by Jamie Gray
Lanie was still lying with her back against the concrete with the blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulder. Lexi could see endless waves of tears flowing down the sides of her face as she rapidly mumbled through her response. “She just attacked. I couldn’t do anything. And then Kadence and Adrian jumped in, and then things…. I’m so sorry Lexi. I couldn’t fight back, she was too strong, I just couldn’t.” she let out a loud cry as a fresh wave of tears flowed from her red puffy eyes.
"Who?"
"Mara!" Lanie bawled as she rolled the back of her head against the concrete.
Lexi felt as though she had been stabbed in the gutt. Why? she wondered. She couldn’t understand. What had she done to anger her so much to the point where she would outright hurt her friends. She had no idea if either one of Kadence or Adrian were okay. For all she knew they could be dead, and there was nothing she could do about it. Lexi threw her head back, staring up at the grey cloud shielded sky as she screamed to the heavens, "Ah! Why is this girl doing this to me! I've never even met her before. Why is she coming after me? Why does she hate me so much?" That was it. That was all she could do. Scream. That was all she had left her to do. How was she supposed to find her friends when they literally disappeared into shadow? “And now Adrian and Kadence are gone.” Her body slumped as she saw no other option, no hope to latch onto. She stared sorrowfully at Lanie's as they both fell silent, but as her bottom lip began to quiver, Lexi turned her face away. She hadn’t realized the mess they had created. Most of the unfinished house had collapsed, with burnt planks of wood littering the street ahead, while smoke and dust toxified the air. She knew that they needed to get out of there as soon as possible as people would surely come to investigate, sooner than later. “We should get you up. We can’t stay here,” she finally said, looking back at Lanie as she softly grabbed hold of her friend's right wrist, the half of her that wasn’t bleeding. However, before she could pull her up, she froze. With her palm pressed against Lanie's marking, they both felt a vibration sease from their wrists. Lexi released Lanies wrist, and they both whipped their hands away. "What the hell?" she blurted, holding her hand close to her chest as she stared Lanie dead in the eye. She felt a wave of fear and distrust wash over her, as her mind jumped to the feeling she got when she touched Daymian. A million questions ran through her mind as she took several steps away. Her first thought was that she could be a Dark Element, but she knew that couldn’t be right. Besides, although scary at first, the feeling she received wasn’t pain, but more a vibration. It tickled even. Dare she say, it felt good?
A loud gasp burst from Lanies mouth, and she pushed herself up to lean on her good side elbow.
"What!" Lexi shouted, seeing as Lanie now looked at her as though she had grown a pair of fangs.
Lanie swallowed and opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out. All that could be heard from her gaping mouth was her heavy gasping breath. She pushed herself to sit with her back against the front of the car. She winced loudly in pain as she dropped her back against the car, probably aggravating her sensitive shoulder. As she took in another breath she raised her now free hand, her entire arm trembling wildly as she pointed up at Lexi's hair.
Lexi hesitated for a moment, staring at Lanie blankly. It took her a moment to understand what she meant, but she quickly began feeling all around her head, shaking out her hair as if there was a shredded piece of wood in it. "What? What's wrong? Do I have something…" Her voice trailed off into nothing as a single strand of hair flopped over her nose. It was turquoise coloured. Her voice erupted into a panicked array of screams. She quickly pinched the strand off her nose and held it above her face like a venomous snake attached to her head. "What happened?" she shrieked, fidgeting and jumping around as if it would help ease the fear of the situation.
"I don't know?"
"What do I do?"
"I don't know?"
Lexi's heart had begun punching against her chest. She didn’t know how something like this could have happened, why it happened, or how it could possibly be fixed. And the fact that Lanie didn’t know what it was, only made her more fearful of what it could mean. Nothing was going right, and things had only continued to get worse. "Thanks, Lanie, you're being oh so helpful this evening!" she yelled down at her sarcastically, still holding her strand of hair as her panic only piled higher. She’d given up on keeping her composure. She couldn’t believe that there was nothing Lanie knew about this. She had to know something. "You know more about this stuff than me. What is it?" she cried out to her, waving the parted hair frantically. She felt like a child who had just seen a spider, except the spider was attached to her head.
