by Paul Mason
OK, so it wasn’t wind. What about earth?
Tara dropped down on her knees and put her hands on the grass. She pushed the ground, hit it with her fists, tried to imagine herself as the ground. Zero. It wasn’t working.
Maybe her theory was wrong. Nuts, even. Her parent’s favourite band - what was she thinking?
Tara was annoyed. She picked up a clump of earth from the flower bed to chuck at the fence. And then it happened.
She felt a jolt in her hand and looked down. Tremors. The clump of earth was moving. Then her hand changed colour. It was the same colour as the earth.
The colour spread – right up her arm, like rivers of soil. Tara dropped the dirt in a hurry and clutched at her arm. She couldn’t stop it!
But if she was honest, it felt good. Her whole body was changing into earth. She closed her eyes and felt it flood over her body, not fighting any more.
When she opened her eyes again, Tara gasped. She was a rich red, like the soil. Her arms, her legs – everything.
She shook her head. ‘So, now what?’ she asked out loud. ‘You’re the colour of dirt – big deal.’
She dropped to her knees again and put her hand on the lawn, and this time she felt a rush of power. The grass beneath her fingers began to grow. Fast. Right underneath her hand and through her fingers. She swept both her hands over the lawn like they were paint brushes. Now there were two streaks of long grass.
Tara grinned. This was cool.
‘Now, that is very strange indeed,’ a voice called out.
Tara jumped, and spun round, trying to cover up her arms. She couldn’t see anyone.
‘Who’s there?’ she called out.
‘I thought I was odd, but you really look like mud.’
It was Zaf. He was sitting on the roof of her house, a wicked smile on his face. He stood up, took a short run down the slope of the roof and jumped off the edge, arms wide.
And then he flew.
Chapter Seven
Wind
Zaf hit the ground and crumpled into a heap. He got up and dusted himself off. ‘Still a bit clumsy,’ he chuckled. ‘It takes a little getting used to.’ He looked Tara up and down and whistled. ‘So you’re earth, eh? I thought you would have to be.’
‘You figured it out too? Earth, wind, fire and water. So what now? How long do you think we’ll have these powers?’ Tara asked.
‘Search me. Days? Weeks?’ Zaf paused. ‘Forever?’
‘Forever?’ Tara whispered, shaking her head. ‘That’s a really long time.’
Zaf put his hand on her shoulder, and smiled. ‘Might as well enjoy the ride while we can. Hey, watch this.’ He turned and ran along the lawn, jumped into the air, and took off. Straight up. Using his arms like wings, he was able to swoop and dive, turn and bank. He hovered above Tara. ‘It’s like the air is carrying me.’
Tara watched in amazement. ‘Pretty good, Zaf! Not too shabby at all!’
Zaf dropped to the ground. ‘And I get the feeling that we’re just touching the tip of the iceberg. I mean, who knows what we’re capable of – look at the way you made that grass suddenly grow. I bet there’s all sorts of nifty stuff you can do.’
Tara had to admit, he was right. ‘Let’s see.’ She ran over to the rose bush, the one Mum could never get to grow properly, no matter how hard she tried. Tara touched one of the thorny branches and closed her eyes. All at once the bush sprang to life, shoots turned into more branches, then flowers began to appear. She stepped back. The rose bush was enormous – thick with flowers.
‘Wow,’ said Zaf. ‘That is some power. Mind you, I’m not sure what your parents are going to think when they see all those roses in the morning.’
Tara gasped. ‘That’s right. I forgot. We need to keep this under wraps, don’t we?’
Zaf laughed. ‘Don’t worry, they’ll think it was just a freak of nature – what else could it be?’
Just then, from deep inside the park, came a squealing of tyres, the growl of a car engine, followed by a loud crash. It sounded like an accident. A big accident.
‘Come on, let’s go check it out!’ said Zaf, jumping into the air.
