The Elementals

I can’t see anything but it’s hot. Very hot. My skin starts to get clammy with the intense heat.

Where am I?

Head pounding, I stand from my crumpled position on the ground. My hand brushes along a rough surface, rock probably.

“Coal?” I call. “Caroline?”

My eyes sting, and when I go to rub them I discover I’m covered in a layer of soot. My lips are cracked and dry, and water sounds like the best thing in the world.

Water…

Muddled images come to mind. Coal, a plane, water…gulping it down. Caroline wasn’t there. I put two and two together at an achingly slow pace. We must’ve gotten on the wrong plane. Shylock, the government, it has to be them. The water had to be drugged too.

But where am I now?

“Caroline!” I shout, voice echoing. “Coal!”

I start walking, hearing no reply. Where did they put us? I get a bad feeling once I realize that we may not be in the same place. Obviously this is some sort of sick experiment. I’ve been walking forward, tracing my hand along the wall for about five minutes.

I’m in a large, hot, tunnel that doesn’t have any source of light. I sniff the strange smelling air, trying to find any other clues as to where I am. Sulfur and melting rock.

I stop dead.

Melting rock is magma.

I’m in a volcano.

I try to stay calm. Breathing steadily in the hot air is crucial. I must be in one of the lava tubes that are empty. For now.

“Caroline!” I shout. If Coal is here too, he should be fine for at least a little while. “Caroline!”

I wince as something in my ear crackles. Holding my head, I feel an earpiece attached to my right ear.

“Subject Tide. Other subjects are not in your test area. Your objective is to find your way out of a maze like situation in compromising conditions.”

The thing buzzes again and clicks out.

Subjects?

Before I can think, I rip the earpiece out and smash it to the floor. Only when it’s in twelve million parts across the ground do I consider that it was my only form of communication.

I turn around in circles. If the test is to be in a “compromising environment”, then Coal isn’t here. Assuming they want me alone, and if the message was true, neither is Carolina. It’s really a shot in the dark, but I try to choose the direction that the heat is lessened. That will hopefully lead out of the center of the volcano.

It works for a while, until I hit a fork. There’s nothing to mark the passages with, so I go out on a limb and pick right. If I always go right, I might be able to keep track.

My throat starts to hurt from breathing in the clouded air. My mouth is getting dryer, if that’s possible. I can’t tell of I’m getting closer or not. My brain has kind of gone crazy with the lack of fresh air and the heat. My steps are getting shorter and weaker. Half the time I trip.

Then I feel a breeze. It brushes past my cheek gently but to me it feels like a million dollars. I start running as fast as I can up the tunnel I’m in, though I stumble drunkenly.

And then I smack into a dead end.

All the hope inside of me dissolves as I fall backwards to the ground, crashing on the rock and I feel blood, I’m not sure if I’s from my hands or from my legs or arms or anywhere. I can’t see, I can’t breathe; I am going to die.

I stumble forward, feeling the rock. There are tiny crevices that have a breeze blowing through, but it’s warm and from deeper inside the volcano.

Any willpower I had to get out crumbles and I collapse onto my knees. Tears come out, but are quickly dried up by the soot on my face. Every part of my body aches and stings with each sob.

“Tide?”

I barely hear the voice.

“Tide!” Coal calls again, more frantic.

I try to stand, and manage to get to my feet unsteadily. My throat is too dry to answer. I see a faint glow from down the tunnel and hope surges inside of me. The glow gets brighter and then Coal is sprinting towards me.

The flame in his hand goes out but then he almost collides with me, swooping me up and holding me tight to his chest. I crumple into his arms, knowing that I’m safe now. Somehow we end up on the floor, with Coal holding me as close as he can. It’s worrying how unraveled he is, stroking my hair and babbling uncontrollably.

“Flippers, oh my god it’s you Tide, I thought I lost you, I thought you were gone, I thought you had died.” He mumbles in my ear, cradling me against his chest. “I’m here, I should’ve been here sooner, I’m sorry Tide, I’m sorry, are you okay? Of course you’re not, you’re burning up. God, I can’t help with that I’m making it worse, I’m useless.”

