Elementals

In the woods, just off of the trail, a battle commenced. A boy stood behind a wall of thorns, checking for weak points, hiding from the enemy. Another boy leapt at him from behind. “I’ve got you, now!” the attacker shouted as water shot towards his target with the strength of a firehose.

The target jumped, being launched over the wall of thorns by a vine as it sprouted up from the ground under the boy’s feet. The target landed roughly on his feet in the center of the clearing used for training. “You think you can get away that easily?” called the attacker. He charged at his target, holding his hand out to the side as a spear formed in it. “You’re mine!” he shouted, as he swung his spear at his target.

The target seemed to draw a knight’s sword out of nowhere, using it to block the attack. “You talk too much,” the targeted boy remarked as he threw the attacker back. The attacker stopped, panting, then advanced again, “You’re wrong!” The target held his sword at the ready.

Before the attack was landed, both boys were separated by a wall of ice that suddenly appeared between them. A third contestant stepped forward. “Looks like Frosty is joining the fun!” yelled the attacker. Both attacker and target moved to go after the third person, but were stopped by ice that had formed around their feet, freezing them to the ground. As the two struggled, Samuel stepped up from behind the third boy.

“Leo, Nathaniel, you can stop. Jack has won,” Samuel instructed. The attacker - a teenage boy with dark blue hair and cerulean eyes - as well as the target - another boy of around the same age with dirt-colored hair and eyes like emeralds - let their weapons disappear. Just after, the ice broke away and the two were released. The third boy - a couple years older with white hair, pale skin, and icy blue eyes with a medical mask over his mouth, concealing the lower half of his face - smiled from beneath the mask as Samuel congratulated him. “This isn’t fair,” complained Nathaniel, the brunette, annoyed. “Let’s do it again!” shouted Leo, the blue-haired kid, excited and energetic. Jack, the white-haired one, giggled a bit under his mask.

Samuel sighed. “No, Leo, we don’t have time for another round of sparring today,” he explained, “Nathaniel, how was this unfair?” Leo hung his head, disappointed. Jack patted him on the back. “Everytime I’m about to beat Leo, Jack interferes,” Nathaniel complained. “Yes, because you two will end up landing one another in the hospital if I don’t have him stop you,” Samuel replied. Nathaniel sighed and walked over to where Leo and Jack were sitting by a tree.

Nathaniel plopped down beside them. “What’s wrong, Nate?” Leo asked, concerned. Nathaniel glared at him, then sighed. “I just wish I’d get an opportunity to fight for real. That way, I’ll know how well I can match up to someone as powerful as you or me,” he ranted, “I know that Samuel doesn’t want either of us hurt, but he can’t step in during a life or death battle! We’re supposed to be getting prepared for a situation where our lives are on the line; when everything we know is in jeopardy and we have to overcome fear and weaknesses in order to protect it! How is this even similar?”

Leo smiled. “It’s alright. We’ve only just begun training. I’m sure we’ll get stronger. Don’t worry,” he said kindly. Jack nodded in encouragement. Nathaniel shrugged. “Yeah, I hope so,” he replied, looking at the ground and avoiding eye contact. Samuel approached them a moment later. “Alright, clean up the mess and you’re done for today,” he announced happily.

The three nodded and got up. Nathaniel lifted his hands and the wall of thorns, several vines, and a few small trees disappeared, making the area’s plants look the same way they were when the three had arrived. Jack did the same, making sure every last trace of ice buildup during summer was long gone. Leo didn’t have to do anything, seeing as his only mess was water. So, he left the small puddles behind, since they were the only things that didn’t look suspicious.

Samuel left while they were busy, trusting the teenagers to finish cleaning up their messes alone. Next, Jack left, his strong powers making his clean-up go by exponentially fast. Leo could have left sooner, but he stuck around with Nathaniel until he was done. Nathaniel strolled across the pipe like it was nothing, hands in pockets, looking towards Leo as they talked. Leo was walking across water as if it were solid, making sure no one was around to see him and think he were Jesus like last time.

Eventually, both boys reached the other side of the creek. Nathaniel hopped off the pipe and onto the grass, then helped Leo up onto the trail. “Thanks,” Leo said, dusting off his jeans. “No problem,” Nathaniel replied. Nathaniel started walking with his hands in his pockets, head back and looking up at the clouds. “Should I make it rain just on you?” Leo laughed. “Do it and I’ll rip your head off,” Nathaniel said seriously without even looking over at Leo.

