The Elementals

Steel didn’t know where he was. He knew he wasn’t in the government, that’s for sure. There were none of those glass walls that could stop their powers, but they were in a plane. A really smart idea, actually. Steel knew he could just tear apart the hull like paper, but then he and the others would crash and that was one crash he couldn’t survive. No one could do anything, even though they were all free to move about the cabin as they wanted. This almost made Steel more annoyed.

Everyone was here but Breeze. Sparky was exploring each nook and cranny of the plane, oblivious to the fact that they had no idea where they were going. Maple was sitting at the small table, scribbling with crayons. She acted innocent, but Steel had the feeling that she understood more than your average five year old. Terra was pacing impatiently by the door, muttering to herself. Steel looked out the window. He couldn’t see the ground, just the fluffy blanket of clouds. He could still picture the woman that had come for them.

Steel had woken up to the searing heat of flames right near his face. Sparks crackled off and hit his clothes, making little black marks. He automatically did a log roll away and ran into Breeze. She jolted awake.

Scrambling to his feet, Steel said to her, “Fire!” and went on to wake up the others. Tide was missing. So was Coal. Steel got a bad feeling in his gut. When he turned back around, Breeze was gone, replaced by a tall, slender woman. She had appeared out of nowhere. Steel tensed and stepped forward.

“Where are they?” He demanded. She looked at him and smiled. It was a cold, fake smile. Steel shuddered.

“Who are you?” Terra came up from behind Steel.

The lady tilted her head. The wall of fire closing in didn’t seem to bother her. “I am Izila Franklin. I am here to help you. Come, follow me.”

Terra stepped forward eagerly. Steel tried to stop her, but Izila shot him a look that said obey or your friends are toast. Steel frowned, motioning for Maple and Sparky to follow her. Sparky dashed after Terra, excitedly chattering. Maple proceeded with more caution, glancing nervously at Steel before following the woman. Steel brought up the rear, wanting to go back and search through the fire for Tide. He knew she was in there. He also knew that Coal was the source of the fire. And Coal wouldn’t hurt Tide on purpose so something bad had to have happened. But Tide would want him to watch out for the others. He looked around for Breeze, but was almost certain that the woman had her. He clenched his teeth.

Izila lead them swiftly away from the fire, which was quickly spreading and almost consuming them. Emerging into a large clearing, she ushered them into a mini-jet. Steel paused before the door, agonizing over what might be inside. Setting his jaw angrily, he stepped in.

“Good choice.” Izila hissed behind him. Her reptilian voice made Steel get shivers down his spine.

The first thing he had done was search the plane for any possible place they could have trapped someone. There was virtually nowhere but the cockpit, which was locked with some sort of super plastic, so Steel couldn’t pick it.

They hadn’t been on the plane for very long. Steel wasn’t sure if it was moving. Sometimes it just seemed like it was hovering there, stuck in place. There was a mini-fridge which they had raided first thing, but even that was empty now. The plane was stopped again, though they seemed to be moving down. Steel perked his head up when he heard a whooshing from the plane door as it opened.