Just having him here makes it better, despite his ramblings. I’m still too dehydrated to talk well, so I just try to stay still, though I’m shaking.

“What did they do to you?” Coal demands, holding me closer protectively. “I won’t let this happen again, okay Tide? I promise. If they ever lay a finger on you again I’ll – I’ll kill them.”

I still can’t stop shaking. Coal doesn’t let go of me, brushing the hair out of my face and rubbing my back. He stands, carrying me and by some sort of instinct starts walking out of the tunnels. All the while he murmurs things, sometimes to me, sometimes to himself.

“You’re okay Tide, you’re okay now, I’ve got you.” he says. “I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again, I swear.”

I feel air on my face, fresh, cool air and I lift my head, smelling salt water. Coal notices this and he moves faster, down from a huge opening in the volcano to a rocky beach with waves lapping at the shore.

He lets me down in the surf and I immediately feel better. The water is warm from its close proximity to the volcano, but it’s water. I sink deeper and deeper in until I feel the energy coursing through every part of my body.

I dunk my head under, scrubbing all the soot and sweat off my face before walking back up with newfound energy. Coal glances up at me hopefully from his position on the beach and I smile.

Until I get a good look at him.

The heat from the volcano has obviously helped some but there’re some nasty looking marks over his left upper arm, disappearing under his shirt. I rush up to him. “What happened?” I ask, pushing up his sleeve to reveal worse wounds.

He shrugs, wincing as he does so, and shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. We need to get out of here. I think Caroline got away.”

“It does matter!” I cry.

“I’m fine-”

I grab his other shoulder to stop him. “Look, if you’re allowed to freak out over me, I’m allowed to freak out over you. Now sit down before I make you.”

He sits down.

“So...” I prompt. “What happened?”

He looks down. “Man o’ war.”

My eyes bug out. “The jellyfish?”

He nods.

“Coal that could kill you!” I don’t know what to do. I sit there kind of blankly, silently freaking out. “How many times did it sting you?”

He shrugs. “Not sure. I was kind of busy trying to breathe.”

“They put you out there, didn’t they?” I ask, referring to the ocean.

He nods, sudden fear lighting his eyes. I reach a hand out and then pull him into a tight hug. He winces, but returns the gesture so fiercely – fingers digging into my back, mouth resting firmly on my shoulder – that I don’t let go.

“I thought you were dead.” He whispers and I can hear the catch in his voice. “I saw the volcano and I thought you were gone.”

“Coal…” I can smell the salt in his hair, spiked up in all different directions. He must have swum from where he was to here and come into the volcano and then carried me out. “Coal…” I whisper again, unsure of what to say that will help. I’m useless in situations like this, where I need to comfort people.

I like it, that he needs the hug as much as I do. That it’s not just me that won’t let go. I love it, I love it so much and I squeeze harder, wishing I could stay like this forever. And we do, for a while at least, until I feel myself falling asleep in his arms.

Somehow – with methods I am incapable of fathoming – Coal sense my fatigue and loosens his hold on me so I can slide into his chest instead. I feel him standing up, carrying me up from the open beach and then under an overhang.

“Coal?” I ask.

“Yes?”

“It’s not your fault, you know.”

“What is?”

“The volcano. None of it is your fault. There was nothing you could have done.”

He doesn’t answer. I can feel the indecision in the hesitant way he shifts.

“I love you.” I say in a small voice after there’s still no response.

Coal’s chest falls a bit, letting out a small breath of relief. “I love you too Flippers.”

~

I wake up to heat making the back of my neck prickle uncomfortably. Turning over reveals Coal a few feet away. He must have rolled over in his sleep. He’s muttering again, whimpering pathetically and I wish I could make the nightmares stop. He turns over restlessly, murmuring combinations of my name and other inarticulate things.

“Coal,” I crawl over to him, blinking the sleep out of my eyes. “Coal wake –”

I reach out to shake his shoulder, just as he exclaims “no!” and then I feel the heat and cry out in pain, reeling back in the rocky sand.

I bite my lip, holding my hand to my chest and grimacing as the white hot pain slowly fades. It doesn’t even occur to me that Coal is awake until he’s scrambling away, barely choking out a horrified sorry.

