I guess I should explain what the hell’s going on, it is pretty confusing. You see Maya and me, we aren’t normal. We’re part of a group called the Five, which are basically five teenagers that were created by God during the creation of the earth. We were meant to keep the peace; we’re basically angels, except we live on earth and not in heaven. But of course God didn’t want kids with so much power practically ruling the world so He made us immortal and gifted us with three things, 1) control over one of the five elements, water, fire, air, earth and spirit,2) a crystal from the earth’s core and 3) a tattoo symbolizing which element we control.


These tattoos that I mentioned allow us to recognize one another, and to link us together. These tattoos are also a way to share energy. Just as Maya and I had done in the Firehouse, well it’s more giving or taking energy than sharing it. We each have our own powers associated with our element, I’m water and it enables me to read and control minds, and gives me an inner eye that allows me to view the energy associated with objects or people. It takes an immense amount of power for one to truly control their element, to move it and such, and as far as I know none of us have been able to. I think all five of us have to link for that, you see the more of us that are linked, the more powerful we are.

What happened on the bus is a common side -effect of Maya’s element, spirit, she can manipulate the energy in objects, what happened this morning is that she let her guard down and the laptop began to take her energy and eventually it had so much energy that it needed to do something with it, thus it exploded.

Maya can also read emotions, which is a lot handier than reading thoughts due to the fact that someone can lie to me with their thoughts just as if they were speaking to me, whereas no one can lie with their emotions.

But no matter how hard we try to stay hidden we were found. The U.S. government has discovered us and our powers, and has found a way to control us (I don’t know how) and wants to form an elite strike team. They want us as a weapon, this is against our very nature and purpose, it would spark wars and violence, death and destruction and we can’t allow that to happen.

So we’re on the run, the government has already captured three of us, and Maya and I are the last ones left.

Oh by the way, Sheldon doesn’t know.

We managed to reach the border of Florida by Saturday night and had booked a room in a motel. The sun had already sunk and Sheldon was busy creating fake ids and passports for us so we could cross the border without incident. I had just showered and changed into a pair of pink striped pj’s with bears on them that Sky had gotten me for my birthday last year (she had thought they were hilarious) and was towel drying my hair when Sky came back with pizza.

She triumphantly waved the box in the air and I smiled, Sky was usually a serious person that didn’t joke around much, whatever humor she had was mostly sarcasm. I opened the box and picked up a piece of pizza and happily dug into it. As I ate I examined Sky, her injuries were healing pretty well, the bruises were all but gone and the cut and limp were now merely just bad memories, we healed faster than normal humans.

Sky always amazed me, she never seemed to weaken or fall back afraid. She always protected me, even when I didn’t need protecting and sometimes I wished she could lean on me once in a while, of course Sky would never let that happen.

She caught me looking at her and paused mid chew and I couldn’t help but think back to the first time I’d ever met her, in a saloon in the Wild West, almost two hundred years ago.

The Oklahoma day had been hot and sticky so in an uncharacteristically bold move of mine I wore a sleeveless dress, of course during those times this was quite scandalous but it was even more so with me due to my tattoo. I was perched on a bar stool, waiting for a glass of water (I didn’t drink) and was gently fanning myself to keep myself cool when I felt the jumbled drunken emotions of a farmer as he collapsed onto his stool beside me.

“Hey there pretty lady,” he slurred in his thick southern drawl. The stench of alcohol washed over me and I resisted the urge to crinkle my nose in disgust, underneath I saw the goodness in him, he was only drinking so much because his farm had closed down. Despite my disgust I smiled easily at him.

“Hello sir,” I replied breezily, wiping away a spare strand of hair that had fallen from my bun.

“Mighty fine day isn’t it?” He asked, I simply nodded and turned back wondering where the bartender had wandered off to. “Well that’s a nice tattoo you got there ma’am,” he said grasping my arm with his sweaty hands.

“Why thank you,” I said, slowly trying to ease my arm out of his viselike grip, but he didn’t let go. He scooted closer and his mind soon became colored with lust.

“You’re such a pretty lady,” he said again, I became to feel nerves writhe in my stomach. “What’s a pretty lady like you doing here all alone?” Before I had time to answer a hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the man’s wrist.

“Let go,” came an ominous voice from behind me. Then the oddest sensation rippled through my body, every nerve tingled, every hair stood straight up and my tattoo seemed to practically burn. The man was now looking behind me, his gaze glazed over, the person behind me and the man stood looking at each other for what felt like hours and I began to lose feeling in my hand.

Finally the man, almost robotically, stood up and left without a backwards glance. I turned around to face my savior and was wholly surprised when I was met face to face with a girl. She was dressed in dusty worn jeans and a button down shirt with boots and spurs, her hair had been long then, wound into a braid that hung just above her waist. During this time a woman in men’s clothes dressed as a cowboy was even worse than a girl in a sleeveless dress, but she didn’t seem care.

“Th-thank you,” I stuttered, the girl simply nodded and turned to leave. She accidentally bumped into me as she left.

“Sorry,” she muttered in an odd accent that wasn’t native to this area. Then just as the man had, she left without a backwards glance. Surprised I looked down to find a slip of paper that had landed in my lap. Glancing around suspiciously I opened it and it said in plain blocky hand writing:
Meet me at the well.


Frowning I bit my lip wondering what to do. She had saved me from the drunken man and I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed this girl. Shaking my head I stood up and walked out and onto the dusty street.

I met her at the well but she wasn’t looking at me when I arrived, she was standing in front of the well, hand out stretched, palm facing down into the water. I peered cautiously over the edge at the still surface and saw my nervous reflection staring back at me. And there it was.

A ripple.

It disappeared almost as fast as it had happened and next thing I knew the girl had fallen to the ground panting and sweating like crazy, I hurriedly kneeled down next to her to find her frantically pulling off the boot and sock on her right foot.

“Give me… your arm,” she panted, hesitantly I showed her my right arm and she grasped it then took my left hand and placed it unceremoniously on her ankle. I gasped as I felt a rush of energy flow from me and into her, I saw her whole mind open up and I knew. I knew who she was; where she came from, I knew her past, her pains; I knew she was one of us.

I knew that I wasn’t alone.

That had been the first time any of us had linked and it had been the first time Sky had been able to control her element. When we first link up we get a burst of power, of course since then nothing has happened every time Sky had tried to control water again.