Leo gulped and kept walking. “So, do you think you’ll be breaking the dress code at school with blue hair?” Nathaniel asked. Leo stopped, thought, then shrugged. “Nah, with Samuel as the principal, I think we’ll be fine,” he smiled, “You’re lucky! Your hair is still a natural color!” Nathaniel half-smiled, glancing at Leo. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he laughed.

It was almost sunset. The woods were getting a bit dark. “So, what do we even do here?” Nathaniel asked. “What do you mean?” Nathaniel took a breath, a serious and solemn look on his face, “I mean… We are here to ‘fight a great evil,’ but what about afterwards? After… what happened… it’s not like life will just go back to normal. Besides, how long will this take? Are we going to spend a school year with demons attacking, or will we be fighting until we’re fifty? I just… It’s just a bit strange.”

Leo was cast into a shocked and awkward silence. After a moment, he finally spoke up. “As long as we’re still friends, I don’t really care what happens,” he said happily, “I mean, I was sort of alone when Samuel scouted me out, and now I’m just happy to be here! I’ll still do my best to protect people, but even if I die during battle, that’s fine, because… I’ve never had this much fun. I’m just giving it my all as a way of showing gratitude, I guess, for finally having friends!”

Leo finished talking, realizing that he didn’t hear other footsteps besides his own. He turned to see that Nathaniel had stopped dead in his tracks. His head was down and he looked almost as though he were going to either cry or attack. “Nate…?” Leo asked hesitantly. Nathaniel looked up, smiling. “I never thought of it that way, but… You’re right,” he laughed.

Leo opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a rustling in a nearby bush. “What… What was that?” he asked, nervous. Nathaniel shrugged. “It’s probably just a squirrel,” he said, continuing on walking without any real signs of concern. “Oh, okay… I should check,” Leo said, slowly walking closer to the bush. “Don’t check,” Nathaniel protested. “I’m going to check!” Leo shouted.

Nathaniel sighed and shook his head in disapproval. “Whatever, but don’t let it bite you. If you get rabies, it’ll give me a chance to actually fight you to the death,” he smiled. Leo ignored him, cautiously approaching the source of the rustling. Slowly, fearfully, he leaned over the top of the leaves, until…

A rabbit leapt out and startled Leo. He screamed, and jumped back, crashing into Nathaniel. The two boys hit the ground, Leo on top of Nathaniel. “Get off!” Nathaniel shouted as he struggled, causing Leo to fall down further, where their faces nearly touched. Leo turned bright red, then jumped up, shouting apologies. Nathaniel got to his feet, silenced Leo, and brushed the dirt off his jeans.

The two heard laughing coming from further down the trail. “Huh?” Nathaniel squinted through the darkness to see a boy standing with his back against a tree, laughing. “Excuse me, what’s so funny?” Nathaniel remarked defensively. The boy quickly became quiet, then walked closer. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to disrupt the happy couple,” he teased. Nathaniel gritted his teeth, and in one quick motion had a hold of the boy’s shirt collar, yanking him down to eye level.

“We are not a couple!” Nathaniel yelled. “You sure?” Leo asked, jokingly. “You’re not helping!” Nathaniel scolded him. “Hey, all I saw is one of you on top of the other,” the boy joked, snickering.

Nathaniel grew angrier. “I’m not gay, so shut it!” he yelled. “I am, but that’s irrelevant,” Leo chimed in. The boy just laughed more. “Listen, I’m just passing through,” he said calmly. He grabbed Nathaniel’s wrist, digging his fingers into the soft spot between his veins. Nathaniel winced and released him, pulling his hand back and rubbing his arm, where purple marks were already starting to appear.

“I’m Dan, by the way,” the boy said, standing straight and turning his back to Nathaniel and Leo, “I should be going. We’ll meet again, but don’t ever think you can scold me like a child, tough boy.” Dan glanced at Nathaniel over his shoulder. His golden eyes turned blood red. “I’m not a threat to be taken lightly,” he said before his eyes turned back to their normal shade and he walked off, leaving the two other teenagers confused and slightly frightened.