“Coal!” I move forward after him, resting my palm in the sand and wincing, though it’s really not that bad and the burning is already going away. “Coal, I’m sorry –”

“No. You shouldn’t be sorry.” He interrupts me bitterly, standing. “It’s my fault. I need to watch myself more.”

“Coal, you were asleep.” I rise with him. “It’s not your fault –”

“Yes, it is! You don’t get it.” He turns his back, pacing. “I destroy things, I burn people! Garages, kitchens, food, Jensen, you -!”

“Coal, don’t do this to yourself.” I say, following his angry footsteps.

He spins to face me. “Stay away from me, Tide.”

The words sting, and I frown. “No.” He backs away a step and I match it with one forward. “You can run off a freaking cliff and I will land on top of you Coal, but there is no way you’re going to leave me.”

“Fine.” He says, and backs away as I step again towards him. I reach out and suddenly he drops to the ground, sitting and bursting into flames. I back away in surprise. I can barely see him through the blaze, but he’s facing the water with his arms crossed in obduracy.

“Coal!” I shout at him. He doesn’t answer, doesn’t even look at me. My eyes are stinging from staring at the flames for too long. “Come on Coal, stop it!”

I want to hit him, to slap some sense into his thick skull but I can’t. Instead, I feel the tug in my gut and drag some water up above my head. It swirls around irately and then I start pelting Coal with hail balls. I don’t even think they hit him before melting, but the loud hiss of steam is at least something in response to my anger.

“Anthony Coal Walker don’t you dare freaking leave me or I’ll…I’ll kill you!” I shout. “Do you even know how stupid you’re being? I need you and I am staying right here and you are not leaving, do you hear me?” With every word I throw another chunk of ice at him until I realize I’m crying and then I drop down to the ground as well and sit there scowling while tears stream down my face.

Mortified at my weakness, I try to rub away the tears with my palms and get nowhere except for making my hands salty. I’m out of water to throw at Coal, and I’m too much of a mess to get more, so I’m left whimpering out half threats through my sobs.

“Whoa, whoa wait,” the heat disappears suddenly and then Coal is rubbing my shoulders and peering at me with worry filled eyes. “Jeez Tide I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“You’re an idiot.” I sniffle miserably.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Coal breathes out slowly. “Are you okay?”

“No I am not okay you moron, you just tried to drive me away.”

“You’re safer away from me.” he says.

“Safer from what? Freezing to death? Getting captured?”

“Safer from getting burned.”

I sigh. “In case you haven’t noticed, that was a problem months ago and I still stayed. I don’t know, maybe I have a death wish, maybe you’re not as bad as you say you are.”

Coal shakes his head at me and lets go of my shoulders. Instantly, I wheel around and tackle him. “No! Don’t you dare do that again! Don’t even think about it. God, I hate you sometimes.”

“Let go of me Flippers.”

“No.”

He sighs, and waits for me to unlatch myself from his torso.

I don’t, and he sighs again. “Tide, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You are going to hurt me more by leaving.” I say, and then force out a laugh. “Besides, it’s not like you’re the only one going around and annihilating things. I nearly drowned a girl. And you, remember?”

“Yeah, I do,” he growls, and I’m relieved to find humor in his tone. “I’m going to get you back for that you know.”

“Suuure you will.” I smile, hesitantly letting go of him and making him look at me. “You’re fine, okay? Stop being such a fussbudget.”

“Fussbudget?”

“It’s a word!” I wrinkle my nose in resentment and he laughs at me. I shove him lightly, which only makes him laugh harder. “I’m serious!” I whine.

“Oh, of course you’re serious, you said fussbudget.”

“You are so immature it’s unbelievable.”

He grins at me. “But immature people are more fun Flippers!”

I roll my eyes, and then I catch sight of figures approaching us over Coal’s shoulder.

“Oh dear, have I interrupted some–”

I cut Shylock off with a snarl; in one swift movement leaping up and raising my hands to call the water to me.

But I never get the chance to crush Shylock under hundreds of pounds of force, like I’ve wanted to do since I first saw him.