"Okay, okay. Give me a second to think." Lanie shakily pushed herself to her feet off the hood of the car. She touched her knuckle to her chin as she peered up at the evening sky, watching along the clouds as she thought. "Hm… My father was a big advocate for the old religion, and he would always try to teach me about their beliefs and legends. I remember they believed in a greater being with elaborate coloured hair.” she slowly explained, as if reading an old memory. “But this greater being wasn’t really an Element, or at least not a normal one, I don’t think. They believed that they could control multiple elements, and that’s probably why they thought they were like a god.”
Her words troubled Lexi, striking fear and worry into her already shaken body. "Why do you keep talking in past-tense?"
Lanie shrugged, her eyes flying freely as if she was reimagining it all, and the dark blue sky was her canvas. "Well, because most of the people who believed in this stuff are all dead. It’s called the old religion for a reason. And I didn't think any of it was real. It sounds like something children would fantasize about becoming one day. I mean, I don’t think my father even believes in it entirely. He’s more of a proof means truth type of man. If I had to guess, he’s probably more fascinated by it, than anything else.” She paused, shifting her gaze to the demolished homes across the street as she thought again. "Oh, what was it…They called it, Clar-Claris… Clarissa Lovett! That's it! Yeah, they called the greater being Clarissa Lovett!" she cheered, looking back to Lexi with a brightened smile.
“What?”
“It's an old legend, so it’s name is in the old tongue… but I don’t remember what it translates to though,” she mumbled, shaking her head as she pressed her knuckle to her chin. “Ah, I’m sure my father would know. He never finished telling me the entire Legend, but I’m sure it was just more boring gargan.”
Lexi took a deep breath, trying to put the dots together. “But how has this not happened sooner? I mean, I’ve been friends with Kadence and Adrian for over three years. I’m sure we’ve made physical contact by now.”
“Hm... My Nuto! You touched my Nuto!” Lanie beamed. “It makes sense. That’s where our Elements are channeled, so you making physical contact with the Nuto itself, must allow you to duplicate it somehow.”
“Okay, but I’m sure I’ve touched their wrists before too.”
“There must have been something preventing you from using your abilities.”
Lexi remembered her conversation with Daymian in the alleyway. “You mean my necklace?”
“A training pendant! That explains it!” Lanie cheered. “Training pendants are designed to suppress your abilities. It’s entirely possible that it could've suppressed your-multiple element side too.”
Lexi stood stiffly, this was so much information. She had barely begun to understand her elemental abilities concerning Light, and now she’s realized she has to learn more. Her head had grown sore just thinking about it.
"Do you realize how amazing this is? What this means.”
"No. Not really."
"It means you can copy anyone's Elemental abilities and use them. No one else has ever been able to do that. You could be this Clarissa Lovett person. You're practically a god!"
Lexi's expression softened as she came to realize what Lanie meant. She knew she wasn’t lying to her, but inst
ead more likely lying to herself. If she was Clarissa Lovett-If she was some powerful god, then why wasn’t she strong enough to help her friends? Why wasn’t she living it up with buckets of cash in her pockets? The word ‘god’ sounded like more wishful thinking than anything else. She felt no different than she did before. "Well, I don't feel like a god.”
Lanie shook her head as she took one of Lexi's shoulders with her good arm. "Don't you see? Now you can find Kadence and Adrian."
"What?"
"You have my abilities. You can use my Element now!"
Lexi pulled away, stepping back as Lanie released her shoulder. "Why don't you just do it?"
Lanie's smile faded as quickly as it came. "I can't-I'm not-I'm not very good with my abilities," she mumbled, turning her head away.
Lexi was surprised to hear that Lanie wasn’t very good with her abilities. She had merely assumed that since she clearly grew up in Arespea, she would naturally have a better handle on her Elemental abilities. Although, she saw that as no excuse to simply drop the responsibility onto her. She was still learning what basic Arespean words and culture was like, on top of trying to get a proper handle on her own abilities. No way could she take on more so suddenly. "Then what makes you think I will be?"