“…Maya?” Came Sky’s voice, I glanced over blinking as if I was slammed back down into Earth, “are you okay?” She asked, concerned as always. I nodded my head, not trusting myself to speak.

“Maybe we should call it a night,” Sheldon said, glancing over at us.

“No way, you need to get those documents done we’re crossing the border tomorrow and I want no delays,” she said briskly, though she was still looking at me, “maybe you do need more sleep though Maya. You should get to bed.”

“I’m fine stop worrying about me,” I insisted. Sky smiled weakly then reluctantly turned to the glass of water she had probably been trying to control. I glanced over at Sheldon but he had plugged his headphones in and was blissfully unaware. For a few tense seconds we waited to see if anything would happen.

Nothing.

Sky made a frustrated sound and turned around angrily.

“It’ll come,” I said.

“No it won’t,” she replied tiredly, and then I realized that I wasn’t the one that needed sleep, it was Sky; she was the one that held our group together. She was the one that kept us moving, the one that rescued Sheldon from the streets and saved our skins every day. Without her, I didn’t know how I would live.

“All we have to do is link with at least another one, maybe the fire boy, you said he seemed powerful,” I winced inwardly as I realized too late that that might have not been the right thing to say, Sky hated the fire boy, ever since she had first sensed his mind back in Chicago she had come to loathe him and everything about him.

“Why don’t you ask him to link up then?” she said in a strange voice, “he’s standing right outside our door.”

Within seconds I was off the bed and pulling the gun I kept tucked in the waistband of my jeans out and I stood tensely in front of the door.

“Sheldon,” I said quietly to the boy who had just pulled his headphones out,” take Maya into the bathroom, when I say run you run to the truck and drive like hell is following you do you understand?” I commanded.

“But what about-“he began.

“Don’t worry about me follow the map, if I can I’ll meet up with you in California now go,” I commanded putting every ounce of authority and a little bit of compulsion into that one syllable. Sheldon quickly got up and led Maya into the bathroom.

I glanced back at them as they entered the bathroom and met Maya’s eyes briefly. I tried to send every shred of serenity I had into my gaze, I had to let her know we were going to be okay, I wouldn’t let anyone touch her, even if I had to fight my way through every one of the Five and the government’s damn army.

I turned back to the door and grabbed the handle and flung it open simultaneously casting out my mind to sense the others. In front of me stood a tall lean boy with dark red hair and black eyes. His tattoo was crackling flames that encircled his neck and tickled the edge of his jaw. I aimed the gun at him but he only grinned sadistically and I felt anger bubble up inside of me.

“Where are they?” I growled.

“Who?” he asked frowning slightly as if he didn’t know, when the mocking edge to his gaze told otherwise.

“You know who I’m talking about,” I spat, blood pounded in ears and my vision was tinted red, I felt so angry I was about to explode and that infuriating grin that scarred his angular face wasn’t making it any better.

“Oh right, the other two, well they’re not here… it’s just me,” he said. I was so mad; this fury seemed to burn through my veins and light every nerve on fire. A growl escaped my lips and I clutched the gun so tightly my fingers hurt. I wanted to hurt this boy, I wanted to make him bleed out slowly and watch as that sarcastic light faded from his eyes. He chuckled, “you’re so easy to manipulate.”

Then just like that I felt that madness slowly ebb away and I felt so exhausted that I just wanted to sag against the wall and give up, but I stood tall and glowered at him.

“What do you mean?” I asked roughly.

“Well I thought that maybe you wouldn’t get so mad so easily, Gaia at least didn’t look like she wanted to kill me when I tried my new trick on her,” he said easily, leaning back against the wall lazily and crossing his arms.

“That’s your power?” I sneered, “Making people angry?” I laughed cruelly, relishing the glare I got in return.

“What about it?” He asked defensively.

“Well I thought you’d at least have something useful,” I spat. He stood straight and I was glad I’d made him mad; I smiled at him with a sickly sweetness. “Now back to business,” I said, “what are you doing here?”

He seemed confused by the sudden change of topics and I was proud to have thrown him off balance. He seemed as if he didn’t really care about anything, as if nothing could touch him.

“Well I didn’t think it was that hard to figure out. I’m here, alone, weaponless. I’ve come to join you,” he said.

“Why would we want you?” I sneered.

“For my charming company,” he replied sarcastically.

“Yeah and so you can spy on us is that right?” I spat. “Are you making me angry?” I added. The boy laughed and shook his head.

“That’s all you, though I have to say I feel the same way,” he added.

“Well you have two options, 1) you can let me shoot you or 2)…you can let me shoot you,” I said.

“Or 3) I can join you guys and actually give you fighting chance against the General,” he retorted.

“Who?” I asked faltering.

“Man you don’t know anything do you?” He asked.

“Sorry we’ve been too busy running for our lives,” I said.

“Sky?” came a tentative voice from behind me I whirled temporarily forgetting fire boy. I saw Maya standing in the middle of the room, her wide violet eyes staring at me her hair in two braids, wearing those ridiculous pajamas I’d gotten her. She looked so helpless and innocent and I wanted her nowhere near this kid.

“Get back in the room,” I demanded. I heard a smirk from behind me and I turned my glare on the boy, but when I met his gaze he seemed slightly caught off guard by the appearance of Maya. I frowned but was distracted when Maya spoke again.

“Sky he’s telling the truth he really wants to join us,” I turned back to her, I knew that Maya couldn’t be lied to and that maybe this guy really was telling the truth, I turned back and stared hard at him. He met my gaze without flinching and I had to admit I had a grudging respect for this kid.

“This doesn’t mean I trust you, you know,” I said stepping aside and letting him in no matter how many of instincts screamed to slam the door in his face, or better yet pull the trigger and end it all there.

“I kind of figured,” was all he said inspecting our modest room.

“So what’s your name anyway?” Maya asked, ever the polite one, his gaze softened as he turned to look at her, as everyone’s did when they looked into her innocent eyes.

“Zane.”

I was shaken roughly awake from my spot on the floor by Sky who never seemed to tire. After she had finally let me into the room she had spent hours helping Sheldon with documents and mapping out emergency routes (that she didn’t let me see). I barely felt as if I had closed my eyes before I was yanked out of bed and dragged out into the parking lot without the others following.

I turned to face her, meeting her icy gaze with my own bleary one.