Chapter Eight
Crash
Tara jumped over the garden fence and ran down the slope in the direction of the crash, trying hard to keep up with Zaf. The park was meant to be closed at night – so which fool had decided to race around in their car? Zaf darted through the trees, Tara panting behind him.
Down by the lake, they found what they were looking for. The car, or what was left of it, had ploughed straight into a tree. A total wreck. The front was a mess of twisted metal, the windscreen was shattered, and steam hissed from the engine. There was smoke in the air.
The tree was leaning at a dangerous angle, right over the car. It groaned and shuddered. It looked like it would collapse on top of the car. As if things weren’t bad enough.
Zaf landed on his feet and scrambled down, while Tara caught up. He ran to the car window and leaned in. Both the driver and the passenger were slumped over, unconscious. Blood streamed from cuts on their faces. The driver had a trickle of blood coming from his nose. At least they were both still breathing.
Zaf tried to open the car door. It was jammed shut.
‘It’s no good, I can’t reach them,’ he yelled. ‘But if we don’t get them out, they’re going to be crushed.’
‘Don’t move them!’ gasped Tara. ‘They could have neck injuries. We might make it worse.’
The tree groaned again. It snapped and jerked downwards. The trunk began to crack and splinter.
Tara took stock of the situation. ‘I’ll deal with the tree, try and get it to grow back – you go and get help. But don’t let anyone see you flying!’
Zaf nodded. ‘Will do.’ He launched himself into the sky, and was gone in a flash.
Zaf shot over the tree tops, the air thundering in his ears. The best bet to find some police would be in the town centre.
Out of the park, he banked to the left and blasted along over the High Street, keeping himself high above the buildings and prying eyes. Within seconds he was in the town centre. How fast had he been flying? Fifty, sixty miles an hour?
He spotted a police car, down to his right, patrolling the street at a crawl.
Zaf flew over a darkened alleyway, braked to a halt, and lowered himself down almost like a helicopter. He hit the ground, and ran after the patrol car.
***
Back in the park, Tara had grabbed hold of the tree trunk, spreading her arms as wide as she could. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. She needed to stop the tree from flattening the car. Would this work?
Tara could feel strength surging through her arms, running through her veins, along her fingertips and into the bark. She could hear the leaves rustling, the branches shaking.
Slowly the tree began to rise, pulling itself away from the car. Tara gritted her teeth. The tree kept moving, bark crackling. At last it stopped.
Tara stepped away, heart pumping. The tree was upright.
There was a sound of sirens, getting closer. Tara looked down at her arms, which were still the colour of earth. She took a deep breath and focused, telling her body to change. How did you turn this thing off?
She tried to calm down, and as she watched, her arms slowly became lighter, and the earth seemed to sink back into her skin. The soil vanished.
Just in time. A police car roared down the footpath, lights flashing, and screeched to a halt. Zaf grinned at her from the back seat.
They had done it.
Chapter Nine
Answers
‘You could have got hurt – and what if someone had seen you?’ Mr Arturi paced up and down. They were in the science lab, gathered round a workbench, trying to get a handle on what was going on.
‘But we didn’t get hurt and no one saw our powers – I was able to change back,’ said Tara.
‘And the cops never saw me flying, I was careful,’ added Zaf.
Mr Arturi sat back down, sighing. ‘I guess you’re right. But until we understand all of this, please try and keep it under wraps, OK? I don’t want this to get out of control.’
‘You mean I can’t use my flames at the track and field competition next week?’ Ian asked, chuckling. ‘I was going to burn up the track – literally.’
Mr Arturi gave him a withering look. ‘I think not.’ He opened the folder in front of him. ‘Hydro-chloride-magnesium-oxate,’ he said, passing round a diagram. All he got was confused looks. ‘The gas you inhaled,’ he explained. ‘From deep in the earth’s crust. It’s not a recognised compound. I can’t find any research anywhere that mentions it.’
‘Wicked,’ Ian whistled looking at the diagram. ‘Maybe we could bottle it and make a fortune. Want to fly like an eagle, or swim like a fish? Try our new hydro-chloro-watsit. Guaranteed results!’
