The Elementals

“No, stop it!”

I blink awake to the urgent exclamation. I must have fallen asleep, and in that process my head is now on Coal’s lap. It wouldn’t be bad, but he’s muttering in his sleep again. I look up at him and see his face, eyebrows furrowed, mouth in a frown that’s mad and scared at the same time.

“No, no, I don’t mean it - this isn’t - I’m not trying to!” His body is getting warmer with every word.

There was a sleep talker in my orphanage once. We were strictly told not to wake her up if she spoke out for some reason. I sit up, not sure what to do with Coal, because it seems like he’s in pain.

“Tide,” he says my name and I jump. “You have to believe me I’m not going to hurt you!” His hand reaches out limply.

I take his arm and lower it back down, then slide my hand down and take his. It’s hot, but not unbearable. “I believe you Coal,” I whisper. Maybe it’ll make a difference. “It’s okay, I’m fine.”

“No...”

I grab his shoulder as he twitches and flinches, pulling him closer. It might cool him down. I know he’s fire and all that, but it still feels weird to have someone so warm.

“Coal,” I hope he can hear me. “It’s okay, I’m right her-”

“No, no, no! I would never - not on purpose! Just stay away! Stay away and you’ll be safe.” Coal jumps forward, breathing in sharply. I yank him back, but then I see that he’s awake. I don’t drop my arms though, because I can feel him trembling. He’s breathing hard, face pale and scared.

“Coal?” I ask, because he’s scaring me now. “Are you okay?”

He whips his head over to me, real fear in his eyes. He blinks rapidly. “Yes...no - I mean yeah, yeah I’m fine.” He goes to lift his hands to his temples, but then stops as he feels my hand intertwined in his. I suck in a breath, cheeks heating, but he says nothing and just breathes out long and slow. I notice he doesn’t drop my hand, and neither do I.

“What were you dreaming?” I ask.

“Nightmare,” he corrects automatically. “And nothing.” It comes out like a question.

“Coal,” I make him look at me. “You were freaking out. What happened?”

He avoids my gaze. “I forget.”

“Coal!” I snap sharply.

He looks back at me like a scared animal. His eyes are wide and dark. “You...” He seems about to stop, so I squeeze his hand reassuringly before I know what I’m doing. Coal blinks in surprise, and is shocked into continuing. “Died. In a fire.” He scrutinizes the ground. “Because of me.”

“Oh.” That is pretty much my vocabulary in situations like this. Then I frown. “So why are you upset? It was just a dream.”

Coal gives me a look that speaks volumes. I’m taken aback by the fear present. In fact, I’ve never seen him so scared before. But it tells me that he’s afraid it’s not just a dream, and it will happen.

“You would never do that.” I say definitively. “I know you wouldn’t.”

“Not on purpose.”

“You won’t do it.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because I trust you.” I say, and then before I lose my nerve I lean forward and kiss him on the cheek again, resting my head on his shoulder. “Got it?”

“Sure...” Coal trails off, at a loss for words. “I mean, yeah, I got it.”

I smile. He still hasn’t let go off my hand.

~

Hours later, the plane comes to a very shuddery stop. I’m jolted from my position, and then the door to the luggage vault slams open. I sigh heavily, and look up at Caelum, trying to seem as bored as possible.

“Should I even ask where we are, or were you gonna do the same thing?” I yawn.

Caelum glares at me and I shrug innocently. Coal and I stand, walking out the door and down the stairs from the plane. My face is blasted with an icy wind and I shrink into my collar subconsciously. Snowflakes bite at my cheeks, the flurries swirling in the air and howling in between the mountains.

“What the heck?” I shout to Caelum behind me. “Why are we on a mountain?"

Again, he glares at me, but there’s a tiny bit more confusion than there was before. He shakes his head, and I jump down the last few steps to the snow covered ground. My foot skids on the slippery rock, and I tilt back and forth, off balance.

“Careful Flippers,” Coal says, steadying me. “We don’t want you falling down the mountain.”

“You mean you don’t want me falling down the mountain.” I correct him. ”They look like they’d enjoy watching.”

It’s true. They others are regarding me like I’m a horrible thing that deserves to be thrown off of a cliff. I try to ignore they’re distrustful stares and shiver against the chill biting at my skin. I can’t do anything with the snow because I’m pretty sure if I collected the flakes Caelum wouldn’t hesitate to lift me fifty feet in the air and then let me drop.

“Why does it have to be so cold?" I look over at Coal and immediately feel guilty for complaining. He’s easily doing just as bad as me, if not worse. While I’m quivering to keep warm, his teeth are chattering uncontrollably. Despite this, he still manages to smile at me weakly.