“If you’re going to mug me you might as well do it now so I can get some sleep,” I said, she didn’t laugh. Her cold blue eyes narrowed into thin catlike slits and her mouth thinned into a severe line, her entire countenance was quite formidable but of course I would never let her know that.

“I’m not here to mug you, if I was I would have done it when you were still asleep when you were more vulnerable, but I could’ve taken you either way.”

“Oh please you don’t even know what you’re doing, your technique is sloppy, you’re holding your fists all wrong, and your kicks need some serious improvement; you’re inhuman strength and speed will only get you so far you know,” I said already fed up of her serious attitude.

“Look I didn’t bring you out here so you could insult my fighting,” she said coldly.

“Then why did you bring me out here?” I asked.

“I brought you out here because I need to know everything I can about the General and what he’s planning,” she said. I looked down at her serious face, she was a far cry from Maya’s innocent eyes, her hair was short and she was dressed in sweats and a tank top, her face looked creased with worry and I realized how much she did for Maya, skulking around in the shadows so Maya wouldn’t get hurt, I had to admit that I was somewhat impressed by her determination, of course she could never know that.

“Why do you want to know?” I asked warily rubbing my eyes “and why couldn’t you have asked me this in the morning?”

“Because I don’t want Maya worrying about this,” she replied stiffly.

“You really do protect here don’t you?” I asked looking hard at her cold face.

“I would die for her,” she said without hesitation, “and if you ever make one move to hurt her I swear I will kill you,” the matter of fact tone in her voice sent shivers down my spine and I didn’t doubt for a second that she would. “Now tell me about the General,” again her ability to dart from one subject to another threw me off, I guess that was her goal.

“What do you want to know?” I asked.

“Everything you know,” she replied. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair; it was going to be a long night.

“Alright, I’ll tell you everything.”

Today was Sunday, church day. We had all woken up at eight, Zane had had to be shaken awake by Sky who only looked too happy to oblige. This of course had sparked an argument that had lasted for almost an hour and we were almost late because of it. During their incessant fighting I had seen their emotions both burn with anger, they seemed to really hate one another, but there was a grudging respect there, an acknowledgement that the other was their equal.

I wore my usual church dress, a lilac sundress with a white cardigan. My hair was brushed and curled and fell down to my shoulders and I wore a pair of white flats. Sky wore a similar strapless light blue sundress with a pair of flip flops; these were the only fancy clothes we owned. Sheldon, who was strictly atheist usually stayed in the car and I expected Zane to do the same, but oddly enough he came with us.

The local chapel was a quaint white building with no AC and creaky pews, but the priest had that soothing voice that helped me see God and understand the things He did. We sat down near the back, by the door, Sky always insisted on this so that if anything happened we could escape easily. The service quickly began and before long I was washed with the music of God and His prayers. I closed my eyes and relished the ethereal feel of this place.

I’d always had a deeper connection to my religion than Sky; I really felt His presence in the room. I opened my eyes to see the sunlight streaming down through the stained glass window that depicted Jesus Christ on the cross. The window tainted the altar below it with different colors and if I looked hard enough I could glimpse the dust motes twirling in those tiny columns of light.

I looked over at Sky only to find Zane staring intently at me, our eyes met briefly before he hastily turned away, confused I was about to delve into his emotions when I held myself back. I really needed to start respecting people’s privacy, just as Sky rarely read or controlled people’s thoughts and minds.

After the service ended we remained a few minutes to pray by ourselves, I bent my head down, my curls cascading down either side of my face. Hidden from the world, wrapped in the safe cocoon of my thoughts, I prayed. This was when I felt closest to God, as if He really could hear me, and that’s when I felt it.

It was such a rush of eutrophic joy and hope that I almost laughed out loud. My tattoo began to burn and I knew without looking that it was glowing. I didn’t move, too afraid of losing this feeling that was rushing through me. I felt as if I was given the strength of thousands and that I could take on the world.

I felt free.

It slowly faded but I was still left smiling and feeling such a sense of completeness. I knew it was Him, it had to have been. We left the church quietly and quickly and were in the car and off to California. For some reason I didn’t want to share this experience with anyone, not even Sky, I held it close to my chest, a warm fuzzy secret that I never wanted to let go.

The day was hot and bright and I had a headache.

The air was on full blast and the radio was put on to a local pop station that was sawing on my nerves. It also didn’t help that Zane was driving me insane with his snarky comments about everything I did.

“Nice indicating,” he muttered as I swerved into another lane to avoid an incoming truck, I closed my eyes briefly, my head pounded and an unusually sharp pain stabbed my temple every time I moved my head.

“No backseat drivers please,” I said back trying to ignore him. I carried on driving down the highway letting the car lapse into silence. After church we had hit the road stopping at a drive thru to pick up breakfast. I figured the food might have helped but this headache was still bothering me, I debated on whether to stop and buy aspirin but didn’t thinking it would worry Maya.

Maya. I had seen the way Zane had looked at her in church today, and I hadn’t liked it one bit. There had been something in that gaze, a sort of profound adoration. I had to admit, there was a certain allure to Maya, she had looked beautiful in that church, her wide angelic eyes gazing intently at the priest, the golden light falling on her bronze skin. But I didn’t want Zane to look at her like she was an angel come to save him, I didn’t want him hurting her like I knew he would.

The headache seemed to morph into a migraine now and it was like a great pressure was building up inside my skull, I began to feel nauseous.

“Sky?” Maya asked from the backseat, “are you okay?”

“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth, though now my vision was starting to blur, “just a headache.”

“Maybe you should let me drive,” Zane suggested from beside me.

“No!” I said, almost shouting.

“Yeah. Sky doesn’t let anyone else drive, she’s stubborn that way,” Maya said in an amused tone. Zane seemed almost too happy to talk about my driving habits and twisted around in a spectacularly flexible move to talk to her about them. I grinded my teeth together and tried to ignore the sound of his voice. My tattoo began itching and my head hurt so badly I felt like stabbing my temple just relieve some of the pressure built up inside my skull.

The next thing I know the car’s swerving to the side and Zane is diving for the wheel, my head slammed back against the headrest and darkness descended.


I woke up in a small hotel room, my face was soaking wet, in fact my whole body was, I was lying in a bathtub fully clothed, though oddly enough the water made me feel better. I raised my head, my wet hair clinging to the side of my neck. Zane and Maya were standing by the door to the bathroom and were both staring at me.

