The Elementals

I don’t dream. All that’s there is the hurt. The same pain, always. I think I drift in and out of consciousness because I hear Breeze and Terra and Steel. I don’t hear Coal. Then the blackness takes over again and I’m out.

When I wake up fully for the first time, I see Breeze. For a minute, I think I’m in a dream, a flashback of when she and Terra first found me.

“Hi Tide.” She says gently. “How are you feeling?”

Like I just died twice and then some.

“Good.” I lie. “Is everyone okay?”

Breeze laughs. “We’re all fine, thanks to you.”

I nod, satisfied. Looking around I ask, “Where’s Coal?”

“He’s right here,” Breeze says, glancing behind her shoulder. Seeing that there is no one there, she says confusedly, “Well he was just a minute ago.” She turns back to me, “Are you okay?”

“I’m tired.” I say. Why would I be tired after only five minutes?

“Oh, and here I am yapping to you.” Breeze says and I briefly picture Oh’Rian, hands making prints on the glass as I raced away. It hurts my head thinking about it. “Get some sleep.” Breeze commands.

I would argue, but my eyelids are already closing.

~

I wake up again and no one is there. I don’t necessarily mind, but for the fact that they might have been captured. I strain to listen. The birds tweet to each other and the wind is ruffling the leaves up high. I’m under a tree with my back propped against the trunk. I see a water bottle next to me and drink it all thirstily. I’m filled with relief once I hear the familiar crashing and shouting of Maple and Sparky.

I try getting up, but as soon as I move my left arm, the pain slams back into me. I peek fearfully at my shoulder. It doesn’t look as bad. It’s still much pinker than the rest of my skin, but a whole lot better than the inflamed red it was. It covers my old scar, the one from Sunnydale, at the top. I touch it carefully.

Bad idea. The area is really sensitive and as soon as my fingers make contact, it burns. I lean back and wait for it to stop. As soon as it does I unwillingly fall back asleep.

~

“You’ve been out for almost six days.” Breeze tells me. She hands me some blueberries. “Maple picked these for you.”

”Six days?" I ask, inhaling the berries.

“You faint a lot.” Sparky says, appearing from behind Breeze.

I smile wryly. “Yes, yes I do. How about you go over there and play?” He nods and races off.

Breeze smiles, watching Sparky. She turns back to me. “He doesn’t really get how using your powers is taxing. How are you doing?”

“Great,” I say. Breeze doesn’t have to know I’ve been trying to walk around at night and when she’s not looking.

“How’s your-” She gestures to my arm.

“It’s better,” I say slowly. It is better, much better. But it’s still sore to the touch.

“He’s really upset about that, you know.” Breeze says.

“Who?” I ask, hoping she’ll say Steel or Sparky or Bob.

No such luck.

“Coal,” Breeze replies. “He cares about you Tide.”

“Yeah, cares enough to avoid me at all costs.” I mutter.

Breeze shrugs. “He didn’t leave your side the entire time you were out.” She gets up and runs after Sparky, who is chasing a squirrel with lightning shocking off his fingertips. I get up and stretch. The scar stings, like a really bad sunburn, but it feels good to be moving.

“How cliché,” I snicker, but then I shut up when I realize that it’s a cliché of love stories. I shake my head to clear it. “Sparky!” I call. He stops terrorizing the wildlife and runs towards me. He jumps into me and I catch him, wincing a little.

“You’re walking!” He shouts, like I’ve just come back from the moon.

“Yes, I’m walking.” I laugh, “I didn’t forget how.”

Sparky laughs manically and I put him down. “I forgot how to walk,” He says, stumbling around the tree.

Breeze chuckles and follows him. “The others are over there,” she points to the left.

I walk in that direction, through the trees. Terra sees me first. She leaps up and runs to me, much like Sparky.

“Are you okay? What happened? Did you see the light? What is the light anyway?” Terra strings all those questions together at once and my head spins a little.

“Slow down, Terra,” Steel says. Terra shuts her mouth, looking sheepish. “Great to have you back.” He says.

A sticky hand grabs mine. It’s Maple. “Did you like the blueberries?” She asks.

“I loved the blueberries.” I tell her and she beams proudly. I look around. Coal is nowhere to be seen.

“Tell us everything.” Terra demands.

I sigh quietly and sit down. I tell them “everything”. Almost everything. I carefully leave out certain parts. Steel looks at me, noticing. I ignore him and keep talking. Terra gasps at anything and Maple won’t stop smiling.

I didn’t realize I meant this much to people.

~

I look for Coal, but he’s nowhere to be found. I don’t search very hard, because he has to come back at some point, right? He appears when Breeze tries to light a fire to cook a rabbit, but is gone just as quickly. I attempt following him, but he doesn’t leave a trace.

Coming back to camp is difficult. The day has drained me. I keep expecting a snarky comment every time I trip, but there’s nothing. I go to sleep feeling slightly empty.

~

“He hasn’t tried using his powers, not once since he dragged you back unconscious.” Breeze says after I ask about Coal the next day.

“What about last night?” I question.

Breeze shakes her head. “Not even then. I had to use my matches.”

“Why not?”

“I have no idea. I wasn’t even there. All I know is something bad happened during that fight.”

She looks at me, waiting for an explanation. I don’t give it to her. I’m still trying to figure it out myself. I don’t want to think about it alone, but the only other person I would share it with is avoiding me, not to mention the center of my problem.

I float through the rest of the day in a daze. Terra talks to me, Steel stays close by, like a dog waiting for me to fall. It’s disconcerting, how he seems to be able to tell how I’m feeling just by a glance. I go to sleep numbly, more hollow than ever.

~

I wake up, snapping my eyes open. My arm had a burst of red hot pain. It fades fast though, which is weird. The stars wink at me from the sky. The moon is almost full. In front of me, Breeze is sleeping with Sparky and Maple curled up right next to her. Terra is a little farther away, mumbling in her sleep. Steel is to Terra’s left. Everyone looks so peaceful. I look around the trunk of the tree. Coal is there, away from everyone. He’s in his classic curled up ready to spring awake and fight position.

“No, no,” I hear Coal muttering. “I-I thought you were-“

It takes me a second to figure out that he is in fact, sleeping. He must be dreaming.

“I-” He says, and I think he must be re-living the fight. “Wait, what are you doing? No! You’re not going to do this again!” He says, getting louder. I turn farther around the tree. “Stop it; they’re going to kill you! Tide!” He shouts, jolting awake.

I quickly sit back against the trunk, pretending to be asleep. I crack my eyes open a tiny bit. Coal walks over and glances at me. He sighs with relief, and sits back down.

I don’t get to sleep for a while.