by Debbie Kump
“What are you doin’?” Sully shrieked.
“Didn’t you see that? This wall of water isn’t any normal storm. Hydros made a tsunami.”
Just for me, I thought grimly.
“A tsunami?” Micah gasped.
Cam stopped crying long enough to ask, “What’s a tsunami?”
“A tsunami’s a huge wave that rushes inland, then drags everything back out to—”
Micah interrupted my explanation. “But the tsunami evacuation route is south of here. You’re going the wrong way!”
I shook my head. “It’s not safe. We have to leave the coast. It’s the only way to save you now that they know I’m here.”
I stepped harder on the gas, pushing the needle toward ninety on the straights and sped out of Pacifica toward San Francisco. In the backseat, Cam wailed. I supposed my description of the tsunami sounded a bit too graphic.
“Dude, why am I taking care of your little brother?” Sully grumbled, trying to pacify Cam. “I should’ve called shotgun.”
The rain pelted the windshield, coating it in a viscous haze. The wipers zipped across the glass in a blur but did little to aid my vision. I squinted into the storm, hearing Mr. Mendoza’s disapproving voice in my ear, reminding me that I drove much faster than I should under these conditions. I zoomed past three cars traveling half our speed.
Micah gripped the dashboard. “Enough of this, Jordan. Seriously. What’s going on?”
“I saw one of them. In Safeway when I got Cam’s strawberry milk.”
“Which I didn’t get to finish!” Cam bellowed.
“Them who?” Micah asked. His voice barely carried over his brother’s staggered sobs.
I rolled my eyes. “Them. The Elementals. The ones I told you about before. It was Gaia. Only I didn’t recognize her at first.”
“Gaia?”
“The Earth Elemental,” I snipped, wishing he’d paid more attention that morning I first saw the super storm developing. “She caught me off guard…I didn’t expect them to be here already. And if I don’t get away from the coast, Hydros will wash everything out to sea.”
Another wave crest hit the coastline like a barreling freight train. To our left, the rumble resonated over the driving rain and the Corolla’s humming engine. Trees, homes, and vehicles crunched and crumbled in the destructive rising surge of water.
“Now don’t spaz out on me,” Micah said, his eyes widening. We climbed another peak in the road. Behind us, the water pushed inland toward the highway. “Like I told you before, no one’s chasing you—it’s just the storm. Really.”
I looked into hazel eyes and I wanted to believe him. But I couldn’t. When I peeked into the rearview mirror, I noticed the sea had flooded the road behind us.
Though Micah and Sully dismissed this storm as some natural phenomena that scientists had predicted for years, I knew the truth. Their powers had grown and they’d stop at nothing to capture me.
I needed to prove my point to Micah and Sully. “Did you ever hear of the Great Chicago Fire?” I asked.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Sully objected from the backseat.
Micah shot him a sharp look.
I said, “Well, that started because of me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sully grumbled.
“That wasn’t you,” Micah retorted. “I heard a cow kicked over a lantern. It’s in a song, isn’t it, Sully?”
“I dunno,” Sully said coolly.
I explained, “It did start in a barn, but it was all me.”
Before I could continue, I threw a quick glance over my shoulder, hoping to change lanes. Most of the cars traveled faster than normal after that last wave crest hit the road, but it figured I’d gotten stuck behind a slowpoke. “Of course I didn’t mean to,” I said and flipped on my turn signal. “Skye helped me along with that, using her intense winds to make my flames leap from rooftop to rooftop.”
We rounded the bend of the highway, and I looked out across the sprawling city of San Francisco that unfolded before me. How many more people would the Elementals leave homeless if I failed this time? I peeked at Micah next to me and Cam and Sully in the backseat. How many more of my friends would I watch die?
Suddenly the car swerved uncontrollably to one side. I braced the wheel, struggling to keep it steady, the road swaying beneath our tires. I knew Gaia caused this mayhem. I imagined her stomping her foot with greater power upon the ground until she sent out surface waves, rippling in all directions. With her mounting fury, these tremors would increase in intensity, like an earthquake producing multiple aftershocks until I caved to their demands.
My fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter, making my knuckles turn white. I refused to let this cycle repeat itself. The time had come to settle this for good. Not only must I stop The Three, but I needed to take one or more of them out so this threat could never exist again. Not in this magnitude, at least.
“Still don’t believe me? Let’s try something different.” I glanced back at Sully, my body shivering when a spasm of pain shot outward from my chest. A terrified look passed over his face. He stared into my ebony eyes, now glowing like hot embers.
“Stop the car.” He paled. “That is freaky. Seriously, Jordan, let me out.”
“Just wait.” Since I’d gone this far in revealing my identity, why not finish it? I took one hand off the wheel, poising it in midair for them to watch.
I winced, jolts of pain radiating down my arm and into my hand. Then I snapped my fingers together to form a ball of fire resting in my palm. While Micah and Sully gasped in shock, Cam shouted from the backseat, “That’s awesome!”
“Now do you believe me?” I challenged them, balancing the fire with my free hand.
Micah stared from the flaming ball to me, speechless.
“I told you my real name wasn’t Jordan. They call me Pyr, the Greek word for fire.”
“But, I, uh—” Micah stammered.
Before he had a chance to complete his thought, our car unexpectedly swerved into the other lane. The fireball lurched off my palm.
“What are you doing?” Sully cried. The flames caught the Corolla’s ceiling upholstery and set it on fire.
“It wasn’t me!” I barked, knowing that Gaia must be behind all this. How else would the solid road shift beneath our tires? “Gaia’s making the ground quake.”
While I steadied the car back in our lane, Micah slipped off one of his shoes to stomp out the flames. “All right, all right! We believe you!” he screamed. “Just make it stop before you set Sully’s whole freakin’ car on fire!” From the backseat, Sully ripped off his shoe to help Micah squelch the flames.
I didn’t need to look at them to feel the weight of Sully and Micah’s eyes burning into me with disbelief and fear. I heard Cam chuckle. “Do it again!” he exclaimed.
Sully and Micah both wheeled on him. “No!” they shouted through heavy breaths.
I stepped harder on the gas pedal and we flew through the turns that led into the city. “You can see why I have to stop them,” I said, my eyes filled with sincerity. They simmered to their normal black color. “I can’t let this continue any longer. They’ll stop at nothing to—” My voice trailed off as the sentence finished in my mind, To rule the planet.
“Wow,” Sully said with a low whistle. “And I thought I had it bad with Mom making me take the SAT and the ACT this year.”
A small smile made its way across my face. Only Sully would find a way to turn this moment into a corny joke. Nearing the city, I quickly read the signs, choosing to merge with the lane headed for the Golden Gate Bridge.
“No,” Micah suggested. “Take the Bay Bridge. It’ll lead you away from the ocean.”
“Good plan,” I thought. Hydros would pose less of a threat without the power of the vast Pacific to fuel her.
Despite our speed in getting out of Pacifica, the traffic now slowed to a crawl. We slipped into line to enter the Bay Bridge. This is taking too
long, I fretted, knowing the congestion provided The Three with a better opportunity to catch me. I scanned the faces of nearby drivers, fortunately not recognizing a single one. My leg started to bounce with nervous energy. There had to be a faster way.
Luckily, once we passed the bottleneck of eastbound traffic that entered the lower level of the bridge, our speed increased. Though I knew we’d near safety once we spanned this section of the San Francisco Bay, I couldn’t help but feel a little claustrophobic, surrounded by steel with the weight of five lanes of westbound traffic passing overhead.
With the city skyline shrinking as we entered Yerba Buena and Treasure Islands, some of my anxiety faded. We had made it almost halfway across the bay. Almost halfway to freedom. I knew I could get us there safely.
The Bay Bridge sloped downward when we neared the far shore. I couldn’t help but feel a monumental weight lift from my shoulders. Somehow, I’d managed to elude The Three Elementals without destroying the entire city. Once we reached the other side, they wouldn’t be able to catch up. I’d leave Micah, Cam, and Sully safely behind and flee across the continent. North, toward some desolate reaches of the Arctic, essentially suppressing their potential to wreak havoc upon any urban areas.