"I don't know!" Lanie groaned. "There's just something up with me. It's me, not my Element. You can at least give it a try."
Lexi let out a long sigh, as she crossed her arms. She wanted to save Kadence and Adrian, and she was being offered an opportunity to do just that. She had to take it, even if it meant trying to take on another Element. "Okay. What do I do?" she finally asked, uncrossing her arms.
Lanies smile partially returned as she restabilized her footing and placed her hands on her hips, visibly having a little more positive energy than before. "Start with initiating your connection to the Earth," she instructed, holding herself like a soldier.
Lexi paused, unsure of what that meant.
"Oh," Lanie chuckled to herself. "Put your hands down," she explained, pointing down at the dirt covered ground off the pavement street.
Lexi did as she told her, walking to the edge of the street and pressing her palms against the warm dirt. "Okay, what now?"
"Um… th-think about Kadence and Adrian. Try to picture them in your mind."
Lexi questioned the hesitant nature of Lanies voice as she gave instructions, but did as she told her, as she had no better idea. She closed her eyes, raising her brows as she imagined Kadence and Adrian sitting there with her, on the kerb, cheering her on and telling her to keep her focus. Once she had a steady image in her head she awaited further instruction.
"Roots flow all throughout the world," Lanie began, slowing her speech as she spoke softly, as if she was imagining it herself. "You can follow these roots-these pathways until you find them," she explained guidingly.
Lexi tried to quiet her mind, but she couldn’t help the curiosity she felt. She had a longing desire to know more about Lanie, she had only known her for a day, and yet here she was trusting her with so much. "You sound like you know a lot about this. Like you seem to know what you're doing."
She heard Lanie fall quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Yeah, well, knowing isn't the same as doing. Knowledge means nothing to Universe Elements. The only thing that matters is strength and preciseness. Both things I am severely lacking," she replied in a uncharacteristically quiet voice. "Not to mention, you need to 'be one with the universe,' whatever that means," she added bitterly.
"And if I'm not one with the universe?" Lexi asked, her voice cracking with worry. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to hear the answer. If Lanie wasn’t one with the universe, when that was literally what she was born to do, how could she expect to be?
"Well, I figure that maybe the rules are different for you, being Clarissa Lovett and all.”
Lexi felt her entire body strain with stress. She somehow felt as though the weight of the world was suddenly pressing against her shoulders, trying to force her head into the dirt. After a moment, she could no longer feel the crumbling dirt between her fingers. Had her hands turned numb? She blinked her eyes open to see the ground much further away then she remembered it being. She whipped her head all around as she felt every muscle in her body turn firm and engaged. Her knees were no longer touching the pavement and the ground only appeared to get further and further away from her. Lexi was floating. "Um… Lanie. I don't think I'm connecting the way we wanted!"
Lanie was still firm on the ground with her back turned, but Lexi’s shriek prompted her to spin back around. Her mouth dropped as she gasped. "Lexi, stop!" she shouted to her. Lexi wasn't very far off the ground, only a few feet, but it was enough to attract attention if someone decided to drive by at that moment. "Someones going to see you," she cried, waving for her to come back down.
Lexi's entire body felt stiff and engaged. She felt as though each of her muscles had frozen solid, like she was a mere statue floating in zero gravity. "Me! This isn't my fault."
"What did you do?"
"I don't know!" Lexi cried. She began to float higher as if she were a balloon a child had carelessly released their grip on, and was now lifting inch by inch into the beyond. "Lanie, Lanie, Lanie, get me down! I don't want to float up to space."
"What's space?" Lanie asked innocently, dropping her arm suddenly as her face scrunched together.
"Death!" Lexi screamed horrifically, her eyes blood red as she looked down at her with a burning gaze.