“Want my jacket?” he offers.

“No!” I exclaim, struck by how nice he’s being. I realize I sounded harsh, and try again. “You’ll freeze to death. Do your fire thing.”

“How do you think they’ll react if I light myself on fire?” Coal points out and I sigh angrily because he’s right. “Besides, I’m too cold right now. My powers don’t work, I’ve tried.”

I step closer to him, and then before I can change my mind, press my shoulder against his. I’m surprised to feel his body is really cold, and I get even closer, trying to give him any heat I can. Again, Coal tenses in surprise, but quickly returns to his normal state. We stand there, doing what little we can to fight the blizzard.

“We should probably follow them,” I say, watching as the other fade into the whiteness. “Don’t wanna get lost out here.”

Neither of us moves.

“I wouldn’t mind getting lost.” Coal says, staring straight ahead.

I stare at the ground, a smile fighting its way onto my face. Finally, I take a step forward, but not before whispering, “me neither,” just loud enough so that I know Coal heard.

We catch up, though we trail behind the others, kept back by the sight of the clones up front. Tide3000 is holding the blizzard at bay, while Coal2D2 is melting the ice on the rocks. Terra occasionally calls out a warning to avoid a cliff or a boulder. Oh’Rian is finally getting the hang of her powers, and is helping Tide3000 tame the wind. It kills me, the way they work so well together, like there really is no difference between the clone and me.

~

“Hey,” I say after a couple of hours trekking up the slope where the sun is now barely visible sinking behind the mountain peaks. I turn my head to Caelum, who is apparently my bodyguard. “If we’re the clones, then why aren’t we leading you to the base?”

Caelum stops with this adorably stupid expression on his face as I point this out. He blinks rapidly, as if clearing his mind, and then races to catch up with me. I shrug, and he scrutinizes my face.

“Wait...” He calls out somewhat uncertainly to the others after I roll my eyes.

He’s too late though, because just then Tide3000 turns with a satisfied smirk on her face. “We’re here!” she announces, and then clears a path for Coal and I to walk forward.

I step cautiously: who knows? There could be land mines or something else diabolical like that. I look at the rock she’s pointing to. It seems like another dead end boulder, but the snow has been brushed off to reveal a small handle. I pull on it, and the wind blows the door back against the rock, slamming it loudly. I cringe, preparing to protect us if an avalanche decides to happen, but so far we’ve been safe. I observe the tunnel leading to blackness that I am now facing with a mixed feeling of anticipation and dread.

“Ooh, a dark passage,” I look at Tide3000, “I just love those!”

She grins, eyes glinting with something cold I don’t recognize. It makes my stomach turn and the dread grow however, and I glance back down the hole. “After you,” Tide3000 waves her hand for me to start walking.

It would be so easy, so easy to just jump forward and shove her off into the snowstorm.

Instead, I step into the darkness, breath catching a tiny bit as the light fades behind me. I can’t see in front of me, and that’s almost scarier than seeing anything at all. This way, my rather vivid imagination can do all its work. I trace my fingers lightly down the side of the wall, taking each step like I’ll fall into an abyss. How long is this thing? My breathing is getting shorter, despite my efforts to seem calm. Maybe it’s that I’m a partially human freak, but dark, dank passageways give me a bad case of claustrophobia.

I almost - almost - scream when a hand rests on my shoulder. I freeze, praying that it will be quick. This is it, you’re gonna die Tide, right here in a freaky black tunnel on your way to a mad woman’s lair while your friends think you’re a clone. But nothing happens.

“What’s the matter, Flippers?” Coal whispers. “Afraid of the dark?”

I let out the breath I was holding. “Not the dark, it’s what’s in it.” I correct him quietly and continue walking before Tide3000 can yell at me.

“But,” Coal says, staying right behind me. “I’m here.”

“You don’t say,” I try to mask the relief I’m actually feeling with sarcasm. “How long did it take you to figure that one out?”

Coal just laughs, though it’s still hushed. There’s a silence, and I turn, throwing my hand out wildly. It connects with his chest, and I grab his shirt to keep him from toppling backwards from the force I hit him with.

“Sorry,” I whisper guiltily, embarrassed at how frantically I had reached out.

“No problem Flippers,” Coal says easily. “If I had known you were scared of silence too, I would have said something.”

“I’m not afraid of silence!” I hiss, “In fact, how about you try practicing it right now?”

“As you wish, Flippers.” Coal says and then shuts up.

What happened to the nice Coal that wasn’t constantly aggravating me? He’s gone now, that’s for sure. He’s trying to be annoying, the jerk. But suddenly, the silence is scaring me, and I want to hear something, even if it is his sarcastic comments.