A broad grin filled my face, certain I finally had control of the situation and no longer lived in fear. I’d deal with them accordingly on my terms when I felt ready.
Then the bridge swayed, swinging wildly upon its supports. A single, scary thought entered my mind. Gaia refused to let me go this easy.
Cameron screamed. Cars swerved around us, slamming on their brakes and filling the air with the smell of burnt rubber. Behind us, a loud crash resonated through the confined space, a trio of cars colliding in a tangled mass of steel and shattered glass. My eyes darted from one side to the next, looking for a clear path to steer us away from the mess. I wove in and out of half a dozen cars before I heard an enormous crack overhead. I pressed on the gas, grazing the side of another car and squeezed the Corolla through a narrow gap in the road in an attempt to get out before the entire bridge collapsed.
“Sorry,” I said to Sully. I gritted my teeth. Paint scraped off the driver’s side door. Frozen with fear, Sully didn’t respond. I guessed his sister’s paint job ranked low on his list of concerns at the moment.
“Step on it,” Micah advised, his eyes trained on the steel beams above. He gripped the dashboard intensely and we barged through another set of stalled cars.
I couldn’t make it through fast enough. The trusses gave way, collapsing one section of the upper deck. I screamed louder than I thought humanly possible when the roadway above fell and pinned the tail of Sully’s car, mostly on Cam’s side. Gaia had succeeded in preventing our escape.
My pulse pounded in my ears. I peered over my shoulder, grateful the entire roof of the car hadn’t caved in on top of us. “Are you okay?” I asked Sully and Cam. Micah and I ripped off our seat belts. Sully rubbed his forehead, like he must’ve ducked at the last second and slammed it against the back of Micah’s seat.
But Cam didn’t answer. All I detected was a painful moan coming from his side of the car.
“Oh, God,” I breathed. “Not Cam.” I glanced over at Micah, my eyes filled with dread.
“Let’s get him outta here,” he agreed. I moved to open my door. The crash had bent the doorframe, sealing it shut.
“Here, let me.” He pushed me aside to get a better angle and aimed his foot at the glass. With one swift kick, he popped out the pane so we could squeeze through the window.
“I’ll pass Cam to you,” I told him.
Crawling into the backseat, I helped a dazed Sully unbuckle Cam. He appeared hurt but I couldn’t determine how badly. “Are you okay, Cam?” I asked, receiving another groan for a response. The roof of the car slanted at a precarious angle over Cam’s side. He definitely took the worst of the blow.
“It’ll be all right, Cam.” I tried to hide the fear in my voice and tenderly kissed his forehead. He didn’t need anything else to upset him now.
After Sully wrangled his way through the window, I carefully passed Cam to them and crawled out. “We’ll have to hurry. I doubt the bridge will hold for long, especially if Gaia suspects we’re still here.”
Micah nodded, cradling Cam in his arms. I took Sully’s hand to lead him out of harm’s way and this time, he didn’t protest. We raced through the jammed cars, praying we’d make it off the bridge before Gaia unleashed another shock.
Dodging between cars, I chastised myself for staying this long. Now I’d jeopardized everything—the city, my friends, Cam. All because I grew too attached.
Finally, we reached the end of the bridge. We only needed to find someone to give us a ride to the hospital. Suddenly, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle approached. I flagged it down, desperate for assistance.
The car stopped about twenty feet in front of us. But when the driver stepped out, I knew in an instant I’d made a huge mistake.
There stood Skye—her sinister silver eyes boring into my skull. “It’s good to see you again, Pyr.” Her light blond hair fell down her back, rustling in the breeze off the bay.
I swallowed hard when Gaia opened the passenger side door. She whipped off her San Francisco Giants hat and tossed it onto the road. Her sparkling emerald eyes narrowed, eager for a confrontation.
Last, Hydros crawled from the backseat. Standing tall, her wickedly blue eyes held mine. I glanced nervously over my shoulder at the bay, too close for my liking.
