Young Writers Society

Jayke Hartz

Someone had cleared their throat. I swear, honest to god. But nothing happened. The announcement came to go to bed. I complied, taking my stuff and shuffling to my room, thinking of all that had happened. Before sleeping, I flipped through the book. My book held diagrams of shields, armors, and body re-inforcing techniques. What is this? I thought. Where were the attacks, the cool flashy moves, the killing blows? What did they expect me to do, sit there and take hits like a freakin' tank? I sat at the edge of my bed and thought about it. It's true though, Earth elements were the only ones able to create a solid item strong enough to block attacks. I turned through the pages, reading the more complicated techniques of creating diamond blades and shields. The clock flashed 12:05. I should have showered, I thought. But it was too late, I lay in bed, dreaming of the day. I couldn't sleep though, I stared at the ceiling, waiting for the lambs to take me to the land of peace. I couldn't. I just couldn't. I sat back up in my bed and pulled out the book again, turning on a lamp. I had to study this. I was off to a bad start with everyone, I had to make an impression on everyone.



I woke up. Some time around 7, I couldn't tell. I had only slept for a few minutes after staying up all night, practicing techniques. I had a few basic ones ready in mind, but I still hadn't gotten to the one I wanted: an iron cage, located about 1/4 of the way through the book. I still had a long way to go. There was a note on my table. I read it. Something about 9 A.M. I threw it aside and stared into the mirror, hoping the water would wake me up. I need to smoke... or something to drink. My eyes were blood shot from lack of sleep and the drugs I had been doing the other day. There was another reflection, not mine. The figure swung their fist at me. I ducked and they broke the mirror. I hardened my all of my skin with rock as they lashed out with their foot. As they hit me, they flinched upon hitting such a hard substance. I took this chance to punch him in the head. He flipped over like he had been tackled by a quarter back. I bit my lip... that was a bit much, even for me. The note floated out of the waste basket I had thrown it in.

You pass. Be on the rooftop later.

So it was time for the first mission. I had a deep pit in my stomach. But it was more of an anticipation of a fight, rather than nervousness. It was time to show these newbies what to do. I could fight and if that was the only way I could prove myself, I would fight until the end. I went to the cafeteria. Fighting on an empty stomach would be hell.

Thuake Brooks - Earth

I was going up the steps to the rooftop when someone crashed into me. It was Arwen

"Watch it kid," I roared at her.

I tried to get past her when the corner of my eyes saw tears coming from her eyes. Humph why should I care, her miseries were her own problem.

I decided to walk past when she shouted back.

"Just who the hell do you think you are, you never talk to anyone and act as if anyone coming near you hurts.".

I continued walking up the stairs and ignored her. I could her fire flare up in her hands.

She screamed at me, "Turn around and look at me you arrogant prick.".

She threw a fireball at me.

I joined the rocks in my pocket to make a boulder and blocked her fire easily. The girl had some nerve trying to attack me, I flew down the stairs towards her and grabbed her shoulders.

"Don't you dare try to attack me again or next time that boulder won't just extinguish your fire but also your life," I said to her with a menacing stare.

I thought maybe I'd said too much, she was only a kid after all. But why should I care.

I got to the rooftop and there and only one girl was there, damn it was that witch Eli, I completely ignored her and went to the opposite end of the building. I looked over at the city. Would this be the last time I saw this mortal world? It didn't matter to me as I had no attachment to this pretentious realm.

I heard steps coming up the stairs, it was that girl who just attacked me, she looked upset.

I didn't want any bad blood between us before starting the mission so I thought I might as well find out her name, she seemed a bit reasonable unlike Eli.

I went up to her and said, "Call me Thuake.".

She peered up at me and said, "I'm Arwen. Look back there on the stairs, I didn't mean to --".

I interrupted her, "Its okay, I shouldn't have shouted either. You were going through a tough time.".

"Its just that stupid Eli and Jerr, their..their. I just don't want to talk about it," said Arwen tears brimming in her eyes.