Dan strolled on, a smirk on his face. That went well, he thought. Emerald-Eyes was pretty aggressive. His temper will get the better of him. It’ll be easy to use that against him. Blue-Head is thin and didn’t even bother to say a word to me. He’s weak. That white haired boy… He may be a problem. So might little Rosa. That Airhead doesn’t even take her training seriously, and two of them will be easy to pin against each other. That means… “I’ll be able to get rid of three Elementals within a matter of months!” he said aloud to himself.

Dan laughed a bit to himself as he left the woods. This is far too easy, he thought. As he walked on, he saw someone on the swings at the playground. When he looked closer, he recognized the person immediately. It’s the rock Elemental…

Tyler saw sitting on a still swing. The Sun had completely set and it was dark. His head was hanging down and he seemed upset. Dan sighed. He looks so pathetic like that, he thought. I hate this. Dan hesitantly walked towards the swing set, hands in pockets, acting like a casual stranger. He made sure to keep calm so his eyes would stay their natural gold color, knowing that if he were too angry or worked up, they would turn red, which wasn’t exactly a natural eye color.

Dan approached Tyler, who didn’t even notice him. Dan took a deep breath, forcing his antisocial self to speak. “Hey, kid,” he said sternly, instantly startling Tyler and getting his attention, “Why are you alone in a park at night? Shouldn’t you run along home?” Tyler glared at him with red and puffy eyes. “I’m fourteen. I’m fine. It’s not like anyone is there to worry about me,” he spat, annoyed.

Dan, now irritated with this kid, stood with his back again the pole of the swings. “Listen, you lost someone, right?” Dan asked. Tyler looked up at him, puzzled. “How did you know that?” he asked. Dan shrugged. “Just the way you’re acting… Don’t mind it,” he quickly answered, “Being taken from your family is hard. I know that. trust me, I do, but if the people who care about you aren’t around to guide you, then you just have to help yourself to become something they can be proud of. So, stop moping around like a wuss! That’s not going to help anything.”

Tyler looked up at Dan. His face was emotionless, but he eventually smiled at him. “Thanks,” he said, nearly laughing a bit, “But I already know I’m not going to cry forever. I’m going to find who killed my parents and kill them.” Dan gulped as Tyler stared at him with blank eyes. This kid is evil, he thought.

Dan shook his head, keeping calm. “You know, if you kill the guy who killed your parents, then you’ll be stuck with him,” Dan said casually. “How’s that?” Tyler asked, confused. Dan smirked and leaned down a bit, making himself eye level with Tyler. “It’s because… All killers go to Hell. If you avenge your parents, you’ll become a killer, too,” he explained bluntly. Tyler’s eyes widened, and he became silent.

Dan stood back up, stretching. “Well, you can stay here as long as you’d like. I have to go. I’d rather not have to deal with the two idiots from the trail. Goodbye,” he said as he walked off. Tyler watched him, speechless. Who was that? he wondered.

Tyler contemplated going after the mysterious bringer of life-lessons, but before he could, two people exited the trail. One was laughing while the other chased him, trying again and again to hit him with a branch. After a moment, the two slowed down and stopped, panting and trying to catch their breath. “I’ve gotta head back,” said the brunette, Nathaniel. “Okay, I’m gonna take the long way. It’s a pretty night,” said the other, Leo.

Nathaniel nodded and walked out of the park. Leo began to stroll past Tyler, when he stopped beside him. “You alright?” he asked, concerned. “Yes, I’m fine,” Tyler answered, faking a smile. Leo tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think you are,” he replied, sitting on the swing beside Tyler.

“Listen,” Tyler protested, “I said I was fine. Go away.” Tyler gasped, feeling arms wrap around him and a head on his shoulder. “I know you’re not fine, but it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” Leo said softly. Tyler felt tears well up in his eyes again, trying desperately to hold them back. “I… I have no idea what to do,” he admitted. “It’s okay,” Leo said, still hugging the stranger, “Just do whatever you feel is right.”

Leo released Tyler and sat up, smiling brightly. His eyes were kind and happy. Tyler immediately felt safe. He looked at the ground. “About a week ago,” he explained, “I became an orphan.” Leo’s eyes widened. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he responded, “I know how it feels. I’ve been an orphan for nearly a month. It hurts, but it gets better.” Tyler stared at him for a moment, then laughed. He sounded borderline psychotic. “I guess we’re in the same boat then, huh?” he laughed. Tyler smiled again. “Yep, we’re just alike.”