“Go get Cam some help. I’ll handle it from here,” I told Micah, sounding far more confident than I felt.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Gaia eyed my friends maliciously, her tongue licking her lips. She taunted, “So what will it take this time, Pyr? Watching all three of your friends die?”
“I hate you,” I spat and ripped the Ace bandage off my arm. My eyes grew excruciatingly dry, like an intense fire burned inside each pupil, fueled by my animosity for her.
“We can change that,” Gaia gloated, her vibrant emerald eyes gleaming. “Look what we accomplished with our dear Skye.” Skye didn’t even blink, like she possessed zero recollection of her former self.
I couldn’t let that happen to me.
“You know the drill, Pyr. You either join us…” Gaia raised one foot over the ground, letting it hover a few seconds for effect.
Sneaking a quick glance over my shoulder, I spotted Micah, Cam, and Sully only a couple of blocks away. Why hadn’t they made it further by now? Consumed with dread, I realized Micah would need some help in order to escape with Cam and Sully in their injured states. Hoping to guarantee their safety, I narrowed my eyes at Gaia, channeling my hatred toward her into a sudden burst of power infused with blistering pain.
“…or die,” Gaia finished. The toxic words hung on her lips. “Perhaps your replacement will be more receptive to our request,” she said, reminding me of the gravity of her intent.
Before she had a chance to stomp her foot upon the road, I whipped my hands from my sides. A pulse of agonizing energy shot down my arms when I sent a six-foot tall raging wall of flames in their direction to surround The Three. My eyes bulged from their sockets. I’d never managed to produce something so intense before. Then again, I’d never been quite this irate before, either. How many times must I watch the Elementals strip me of everyone I hold dear to my heart?
Never again, I promised myself. The fear would end today.
I kept my hands poised in their direction, though my recently healed arm quickly grew weak from strain. Just a little longer. I ventured a peek over my shoulder again. Micah must’ve turned a corner since I lost him from view.
“Good,” I whispered, letting my arms relax for a fraction of a second. I knew he’d make it now. For the first time in my life, I’d spare my friends from their untimely fates.
But Gaia took advantage of my lapse in concentration. “Now!” she commanded in a wicked, low voice.
Then everything happened
so fast.
Gaia dropped her foot upon the earth, making the road crack and buckle. The jolt knocked me off my feet and effectively extinguished my restraining firewall. A great fissure opened behind me, swallowing their yellow VW Bug with a twisted crunch of metal.
At the same time, Skye looked up, her silvery eyes reflecting the low-lying gray clouds. She raised one hand heavenward. A swirling vortex of pea-green mist descended from the sky, picking up dirt and debris as it neared the ground.
Meanwhile, Hydros extended one hand toward the bay. Off in the distance, a deep blue wave formed. I swallowed hard, watching it approach the land, knowing she would use her powers to swell the wave to enormous proportions once that massive power neared shore.
I didn’t have much time. Adrenaline flowed like molten magma through my veins. I stretched both hands forward and gritted my teeth to block the pain. Then I rocketed a fiery blast that knocked all three clear off their feet.
I stared down at my arm, stretching it after the exertion. Don’t get me wrong—it hurt a ton, but still felt much better than I imagined it would. Hopefully I had the endurance to keep this up long enough to eliminate one of them, though I still hadn’t decided who posed the greatest threat.
They staggered back to their feet and I realized that decision held little importance. It’d be best if I could take out all three in a single swoop.
When Hydros lost her balance, her wave fell for a moment. Now, she commanded it to an even greater strength. Skye whipped the clouds into an angry, violent shade of olive green. Her vortex increased in speed, spiraling down the street toward me, picking up splintered pieces of fence and mailboxes that lay in its path.
Suddenly, I had an idea. A wickedly cunning idea. My eyes burned like hot embers from William Mills’ hearth back in Salem Village. And like the fiery lava bomb that took Lucius’s life when Mt. Vesuvius erupted and destroyed Pompeii.
It stops here, I reminded myself, strengthening my resolve.