“Sky!” shouted Maya, sprinting into the bathroom; she wrapped her arms around me, ignoring my wetness. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, don’t worry about me, are you alright? Are you hurt? I remember the car swerving to the side…and then nothing… but are you ok?” I heard a chuckle from behind Maya and turned to see Zane shaking his head in disbelief.

“You passed out, got a concussion and you’re still worried about Maya?” he asked. I frowned at him and turned back to her but was relieved to see she was fine.

“Well I’ll just have a couple aspirin and I’ll be great,” I said, I stood up and stepped out of the tub but the second my feet touched the ground I swayed and almost collapsed had it not been for Maya.

“Careful,” Zane said as I slid back into the tub, “you’re still healing; being in your element helps you heal faster so you need to stay in there for at least another twenty minutes.”

“So if you get injured I get to set you on fire?” I asked. His lips quirked up into a smile.

“I won’t burn so don’t get your hopes up,” he said, I rolled my eyes and slid deeper into the water.

“But what happened to me?” I asked. Zane shrugged.

“My guess is you hadn’t linked with me yet so it might have physically affected you,” he said.

“So do I have to link with you?” I asked.

“Yeah, give me your tattoo,” he said, I stuck my foot out of the tub, missing the heat of the water on my skin. Zane kneeled down by the edge of the tub, and I placed my hand on his tattoo as he did the same to mine. The second we touched I felt the connection form. When we link we can basically see inside the other persons mind, not like I can with reading their thoughts, you can see their truths and lies, it was like your bare souls were rubbing against each other.

This was the first time I’d ever sensed his true essence, it seemed to burn bright and hot like a flame, unflickering and dangerous enough so that it would burn me if I got too close. When he moved away I looked down at the water, my entire being focused on it, my mind dipped and rose like the gentle waves of the surface and I felt my element as if it were me and I willed it to move. A slow vein of water slowly moved upwards, a thin vertical column of it. I twisted it and it moved gracefully and for once I really felt close to my element, I felt it burn inside me and around me, I felt connected.

I let the water fall and sank back against the wall of the tub, I looked over to see Maya smiling at me.

“Told you it would come,” she said happily. I just smiled at her.

“And you have me, your knight in shining armor to thank you for it,” Zane said, I glowered at him and then, on sudden impulse, I gathered up the water and sent a wave roaring from the bathtub onto him, smacking him right in the face and drenching the rest of his body. He sputtered and gasped.

“Thank you, good sir,” I replied sarcastically. He glared at him and with a flick of his wrist sent a tongue of flame straight to my face, I pulled up a wall of water and it collided with it hissing angrily.

“Glad to see you guys are making good use of your powers,” Maya said drily.

“Well we better enjoy them while we can, they’ll probably fade after the effects of the link wear off,” Zane said, I sank deeper into the water, letting it wash over me. I didn’t want this feeling to go away, a feeling of connection with my element.

“Wait a second,” I said, frowning, “why didn’t Maya pass out?”

“Well, Sky…” Maya said in an apologetic tone.

“Don’t tell me…” I said, “did you two already link up?”

“Maybe,” Zane said, for once in a sheepish tone.

“When?” I asked, my voice sharp as a whip.

“After you passed out, Zane needed the energy and we couldn’t take it from you… so we had to link,” Maya explained timidly. I groaned inwardly, only imaging how happy Zane would have been to connect with her. Outwardly I kept my face blank, not wanting Maya to have one her guilt trips.

“Well as long as your both okay…” was all I said, standing up and bracing myself for the dizziness and queasiness as I stepped out, but all I felt was an incredible sense of loneliness as if I had cut off my arm.

“We’re both fine,” Zane said, but he wasn’t looking at me, he was looking at Maya.

The night came quickly, brushing her navy fingertips across the sky and when it found us we were stretched out in our hotel room. Well Sheldon, Zane and I were, Sky was trying to hold onto to the last strands of her lingering power. I myself hadn’t really felt any more powerful, just normal. But Sky had this manic gleam to her eyes, a gleam that a starving man got when he was given food that would be taken away and never given back.

She was sitting in front of a glass of water, her hair wet, her skin damp- she hadn’t fully dried herself since she got out of the tub- and was staring intently at the water. I inched forward on my belly and watched her for a few moments, she seemed so focused and determined I doubted she even knew I was there.

“Yes?” She asked without looking at me. Guess not.

“What are you trying to do?” I asked, she didn’t answer for a few moments, just kept staring.

“I’m trying to make this water into ice but it’s not working,” she said frustratedly.

“Maybe your powers have already faded.” In response she lifted a small finger of water and held it long enough for me to see. Impulsively I glanced over at Sheldon but as usual he was glued to his computer screen, locked between his headphones.

“What are we going to tell Sheldon?” I whispered, just in case he could hear us.

“Why would we tell him anything?” she asked in reply.


“Well he was asking questions and we can’t leave him behind, should we tell him the truth?”

“There’s no reason to,” was all she said “I don’t want our secret getting out more than it already is.”

“I just feel…guilty about it all, I mean… he’s helped us so much, I think he deserves the truth. I can sense his emotions and he’s getting suspicious,” I said. Sky looked over at me, her concentration wavering.

“We can tell him if you want, if it’s bothering you I mean,” she said. I shook my head.

“It’s fine, just some time kay?” I asked, she nodded her head, “and anyway you can just erase his memories.” Sky’s shoulders stiffened.

“You know I hate doing that,” she said.

“Why?” I asked frowning.

“Because… it’s like taking a part of them, a piece of their short time on earth that could very well define their future. I think we deserve every moment of our short fleeting time on Earth and no one should have a second taken away from them,” she said quietly and purposefully.
I looked at her startled, Sky never shared her emotions with anyone, not even me, I’d always pictured her as the silent, stoic type.

“I didn’t know you felt that way,” I said, trying to meet her gaze.

“No one does,” she whispered softly, now looking back at the glass of water, something in her tone told me that this conversation was over, sighing I flipped over onto my back and stared at the ceiling.

Since, as usual, there was nothing to do I did the one thing that could take my mind off everything.

I Drifted.

Drifting is another one of my powers that allows my spirit to separate from my body and roam the world viewing scenes and things that are happening real time. As far as I know my spirit is completely invisible and undetectable, but then again, no one had been trying to detect it.