"Oh!” Lanie shrieked. She jumped as high as she could, crying out from the pain in her shoulder as she grabbed hold of one of Lexi's white running shoes with both hands. She raised her feet to try and weigh them both back down, but it did no good. She was like a feather, with no gravity surrounding her. "You're bending the gravity around you, Lexi. You need to relax your muscles. You're holding the weight of gravity. You can let it go," she called up to her, holding onto her shoe with whitening fingertips.
Lexi let out a long breath, closing her eyes as she tried to imagine she was lying on her bed after a long day. Allowing herself to sink into its softness and melt into the mattress. A quick gust of wind woke her from her slumber as she fell and hit the pavement on her hands and knees. She felt as though the wind had been knocked from her. After taking a moment to fill her lungs with air again, she quickly pushed herself back up to her feet. "Lanie, why don't you just try."
"No, no, no,” she frantically replied, waving her arms as she stood up.
Lexi crossed her arms. Frustrated with Lanie's adamance on not using her abilities. Surely she knew she would have to do it sooner or later. “Okay, what are we supposed to do then?" she barked, throwing her arms down at her sides. She was tired of the back and forth. She wanted to help Kadence and Adrian, but she just couldn’t do it. Lanie clearly knew more than her, so if anyone could do it, it would be her.
Lanie went silent for a moment, pressing her lips together as she looked at her longingly, but Lexi only met her gaze with a stern expression. "Fine," she sighed, returning her knuckle to her chin. "Um… okay. You seem to be chock full of energy, but have no clue how to use it." she paused, huffing as she sighed, "So what if we tried together."
Lexi actually really liked that idea. It made sense. "Yeah, I can give you some extra juice, and you can navigate the roots-or the path,” she cheered, a bright smile spreading across her face.
"Basically," Lanie replied, her voice jumping nervously as she shrugged her shoulder. She took a breath. "Okay, take my wrist. Our Nuto is how we channel our Elemental abilities, so it makes sense that you touching it directly would allow you to duplicate its power," she explained, shrugging as she nodded. She held out her arm with the inside of her wrist sticking up so that her Nuto was visible.
Lexi promptly grabbed Lanie's wrist, her palm pressed against the scar-like marking, and the tingling vibration returned. Seizing through her body like a wave of energy, infusing her with the power of the Universe Element, as the difference became clea
rer.
Both girls dropped to their knees, and while Lexi gripped Lanies wrist, Lanie pressed her palm down against the dirt. The vibration grew stronger as she pressed her hand deeper, allowing dirt to seap on top of her hand as she buried it in the Earth. Lexi kept every one of her muscles engaged, trying to build on and transfer as much of her energy and power to Lanie. She assumed it was similar to Light in the sense that the energy was inside her, except instead of opening herself up to let more of it in, she had to transfer what she had to Lanie… whatever that meant. She tried to imagine the turquoise colour rushing through each of her veins towards her arm, down her wrist, into her palm, and into Lanie's Nuto. She had no idea if she was doing it right, relying on her instincts, and her knowledge of what she did with her abilities at the amusement park, to try and make something happen. She tried her best not to think about it too hard, and instead did whatever felt right. Out of curiosity, she peaked over at Lanie to see that she had squeezed her eyes shut, looking to be in pain.
Lanie’s body shuddered as she appeared to be struggling to hold herself up. Her arms and legs began to shake as her face wrinkled together. Tears began to trickle down her red cheeks as drops of blood ran down her arm. She winced but never gave in, keeping her eyes shut tight and muscles firmly engaged.
Lexi squeezed her wrist tighter, amplifying the pressure of the vibration as she tried to transfer as much energy as she could. Lanie's face had turned pale and void of colour as she started gasping for air. She knew she needed to transfer more to her, give her more energy, more power. Her own body was beginning to ache, growing sore and tired as she kneeled next to her.
Lanie’s breathing quieted, as she gained a better focus. After a long moment passed, her body began shaking more intensely, physically vibrating as she tried to hold herself up and keep still. Blood continued to drip from her wound, escaping the hold of the blanket as a small puddle formed beneath her. Moments passed and her arms had begun to shake wildly as if they could give out at any second.