Instead, something along the lines of a wrecking ball smashes into my side and I go flying before skidding into the sand. Head spinning, chest completely emptied of air, I blink away the spots in front of my eyes.

It takes me a moment to process that my clothes are dripping wet. It takes another moment for the blood pounding in my ears to subside, allowing for me to hear Coal shouting at my name.

“-okay? Tide?” I feel his hands under my arms and he pulls me up, allowing for me to lean on his shoulder. My ears are still ringing. “I should have killed that clone when I had the chance.” He mutters irately. “Tide!”

“How very touching,” I blink more, thoughts unclear. It sounded like Shylock. “You two are adorable. Really.” Yep, sarcastic, sickly sweet drawl.

My eyes focus and I see Shylock giving us a condescending smile, the Tide clone grinning maliciously while fiddling with a piece of ice, and a whole army of soldiers behind them. I can feel something trickling down the side of my head. I don’t need to check to know that it’s blood.

“What do you want?” Coal demands slowly, and I can feel his hands quivering with rage.

“Don’t you ever get bored of asking that?” Shylock replies, waltzing forward with an air of lethargy in his step.

I try to stand on my own but an aching pain in my side makes me crumple. Coal strengthens his hold on me, trying to support my weight.

“You might’ve broken a rib.” He murmurs in my ear. “She hit you with a block of ice. Now, on two, I’m going to let you go and you have to get behind me as best you can.”

I nod imperceptibly as the clone steps forward.

“What are you doing?” she demands .

“One…”

The clone frowns, eyes suspicious. The blob of ice swarms angrily near her.

“Two!”

I let my legs fall and I drop to the sand, a sharp pain tearing up my side as I land roughly on my hands. I sort of run, sort or crawl, sort of roll behind Coal and end up on my back as flames blast out from his hands. Collective shouts are emitted from the men and a shriek of anger from the clone as the fire engulfs the ground.

“Got a plan?” I ask, pushing myself to stand.

“Um…”

In spite of our less than ideal situation, I smile. “I’ll ice the ground and we run, okay?”

He glances back at me. “You can’t ru –”

“I’ll make it Coal.” I bite out quickly, knowing and hating that he’s right.

He pauses, as if contemplating arguing, but then grimaces and turns his back to me. “Whenever you’re ready.”

I nod, take a breath, and then a wave is smashing out the fire, raising an opaque cloud of steam. What I didn’t anticipate was how far away the beach actually was, and how much energy it would take to bring it here. The pain of my rib triples and I gasp, stumbling.

“You are a terrible liar.” Coal says and loops his arms around me, dragging me up enough to start running. His fingers stay near my side as I trip over my feet.

“Do you have a better idea?”

He forces a laugh. “No. No I don’t.”

“That’s –” I have to pause because I’m having trouble breathing. “What I…thought.” I stumble again and Coal has to pause to help me up.

Coal looks behind his shoulder and then suddenly shoves me down. “Duck!”

I groan, wincing as the ear-splitting boom of a grenade goes off above my head. I expect to feel Coal lifting me up again but instead all I can hear is my own ragged breathes. My side aches but I force myself to turn over, wincing as I do so. I open my eyes to see we’re surrounded, with Shylock standing over me smugly. He’s not talking to me though.

“-simple really. You have two options. Stay with her and become a lab rat; or just leave and live a life where your abilities are appreciated.”

I blink and look over at Coal. He’s standing by now and his hands are on fire. His fists aren’t clenched, and the flames are wispy and uncertain. He is silent as he and Shylock stare at each other.

“Or we could take you both.” Shylock says lightly, as if discussing over tea. “She’s too unpredictable. But you, you seem reasonable.”

“Coal?” I stand painfully.

He doesn’t answer.

“She is useless.” Shylock goads. “She is slowing you down.”

Coal throws a glance at me, fleeting and blank. He steps forward, the flames dying from his palms. I watch, wide eyed, as he walks to stand even with Shylock. My mouth is open but no sound is coming out. I can’t think, can’t do anything.

“Coal.” I choke out finally. I hate how my voice cracks, throat dry, side throbbing, heart shattering to a million pieces. It’s agonizingly obvious, but still I ask, “Coal, what are you doing?”

He doesn’t look back.