My mind wandered off on a path of its own and I was plunged into an icy blackness that I had become accustomed to when I Drifted, it was the area on earth that was devoid of life, of the light of spirits that illuminated this black barren wasteland. A large spot of blinding whiteness slowly drew me closer, until I found myself standing by an extremely large pool at an expensive looking ski resort. Steam crawled off the rippling surface and water toppled off the edge of a Jacuzzi. The deck was made of dark wood and over the railing I could see mountains clamboring up into the sky.

Behind me sat an elegant wooden lodge with bright yellow windows and snow lounging on the roof. As far as I knew it was empty and I wandered over to the railing and leaned over it, admiring the view of the sweeping landscape.

The sound of voices behind me and the twinkle of glasses made me whirl around, a story about to fall from my lips about why I was here when I remembered they couldn’t see me. Three people were exiting the building and were meandering over to the Jacuzzi. There was a young girl with caramel skin and curly wheat colored hair in a tiny green bathing suit that looked to be about my age and a boy with long black hair and grey eyes who had a pale muscled body. But the person that drew my attention was a heavy set man with rings on each finger. His hair was cut into a brutally short crew cut and his black piggy eyes surveyed his surroundings with vain disinterest.

“I agree that we must find them, but I am curious as to what our Zane will do,” the heavyset man said in a husky voice. The hair on the back of my neck prickled as I realized that they were talking about us.

“But General, their getting more powerful, the water girl controlled her element, nobody else has done that yet,” the boy said, slipping into the Jacuzzi next to the man.

“Yes but that was because the two linked think a little Abel,” the General said, Abel lowered his gaze admonished. Maya frowned, there was something familiar about this boy. She moved forward, trying to get a closer look when the young girl turned her back to me and that’s when I saw it.

It was a tattoo, a tree whose roots started at the base of her neck and flared down to the small of her back. It seemed alive, brightening and darkening with the pulse of her heart. The girl slid easily into the Jacuzzi, leaving Maya almost gasping for breath, she was one of the Five, Earth, which meant that Abel…

“Oh come one General, you know how eager we both are to link with the others,” she said in a calming voice that seemed to ease the tension in the hot tub.

“Well, I suppose so Gaia,” the General said sighing, “and I know you both miss Zane, I don’t know why he left.”

“None of us do, I thought he was happy here,” Abel said, looking down at his hands.

“We all did,” Gaia said softly. They were silent for a few moments, and then the General cleared his throat and they both looked up expectantly.

“We will wait one week, keep an eye on them, see what they do, we shall remain where you two can train and after their time is up you will bring them to me,” he said briskly.

“Yes General,” they both said calmly, a shudder ran down my back, it was almost robotic the way they spoke to him, as if all their personality had been drained from them. But almost immediately they smiled at each other and I thought I might have just imagined it.

A week, we have a week I thought, I have to tell the others I turned my back to the laughing group and tried to clear my racing mind but to no avail. Then I felt a strange tug in my stomach and the next thing I know I’m staring up at Zane’s face, he was shaking me, worry written in his dark eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked, I shook my head, sitting up. I rested my head tiredly against his shoulder. Sky was standing over us, she looked scared out of her mind.

“I thought you were dead,” she whispered hoarsely. I looked up at her icy blue eyes and her white, white face. Her short hair was frazzled and I realized then how much I meant to Sky. I stood up shakily and ran forward into her arms. I needed my best friend. She held me close, I breathed in the familiar scent of salty ocean water and almost burst into tears. “What happened?” She asked softly.

“I saw them,” I said, my voice muffled, “the other two.” Sky pulled me away and looked into my eyes. I could tell she was drawing the memories forward because I suddenly saw what had transpired before me. Her hands dropped from my sides and she sagged against the wall. She looked tired, so tired I thought she might collapse. I’d never seen her like this, as if she was mentally and physically drained. She managed to stand up straight and look Zane in the eye.

“Outside, now” she said coldly. Zane stepped outside and into the hallway. Sky shut the door behind him and I found myself alone with Sheldon, who had passed out and was drooling on the carpet.

“So, Zane,” I said dangerously, enjoying the way he flinched when I said his cover name. “or should I call you Adar?” He shook his head, we all had our true names, ones that meant something in Hebrew or had importance in the Bible. Adar- literally meaning fire in hebrew, was Zane’s.

“What did she show you?” he asked.

“Gaia, Abel and the General. They know where we are, now I want to know how,” I growled. My nerves were fried after seeing Maya sprawled on the ground, unmoving, it had sacred me, thinking she had died. When she Drifted she usually breathed and looked alive, but her body had been a corpse. I knew I would never forget how she had looked, so unnaturally still. Just thinking about it made my heart contract. Zane cursing under his breath brought my attention back to him, he looked pretty pissed. “What?” I asked.

“Gaia must have mastered her newest power she was working on when I left,” he said.

“What was it?” I asked, a horrible feeling growing in the pit of my stomach.

“She can track people, communicate with the earth, it can tell her who has passed through the area,” he said, I fell back against the wall behind me.

“So there’s nowhere to hide,” I said, despair coloring my voice, “Nowhere to run.”

“We’re trapped,” he said, “and we can’t fly if that’s what you’re thinking, Abel could find us easily enough.” He said angrily. I stood up sharply.

“But we can go on water,” I said.

“What? You’re not making any sense,” Zane said.

“I meant, that we can get a boat and sail,” I said. Zane shook his head.

“We can’t stay on a boat forever, we might as well give up,” he said sinking to the ground and burying his head in his hands.

“Why did you leave?” I asked, sitting down next to him.

“Why do you want to know?” He asked without looking at him.

“Because what Maya saw, they looked like they really loved you, and that they thought you were happy,” I said. Zane shook his head.

“No, Abel did, he’s too trusting, Gaia knew I was having trouble fitting in, I was the last to be caught so I really hated it. I mean the other two, they tried to make me happy, but the General…” he trailed off uncertainly.

“What about the General?” I asked softly.

“The only thing he cared about was using us as a weapon, he made the other two trust him, try to make them think he was like a father figure or something. But I didn’t believe him one bit. I wanted out because of him, I was there against my will but everyone else made it seem like they wanted to be there, I just didn’t understand how they couldn’t try to escape.” I sat back thoughtfully.

“Did he know your true name?” I asked, an idea forming in my head.