“Coal,” I venture quietly. “You can talk now.”

I hold my breath, hating how I’m waiting anxiously for a reply. The tunnel feels cold and unwelcoming, closing in tighter and tighter...

“So you give me permission, your royal highness?”

I remember how to breathe normally after I hear his voice. “Yes,” I say regally, raising my head importantly even though he can’t see.

“So, Queen Flippers, what makes you so keen on listening to me now?” he asks, and I can imagine his face, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, with a knowing glint in his eyes because he’s reading my mind again.

“Somebody needs to make useless chatter around here,” I reply. “And you do that anyway so...”

“Useless chatter? What’s that supposed to mean? I thought I was more than that, Flippers. I’m hurt, really.”

“See? You’re doing it now.” I say, using the back of my hand to shove him lightly on the shoulder. “Bravo.”

“Yet you still want me to talk.”

“So what?” Is all I can think of at the moment.

Slowly, I see the faint glow of a light, far, far away at the end of the passage. My heart starts to pound. I have no idea what I’m facing in that room. It could be just Izila, but heck, it could be a hundred soldiers ready to shoot us all. I honestly haven’t put anything past that woman. An idea starts to form in my head as we approach the doorway.

“Coal,” I grab his hand and squeeze it, pulling him towards me so no one else can hear. “Don’t freak out.”

“What?”

I let go quickly and walk to the yellow light. My footsteps echo up to the high ceiling in the cavern I’ve emerged into. Cables and wires are laced across metal catwalks that instantly put me on guard for an aerial ambush. The rest of the room is laid out neatly, with sections for specific purposes. Computers here, weapons over there, and snowmobiles to the right. The whole place is lit harshly by floodlights, and I squint after being in the dark tunnel. No wonder it was such a long walk, the cavern must be deep in the mountain to be so big.

“I was expecting you here a day earlier.” A voice snips, and I see her. Izila, appearing from a side hallway in the back of the room, her heels clicking against the stone floor as she walks crisply towards me and the others, who are coming in behind me.

I duck my head, hopefully in a sign of submission. “I am sorry,” I say, trying to keep my voice emotionless and not wired with rage like the rest of my body. “There were a few delays on our way. But I have brought them to you just as you asked.”

I’m not sure how the clones talk to Izila, so I tried out humble servant to boost her ego. She seems pleased by it, and I can tell my plan is working.

“Wait!” I clench my teeth as Tide3000 figures out what I’m doing and rushes forward, pushing me aside roughly with her shoulder. “She is lying! I am the real clone!”

Izila frowns as she lays eyes on the two sets of Coals and Tides.

“She is trying to trick you,” I shove my way back in front of Tide3000 to face Izila. “That is her plan, but we are the clones you created!” I point to Coal and I.

“Hey! No - wait - they’re the ones tricking you!” Coal2D2 finally catches up. “We brought them here alive for you!”

I scoff evilly. “Are you kidding? We brought you two here so Izila could kill you.” Izila raises her eyebrows in slight approval. Score for the real Tide. “And the others, they are all gathered like you wanted.”

I throw a contempt filled glance back at the shocked faces of my friends. They’re watching us intently, flicking their heads back and forth as if observing a Ping-Pong match. Caelum’s face is twisted in confusion, though I think he and Stella have figured out who’s who. I turn back to Izila and the clones, who are arguing with Coal. I pace smugly around them, proud of the mess I’ve created.

“As if you could pull any of this off. You’re nothing compared to me.” I sneer at Tide3000, and it looks like I’ve hit a nerve. Her fists clench in rage and she stalks towards me, but I weave between the Coals. “Lock them up already please,” I look disdainfully at the clones. “They’re useless.”

“Useless?” Tide3000 hisses, voice rising above a whisper quickly. “Who cried their eyes out the entire plane ride?”

“See?” I waved at Tide3000, while Coal and Coal2D2 circle each other. “She admits to her weakness.”

Tide3000 goes to snarl out a reply, but Izila stomps her foot. “Enough!” She snaps in her jarringly sharp voice. “Shut up, all of you!” I want to ignore her, but to keep up the act I have to stand rigid, paying attention. “If you really are the clones, as you say you are,” she speaks to all of us, raking her cold gaze across our faces. “Prove it. Kill the other clone.”

My plan flies out the window with that sentence. I can’t kill Coal. I turn to him, but something’s wrong. His eyes are expressionless, except for a chilling determination and a scary hatred. He wouldn’t kill me, right? And then it dawns on me. I turn another ninety degrees and to my horror see Tide3000 whipping out a hidden gun from her boot and then pointing it at one of the Coals with disturbing purpose. But there’s a problem.

It’s the wrong Coal.