Elemental

Sebastian was having one of those days where everything seemed to be going perfectly. He woke up to find out his Uncle had bought him Apple Juice. Which he never got because he always forgot that Sebastian hated Orange anything and would buy Orange Juice.

Sebastian was humming when he left the apartment, the sun was shining and he was going to buy some flowers. Yeh, Sebastian might not be the most touchy feely person in the world but he knew that girls love flowers.

“I’ll take Twelve of your Red Roses thanks… Wrap them in the pink paper” Sebastian knew Gabrielle would love these. The two of them were pretty happy at the moment. There was no war, Sebastian hadn’t had any trouble with his powers and he was teaching Gabrielle everything he knew.

She was coming along well, she could summon lightning much faster than Sebastian could ever have thought possible. She was also finding new ways to use it every day and hadn’t killed anyone. Sebastian was very proud of her.

“These are for someone very special” he paid the florist and walked out with the Roses. People were staring, probably wondering why a young man dressed in all black was carrying flowers.

As Sebastian had always known but at this moment forgotten, good moments always come to an end. Sebastian’s happy day was bought back to reality. By something that he wouldn’t even remember feeling later on. A tiny nagging feeling, that something wasn’t quite right.

Sebastian stopped in the middle of the street and looked around. He saw nothing out of the ordinary amongst the cafes and clothes stores. Yet he couldn’t shake the growing feeling that there was a threat somewhere.

Instead of making his way to Gabrielle’s house as planned Sebastian turned around and made his way back to his apartment. He might be worrying for nothing, but his instinct told him that he wasn’t having this sense of danger for no reason.

“Uncle? I know I just left but I wanted to ask if… What?!” their apartment door had been split in half. Their belongings, bits of paper, strewn across the floor. The biggest sign of trouble was the places where the earth had risen up. As if his Uncle had tried to protect himself.

One piece of paper was not randomly lying on the floor but deliberately placed above the kitchen sink. Taped to the window with meticulous care. Sebastian ripped it off the window and opened it. He read the looping red words and felt sick to his stomach.

“No! No No No!” Sebastian threw the note down and frantically looked around the ruined kitchen as if it were a joke. As if his Uncle would come out at any moment for a cup of coffee. The message on the note rang over and over in his mind. They should have known better.

Better than to think they were safe, that they could relax their guard. If the Peacemakers had ever made one thing clear. It was that Sebastian would never be free of them.

“You can’t do this to me! I can’t lose him, he’s the only family I have left!” Sebastian was heaving for breath from shouting to nobody. The Peacemakers would be long gone by now. They took what they came for, and left. Making sure that Sebastian knew what they had done.

We have what is yours, we will take all that you love. Give up and die.