“Of course he did, we all know our true names, Cari,” he said, using my real name. I sighed and leaned back against the wall. I hated my real name, it was Hebrew for flows like water, and it got on my nerves every time Maya would call me that, from Zane it just made me pissed.

“Shut it Adar, I’m trying to think. Maybe he like brainwashed them or something,” I said, Zane chuckled from beside me, I shot him a glare. “What the hell’s so funny?”

“Brainwashing? Come on Cari, think realistically, this isn’t some kind of hypnosis thing,” he said. My anger flared up again as it always did around this kid.

“Watch it Adar,” I growled, standing up, he followed suit, “or you’re going to regret that you said that.”

“Like you can do anything about it,” he spat back. I curled my lip into a sneer.

“And who are you to know what I can do?” I returned, I spread my mind out and sensed the water running through the pipes above us.

“I’ve seen you fight you’re-“ but he never got to finished his sentence because a jet of water ripped through the ceiling and knocked him off his feet and sent him flying back and crashing into the wall. He stumbled to his feet and with a motion of his hand created a longue tongue of flame that resembled a whip. He sent it flying towards me, I ducked and heard it collide with the wall, a minute later the fire alarms began blaring and sprinkles sent droplets of water falling on us.

I smiled and lifted up a large wave that I sent Zane tearing through the hallway, he stumbled back, his fire hissing out as the water collapsed upon him. Faster than I thought possible he was up and sent a snake of fire at me, I dodged it but it still managed to sear the side of my face. I cried out in pain and fell against the soaked wall that immediately caved in. I coughed up dust and looked around dizzily. Zane stood over me, a ball of fire in his hand.

Behind him I began to build up another wave, it slowly rose while he smiled at me evilly.

“You’re pathetic, thinking you’re better than me, you’re merely a child,” the wave was almost as tall as him and it towered menacingly. I glared at him, the right side of my face burning from where his fire had seared the top layer of skin.

“Really?” I asked, “then turn around.” He whirled around, his face a mask of surprise.

I sent the wave crashing down.

He fell to the ground under the sheer weight of it and his fire hissed out once again. I stood up, then almost fell back as pain laced up my side, I might have broken a rib from the fall. I limped over to him, gathering up the water in case he was still ready to fight. But instead I found Maya with a shell shocked Sheldon leaning over his unconscious figure.

“Sky!” she cried, flinging her arms around me, I grunted into in pain. “What happened?” she asked, stepping back. I smiled wryly at her.

“We had a slight disagreement,” I replied, tenderly touching the side of my face.

“What the hell are you?” came a trembling voice from behind Maya. I looked and saw Sheldon pointing a pale shaking finger at me.

“Sheldon,” I said, stepping forward.

“Get away from me you freak!” He screamed, stumbling backwards. He began to run down the hall and I couldn’t let him get away. I wrapped a tendril of water around his legs and on sudden impulse tightened my hand into a fist, the water froze instantly.

“Try and get him to calm down, I’ll bring Zane to the truck with our stuff, we need to get out of here fast,” I said, examining the wrecked hallway. The ceiling had all but fallen in and there were burn marks on the walls by the place where it had caved in after I had fallen. There were small spots of still burning fire on the soggy carpet and the sprinklers still hadn’t stopped.

I kneeled down beside Zane, he had a bad cut on his face and was just coming to, he blinked blearily and sat up. I didn’t have the energy to smile at him and proclaim my victory we didn’t have time for that.

“What happened?” He asked, rubbing the back of his head.

“I kicked your sorry ass,” I said, okay, maybe there was a little time for gloating. “Now get up,” I roughly dragged him to his feet, “make sure Sheldon doesn’t get away, I’m grabbing our stuff.”

We made it out uneventfully, amidst all the chaos in the hotel following the fire alarm nobody noticed four disheveled teenagers slipping out the back door. Then we were on the road again.

After our little brawl Sky and I were almost at each other’s throats, but since we didn’t have time to fight, we had to settle for simmering anger that made the whole car uncomfortable. I knew this would happen the second I met her, water and fire don’t mix. I was so sick of her serious attitude and the arrogance that made me want to punch her in the face.

Okay, maybe she had kicked my ass back at the hotel, but she totally had the upper hand with all that water. Though I had to admit, she had looked pretty damn scary with the giant wave rearing up behind her, her arms spread out to control her element. But I could sense both my and her powers weakening, the effects of the link wearing off, soon we wouldn’t be able to control our elements at all.

“When are we stopping?” Maya asked from beside me, we had both been banished to the backseat, while Sheldon was tied up and unconscious in the front.

“Not for a while, there are some blankets back there, we’re going to be driving all night,” Sky said briskly from the front wheel. After shoving us into the car she had remained stoically silent, though I could tell something was wrong, her face looked unnaturally pale and whenever she moved her entire face tightened as if in a great pain.

“Aw come on Sky, I want to get a decent night’s sleep,” Maya groaned, “please?” Sky’s head sank forward, as if she carried a great weight that was too much to hold.

“Alright, I’ll find us a hotel,” she sighed, glancing toward the clock on the dashboard. It was around five. “We’ll stop in an hour,” was all she said.

An hour later we were pulling into a motel parking lot, Sheldon was still passed out and we decided to bring him in last. While Maya was busy lugging one of our backpacks upstairs I stopped Sky who was following.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, looking down at her suddenly frail form. She dropped the backpack and all but collapsed against the truck. She shook her head.

“Nothing, why would you think that?” She asked weakly.

“Because you’re white as a ghost and you look as if you’ve been stabbed- wait, have you?” I asked suspisciously.

“Don’t be a d*bag,” she said tiredly, she then grabbed her backpack, but when she tried to straighten she cried out in pain and fell to the ground. I hurriedly knelt down next to her gasping body and opened up her jacket.

“Where’s the pain?” I asked urgently.

“It’s nothing, I’ll be fine as long as I stand…” she trailed off weakly, leaning back.

“Don’t make me ask again Cari,” I said, using her real name, her eyes flashed in response.

“My right side…” she said hoarsely. I pulled up her shirt, disregarding modesty and sucked in a surprised breath. A dark mottled bruise ran up her entire side, in three places you could see bones piercing the skin.

“Cari…” I said in disbelief, I didn’t know how she’d managed to drive us all this way, capture Sheldon and make sure
nobody saw us. Once again I felt an admiration for this girl.