‘And this compound has transferred a sort of elemental energy into our bodies – and altered our genetic make-up. Is that what happened, Mr Arturi?’ Zaf asked.
‘That’s my best guess,’ said Mr Arturi. ‘Though I don’t know enough to explain how. And there’s one other thing...’ He sighed. ‘I don’t see any way the process can be reversed.’
‘You mean we’re always going to be this way?’ said April
‘I think you might.’
There was a silence around the table, as Mr Arturi’s words sank in. Finally Tara spoke up. ‘Well, I’m kind of glad.’
‘Glad? How so?’ asked April.
‘Last night Zaf and I used our powers to do some good. Without us, those guys in the car crash might have died. I’d do it again.’
‘You mean, like … be a superhero?’ A smile was spreading across Ian’s face. ‘That I can handle.’
‘Yeah, but what about the rest of the planet?’ Zaf laughed.
Chapter Ten
Field Trip
The four of them agreed to keep things secret, even from their mums and dads. It would only scare the life out of them. But it was hard to go to about like normal when what they really wanted was to tear it up.
Mr Arturi told them they had to keep cool. The powers seemed to come on when they had a rush of adrenalin – like when April faced the shark, or Ian was pushing himself to run faster. If they didn’t want to give the game away, they had to stay calm.
There were a couple of close calls. In the dining hall someone dropped their lunch tray by accident, and it landed on Zaf’s lap. He jumped to his feet, soup all over his shorts, then took a deep breath and counted to ten. At the lockers, April heard someone making fun of her behind her back. She felt a crackle of energy flow through her chest, but just about managed to keep it in check.
Mr Arturi could see they needed to let off some steam or things were going to go haywire. It was time for another field trip – but this time without the explosions.
***
The van bounced down the dirt track, kicking up a cloud of dust. There was nothing but miles and miles of scrub in all directions. The early morning sun was already fierce. Up ahead they could spot some giant boulders reaching into the sky.
‘Ugh, where are you taking us, Mr Arturi?’ April groaned. ‘This is the middle of nowhere.’
‘See those boulders up ahead? I used to go there with my parents as a child.’
Tara raised her eyebrows. ‘Your parents took you to see rocks? Nice.’
Mr Arturi laughed. ‘They were geologists. What can I say, it kind of rubbed off on me. Besides, wait till you get there, it’s more than just rocks.’
The track climbed a little now and the closer they got, the more the boulders towered over them. Some were like needles sticking out of the earth, others looked a little like archways, the rock worn smooth by the wind. They had to admit, it was pretty cool.
The van crunched to a halt and Mr Arturi switched off the engine. ‘Welcome to Potter’s Gully, your training ground for the day.’
‘Training what, exactly?’ asked Tara.
‘What do you think? Your powers, of course. Come on, grab your packs.’
***
Mr Arturi led the way along a narrow path through the scrub. The path wound its way around some of the smaller rocks and into the shadows of the giants. ‘By the way, don’t stick your hands into any cracks or holes. Plenty of snakes about.’
‘Great,’ muttered Ian. ‘First we nearly get blown up, now we have to deal with snakes.’
‘Quit your moaning, superhero.’ Tara shoved him in the back.
Mr Arturi clambered up onto a giant boulder, and climbed up the gentle slope to the top of it. It almost looked like there were steps carved into its surface. At the top, the group stopped, panting, to look at the view. It was some sight.
‘Wow,’ said April. ‘You weren’t wrong, Mr Arturi, this place rocks.’
Down below, in the middle of a circle of giant boulders, was a deep, blue watering hole surrounded by trees and plants. An oasis, completely hidden from the outside world.
‘You see now why I brought you here? Earth, wind, fire and water. They’re all here.’
Mr Arturi started sliding down the other side of the boulder. ‘Who’s for a swim? The water is deep and cool – trust me.’
