sigh. “Speak to her, will you?” she hissed, facing her son.

  Engrossed with his texting, Micah didn’t answer.

  “Micah?” She waved her hand in front of Micah’s face.

  Yet Micah still failed to realize Celia spoke to him.

  “Micah!” she shouted in an exasperated tone.

  He glanced up from his phone. “Huh?”

  Celia threw up her arms in frustration and marched out of the room, muttering something about how she couldn’t take much more of teenagers and our hormonal, adolescent behaviors.

  “What was that about?” Micah asked me, slipping the phone back into his pocket.

  I shrugged, in no mood for Micah to hound me as well. My appetite forgotten with this new wave of guilt, I headed to the basement and sank into the couch.

  He followed me down the stairs and plopped alongside me. But he didn’t reprimand me as Celia requested. Instead, he remained quiet. Maybe he was thinking about his last text.

  Eventually, I decided to speak. “Has Celia always been like that?”

  Micah’s silence lasted a long time, making me think he hadn’t heard me. When he finally answered, his voice came so low, I had to lean across the couch to hear him. “Ever since Dad died, I guess. She’s gotta be the ‘heavy’ without him around to help.”

  “Wow.” I shivered. “I can see why you didn’t want her to know how I ended up in the hospital.”

  “You have no idea,” he snorted in confirmation. “In case you haven’t noticed, Mom’s a bit overprotective.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You can say that again.”

  “Seriously, Jordan. I dunno what it is, but I think you fill a void in her life.” He shot me a fast look before adding, “Or remind her of what happened to Dad. Like this is a way to make up for his accident.”

  I nodded slowly. Part of me could understand her emotions, especially since Cam reminded me of my little sister, Sarah. And after watching my family and friends perish, I felt compelled to prevent all of them from suffering a similar fate. Maybe Celia didn’t feel irate with me personally but rather feared losing someone again.

  “She’ll get over it,” Micah smiled softly, his eyes filled with sincerity. “She always does. Eventually, at least.” He reached out o
ne hand, placing it gently upon my shoulder. I didn’t brush it away.

  Instead, I took a deep breath and let my anger gradually dissolve. His warm hand soothed my shoulder and tempered my riled emotions. I looked up at Micah appreciatively, my eyes holding his for a lasting moment.

  “Any better?” he finally asked.

  “Yeah. Thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it. Consider us even.”

  It seemed sweet of Micah to care for a change, even if only to pay me back for saving his date with Tessa by halting our basketball game. Shifting closer to him on the couch, I wrapped my good arm over his shoulder to give him half of an appreciative hug.

  His body remained rigid and cold with reservation, which made me feel like I completely misjudged him again. Just when it seemed we’d grown closer, he stuck a wedge into our relationship that confounded me all over again. Whatever. I berated myself for initiating a hug in the first place. I lifted my arm from his shoulders to avoid annoying him further.

  But before I could retreat to my room and avoid this awkward moment altogether, Micah relaxed. Surprisingly, both his arms slipped behind my back and squeezed me with reassurance. “Like I said, everything’ll be fine.”

  I smiled, drawing comfort from his words and his embrace. I wished I could stay there where I felt safe instead of having to run away again and leave him and everyone behind.

  Then my smile faded. My back stiffened. Glancing past Micah’s shoulder, I spotted Tessa at the top of the stairs with her arms crossed in a confrontational stance.

  How long had she waited there, watching us? I didn’t even hear her come in the front door.

  Instantly, I pulled away from Micah. He fired me a confused look, and then followed my gaze up the stairs.

  “Oh, hey, Tess,” he said, leaping off the couch faster than a thoroughbred out of the gates. “Jordan was upset so I was just…um…yeah.”

  “What a nice guy,” she said icily, her eyes like daggers trained on my heart.