“Don’t call me that,” she managed to say, “and don’t let Maya see it.” I shook my head in wonder, how, even in her condition she managed to think about Maya still blew my mind.

“Sky?!” Cried Maya from behind me.

“Too late,” I said apologetically.

“What’s wrong with her?” She exclaimed, kneeling down beside me, her mahogany curls falling about her angelic face. My finger’s itched to wipe away those loose strands, but I kept my hands still.

“I think she has, three, maybe four, broken ribs,” I replied tonelessly, helping her up, she leaned heavily against me tiredly. “We need to get her in water.”

We carried her into the motel room and I laid her out on the bed while Maya went in to get the water running.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” I asked, wanting to shake this stubborn girl

“Because we had to keep moving I didn’t realize it was this bad,” she grunted, “now can you get Sheldon and bring him in, I want to talk to him.”

“No, you need to heal, you’re not going to be in charge tonight, I’ll talk to Sheldon,” I said just as Sky began shaking her head.

“You’ll just freak him out, he doesn’t know you, let him talk to Maya,” she said. I looked over to the bathroom door where the sound of rushing water was coming from, I just nodded.

“Bath’s ready,” Maya said, stepping out, I helped Sky up and walked her into the bathroom. She fell into the tub fully clothed, but the expression on her face was one of pure relief.

I sat nervously in front of Sheldon, my hands knitted tightly together as I stared down at them. I knew from the color of Sheldon’s emotions that he was so shocked he couldn’t even speak. It was just us in the room, Zane was with Sky in the bathroom, it was just me and Sheldon.

“So?” I asked, looking up at him expectantly.

“So what?” He asked.

“So… what do you think?”

“Well, what am I supposed to think, that you guys are creations of God, over a thousand years old and that everything I believed in was a lie?” His voice had slowly risen as he had spoken, until now he was yelling. I winced, I had almost forgotten that Sheldon was atheist, this must be even harder for him.

“I know it’s a lot to take in-“ I began.

“A lot to take in? Of course it’s a lot to take in!” He exclaimed, I wish Sky were here, she would know exactly what to say, I thought despairingly. I straightened my shoulders, well I thought, maybe Sky isn’t here, but I am, and I can handle this.

“Sheldon,” I said tonelessly, “considering that the whole world is out to get us I wouldn’t pointlessly yell at me, Sky can erase your memories if you want but I really rather you’d stay,” I said my cold voice softening “we need you.” He seemed startled and I began to focus all calming thoughts and send them his way, I didn’t know if it would work but I had to try.

“Alright,” he said tiredly, “I’ll stay, just don’t lie to me like that again.” I nodded in relief and jumped up to go tell Sky the news when I sensed a drastic change in his emotions.

“What is it?” I asked sharply turning around, only to find the door slamming shut. I barely had time to breathe before I was tearing out into the parking lot after him. “Sheldon!” I took off after him into the maze of buildings across the front of the motel. I dodged past the pool and ran past the backs of a few stores before I caught up with him and tackled him to the ground.

“Get off me!” He yelled, “let me go!”

“Sheldon we can’t let you go, you know too much!”

“So what, are you going to kill me?” He asked.

“Of course not,” I said, blanching at the mere idea of it, “you’re my friend.”

“Then why did you lie to me?”

“To keep you safe that’s why,” I said. Suddenly a hand grabbed a fistful of my hair and dragged me backwards, I screamed only to have it cut off by a hand shoving its way into my mouth.

“Now, now, can’t have any of that,” came a strange male voice whispering in my ear. I tried to twist out of his grasp but he just pulled on my hair until tears streamed to from my eyes.

“Enough Abel,” came another voice to my left, “we don’t want to hurt her, she’s one of us.” I heard the scuffle of shoes and managed to glimpse Sheldon sprinting back to the motel.

“Let him go,” Abel said, “he’ll bring the other two to us.”

“What do we do with her?” The girl said. The hand gripping my hair tightened and I bit back a cry.

“Tie her up.”

I was just closing my eyes, already feeling the bones finishing up with their healing, when Sheldon burst into the room, I sat up, expecting him to freak out because of what we were.

“Sheldon-“ I began to say.

“It’s Maya,” he said urgently. My blood ran cold. I stood up and stepped out of the tub, Zane right beside me.

“What is it?” I asked quickly. He stuttered for the words and I reached forward and grabbed his shirt and shook him. “WHERE IS SHE?!” I screamed.

“There were… 2 people… they caught her,” he managed to stutter, I let go of his shirt and he fell the ground.

“It’s Abel and Gaia,” Zane said, I nodded and looked back to the water in the tub, I reached out to it and still managed to raise a tendril of water. I didn’t waste any time, I ran into our room and pulled out two guns, tossing one to Zane. He looked surprised at the weapon but didn’t say anything.

I stretched out my mind and sensed their three glowing forms. My resolution hardened, I was not going to let them touch Maya, if they killed her I knew I would not be able to go on. I flung open the door and took off into the parking lot, my skin, hair and clothes were still wet, but it made me feel alive.

We found the group standing behind a Home Depot, I quickly spotted Maya tied up by the corner, and all I could think about was smashing the other two’s heads in. I saw them standing on either side of Maya, and for once I got my first look at them.

The girl first drew my attention, she had shoulder length wheat colored curls and green eyes with rich caramel skin, she exuded calmness and serenity. The boy held my attention longer, he had grey eyes that seemed to dance mischeviously and black hair that fell over is forehead and curled up in the back. They both wore all black clothing.

“Ah, now the party’s started,” the boy said. The girl rolled her eyes but never stopped looking at us, or, Zane rather.

“What are you here for?” I asked roughly, the boy turned his gaze on me and something clicked, he was Abel, air.

“Well you don’t beat around the bush do you Cari?” He asked waggling his eyebrows, I hated that he used my real name, it made me feel an intimacy with a person that I barely knew.

“It’s Sky,” I said coldly, “Abel,” I added. He winked at me.

“It’s Josh then,” he said. Meanwhile the girl and Zane had been locked in a staring contest, even Abel sobered up when he looked at Zane.

“Adar,” he said as way of a greeting.

“Why are you here Gaia?” Zane said, still looking at the girl.

“To bring you back, all of you,” she said, turning to look at me. “We all belong together, the five of us.”