It didn’t take any persuading to get the four of them to dump their packs, rip off their shoes and jump in. April teased them by turning into water, flowing to the bottom and tugging at their legs.
‘Quit that, will you!’ shouted Tara. ‘Wait till we’re on dry land, and it’s my turn.’
Chapter Eleven
Practice
After they had cooled off, Mr Arturi called them out to get started. They sat on the towels having a snack while he talked.
‘If you’re going to have these powers, you’ve got to learn to use them and control them wisely. It’s just too dangerous otherwise. For you and for others.’ He paused. ‘Also, I think you’ve probably only scratched the surface as far as seeing what you can do. So today is about pushing yourselves. Go for it!’
‘You heard the man, permission granted!’ Ian jumped to his feet. He leaped over to the boulder next to the group and then ran, jumping from boulder to boulder, his feet blazing, as if they weren’t even touching the ground.
Zaf climbed into the air, and chased after him, doing barrel rolls. ‘Is that all you got?’ he yelled after Ian.
‘Typical boys,’ said Tara, ‘all that power, and all they want to do is play games.’
She climbed off the boulder and grasped the soil with her hands. Mr Arturi shook his head in wonder as he watched her body turn into earth. She flexed her arms, making them crackle.
‘Lucky me, I guess I get to spend the day in the pool,’ April said, smiling. She dived in, and came up in her water shape.
‘See if you can breathe underwater, April,’ Mr Arturi called out to her.
April nodded, ‘OK, I’ll give it a go.’
He turned to Tara. ‘We know you can make things grow – let’s see what else you can do.’
***
By the time Mr Arturi decided enough was enough, things had come a long way.
Not only was Zaf soaring through the air like he had been a bird all his life, he could push and pull the air with a wave of his arms. Spinning like a top, he made whirlwinds.
Fire had spread all over Ian, rising up from his feet, till you couldn’t see him for flames. Then he discovered he could throw fire from his hands, and spent the rest of the morning blasting fireballs at the rocks, laughing his head off.
Mr Arturi had been right about April. In her water form, she found she was able to stay underwater as long as she liked. More impressively, she could direct the water to her command: whirlpools, currents, waves, water spouts.
Tara could make the ground move – she was able to split the earth, and pull it back together again. She made mounds swell, and drop back down. She even got a small earthquake going, though she had to stop it pretty quickly when it looked like some of the boulders would start to
roll.
And while all this was going on, Mr Arturi just sat and stared, his mind racing to try and figure it out.
‘I can’t believe this,’ he said. ‘Tell me I’m not dreaming.’
April sprayed a jet of water into his face. ‘Awake now?’ she said with a wide smile.
‘Thanks a bunch,’ said Mr Arturi, drying his glasses. ‘Come on kids, it’s time to get back.’
Chapter Twelve
Embers
While Mr Arturi’s van rattled its way home, back in town two kids had decided to skip school. They were hanging out in Walcott Wood, bored out of their heads.
‘Come on, we’ll put it out before it gets too big – no worries,’ the older of the two said, shaking a box of matches.
‘I still don’t reckon this is a good idea,’ said the other. ‘You saw the sign. Fire Danger Extreme, the arrow was pointing at. Why’d you want a fire anyway?’
The older kid shrugged. ‘Dunno. Something to do. Call it survival training.’
He cleared a patch on the ground and started putting down stones in a circle.
‘Look, we’ll even put rocks down. Give me a hand.’
The younger boy shrugged his shoulders, and the two of them finished the fireplace, and then gathered up some twigs. It wasn’t hard to find dry firewood, there hadn’t been any real rain for months.
With a cheeky grin, the older boy struck a match and dropped it on the pile. It sat there for a moment, then the twigs caught and started to crackle.
The boys sat down to watch. The fire was really going now, and they had to shuffle back, away from the heat.
They watched for a few minutes, not saying anything. Their small pile of twigs burned down into glowing embers. The bigger boy got up to get some more wood.
‘Nah,’ said the other, ‘I reckon that’s enough.’