“But we don’t belong in a world of killing and violence,” I countered.

“Look around,” Abel said, spreading his arms wide open, “this world, the one we belong to, is made of killing and violence.” I stared hard at him, the way the muscles underneath his tight black t shirt rippled, his pale skin gleaming in the moonlight. He cut a striking figure, I had to admit.

“But we’re supposed to fix it,” I said through gritted teeth.

“I say we embrace it,” he replied.

“It is against our very nature, our very purpose-“ I began.

“Oh you really believe that crap?” Came Gaia’s bitter voice, I looked over at her in surprise. “God’s lost faith in us, in this whole world, he’s left it to rot, to fester in a waste of our own mistakes. Why do you think all this is happening?” I was still staring at her, I could see the pain behind her eyes, she had truly lost faith in Our Father.

“Well if you have lost faith then you just have to find it again,” came Maya’s soft voice from behind her.

“It’s lost and it’s never coming back, so if you don’t join us,” Gaia said, looking down at Maya, “we’ll just kill you.”

That was the final straw for me, I only remembered feeling an uncontrollable flood of anger, my vision tinted red and the only thought I had before striking out was that nobody would touch Maya. I lifted up my arms, pulling the water from inside the building out, it came free with a large explosion, ripping the walls down. Gaia screamed and ducked and a giant wave bore down on her.

I wrapped her body in a huge sphere of water, watching with sick satisfaction as she clawed at the liquid.

“Sky,” Maya said, I ignored her, nobody would hurt her, this was so that Gaia could never threaten her again. “Sky!” Maya screamed. I suddenly felt a hard lean body collide into me and smash me to the ground, my breath was knocked out of me and I lost control of the water. I heard it splash to the ground.

I found myself staring up into Abel’s gray eyes, as he looked down at me. I lashed out and punched him, it was a sloppy hit and the only reason it knocked him off was because he was so surprised. I stood up quickly and stormed over to where Gaia lay gasping on the ground, I wrapped my hand around her neck and lifted her up off the ground.

“You. Won’t. Touch. Her.” I growled, shaking her roughly with each word, suddenly I felt a pair of hands take my shoulders and pull back, I felt the anger drain out of me, and I fell back against whoever was holding me.

“Sky, breathe,” came Zane’s voice in my ear. It only just hit me that I hadn’t taken a single breath since Gaia had said that she would kill Maya. I looked around the soaked lot to see two figures walking off into the distance. I saw Abel turn around and his eyes met mine. My heart squeezed and an unfamiliar sensation rippled through my body. I looked away and crawled over to Maya.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly. She nodded, I hurriedly untied her and helped her up, ignoring the pang in my side.

“We need to get out of here,” Zane said, I only nodded and began walking back to the motel when it was as if the whole world blanked out, as if I couldn’t sense the thing around me. Zane and I stopped walking.

“What is it?” Maya asked. I shook my head, not knowing how to explain it, Maya’s element was different from ours, it wasn’t a physical thing that you could touch, we still didn’t know how much she could do. I glanced over to the water and raised my hand, palm facing outwards and reached towards it trying to move it, even slightly.

Nothing.

I sighed and looked at Zane, our eyes met briefly , in return to my searching gaze he did his casual flick of his wrist that was usually result in a long, hot tongue of flame.

Except this time nothing happened.


A sigh slipped through my lips as I realized that my powers had finally dissipated, with that final burst of emotion I must’ve burned them out. We limped back to the motel, I tried to quell my disappointment but I couldn’t help but feel a heavy lump in my throat that threatened to dissolve into tears. I blinked them back in surprise, I had no idea why the loss of my connection to my element would cause this kind of emotion, but I felt lost. Without my powers and my feeling of being joined with my element left me feeling empty inside, and that emptiness was a terrible feeling, in a way I wish I’d never discovered my powers in the beginning, because this was torture.

Sheldon was waiting anxiously outside, from the look of relief on his face I took that he was staying with us, and when he hopped into the fully packed car ready to go I knew it to be true. I was happy that he was staying with us, not just because we need him, but because he was a friend.

I was just about to slip in front of the wheel when I felt a hand on my arm, I turned to see Zane staring at me intently. I knew he wanted to talk. We slipped away, mumbling an excuse about getting drinks. He led me behind the motel and we both stood staring at each other.

“Yes?” I asked, arms crossed.

“Are you okay?” He asked seriously, I was taken aback, I stared at him for a few moments.

“Yeah, I’m fine, why?” I replied. He shook his head and sighed.

“Because you could have, like, a ruptured spleen and wouldn’t tell anyone about it because you didn’t want Maya to worry,” he replied. I looked at the ground then returned his gaze evenly.

“Alright, to be exact, I feel drained, I feel empty, I miss my feeling of… connection,” I said, he nodded.

“I know how you feel, for some reason this is the first time a connection has let me use my power, it’s probably because we’re polar opposites or something,” he said slowly.

“Well whatever it was I want my powers back, I miss that feeling that I wasn’t… alone,” I said, uncrossing my arms and leaning back against the walls. I stirred my sneaker around a puddle of dark water, reflecting the neon motel sign, and wished so hard it hurt that I could sense it.

“I wasn’t exactly surprised you’re powers burned out, especially after you’re… argument,” he said dryly. I closed my eyes and tilted my head up to the sky, wishing for a breeze to stir the muggy air. “And about that… are you okay? You kind of snapped back there.”

“When she said she was going to kill Maya-“ I stopped suddenly, and looked away from him, all my life I’d always never let anyone touch her, and when I finally indulged myself, she was almost killed. I hated that feeling of helplessness, when I saw her tied up and scared, all I could do was talk. I felt a salty tear carve a craggy line down my face and I hastily wiped it away.

“When she said she was going to kill Maya, all I knew was that I had to stop her. All I could think was that no one would hurt Maya- ever,” I said tonelessly, I’d already opened up too much to this boy, I silently berated myself for letting him see all my vulnerability. I straightened and began walking to the car when another presence brushed my mind, a vast powerful wise presence that made me weak at the knees. This presence was alien, yet familiar, it’s energy seemed to bathe the entire world in light. I looked wildly around and saw nothing, but from one look at Zane I knew that I hadn’t imagined it.

The presence began to come nearer, and I felt ancient thoughts brush against my mind. This person was older than us, older than this world.

A figure emerged from the parking lot.