"Forget about everything now. We're going to start a dangerous mission soon, we need to control ourselves and do whats best for the team. Doing whats best for the team is best for us too. We will be in a world none of us have ever been to, it's not going to be easy adjusting to our surroundings. So try to forget about all that happened. Do what I do, stay away from people, they do nothing but hurt you in the end," I said to her in the calmest voice I could muster up.

Arwen smiled at me and said, "Your not as bad as I thought.".

Arwen ¬

I smiled at Thuake. "You're not as bad as I thought,"

He smiled and walked off, to peer over the roof tops. I made my way to another part of the roof, and looked. The roof tops looked like jagged, frozen flames of fire that reach up into the ocean blue sky. I looked down, saw the cars and the small dots that must be people scurrying around like ants. If I fell, it would all be over. Not even fire could save me. I could feel myself tipping involuntarily... and then I was falling, the air whipping past me and then black.

I was dragged from my reverie when the Old Hag decided to appear. I shook my head to clear the nightmare and glared at the Hag.

"Fundamentals, you are ready for your first mision, you must team up with your other twin Fundamentals, forget your differences," She glared at the Fire Fundamentals. Damn, this woman knew everything. "And work together,"

Aurora Clavelle - Earth

I didn't get far in the book, but that night I went to sleep with a smile on my face. Defensive. All the moves I'd covered so far had been meant to defend and protect and I'd even flicked on ahead, but the vast majority of Earth attacks hadn't been attacks at all. I slept well. I'd always been good at sleeping but I was good at waking up as well so when the alarm sounded at nine AM I stirred and turned it off. I saw the note straight away and looked around for a towel on my way out. There. On the chair. I picked it up and headed down to the showers.

It was nice to feel the cool water running over my skin and it gave me a chance to clear my head. I was here. And I was going to fight to defend my world. I could handle that. Yes, I could. It was strangely comforting to know that I would be the shield more often than the sword.

After my shower I walked back to my room, the towel wrapped around my body. But when I entered I knew I was not alone. I could... I could feel them in there. I could sense them occupying a space. It was something I'd always been able to do, I just knew when someone was sharing my patch of ground with me. I guess I developed the skill out on the streets where you never knew when someone would be sneaking up behind you, ready to hit you over the head. I tensed and scanned the room with my eyes, searching for somewhere the light might be bending around an object I couldn't see or for something that was out of place.

He came at me from the left. He had a staff and as his first blow rained down on me, I only just had the chance to dodge out of the way, still holding my towel around me with one hand. I needed... I needed something earthy and the only thing in the room was the plant. Fine. I also needed my hands free. I didn't want the masked man to see my naked body, but I couldn't keep hold of the towel and fight. So I grabbed it in both hands and swung it over his head, kicking him at the same time so that he stumbled back.

Then before he could get up I was across the room and had gathered the earth from the plant pot. The masked man threw the towel from his head but I didn't care now because my body was covered in a thin coating of hardened earth. And when he next attacked, I broke his staff in two and knocked him down. Then I ran from the room, fear suddenly clutching at my chest. Throughout the fight I had barely been afraid but now I thought - the others - and it thundered inside me.

"Everyone, be alert! We're under attack, we're-" I heard him behind me and spun to once more face my adversary. But he stopped, standing at the door to my room and he... bent his head to me. Then he took off in the opposite direction. I started to give chase but then I saw the paper on the floor and bent to pick it up.

You must lead strong. Well done, you have passed the test.

I wasn't too pleased with that. I went back to my room, grabbed the towel and headed down to the showers for the second time that morning.

Antony Cove - Water

When Alice and I made it to the rooftop everyone else was already there. The only reason we weren't there earlier was because Alice stopped me and asked me to help her with her air moves. That took about five minutes and from there we had to run. Once we made it to the roof everybody was in various states of distress. Eli, Hannah, and Natalie were talking on the edge of the roof - which distressed me to no end because I was sure someone was going to fall off. Jerreus was freeting somewhere off to the side. Thuake and Arwen were talking on the other end of the roof - the opposite end of Elijah actually. Liam looked completely non-observant, and David was in the same position as him, looking bored. I looked around for Aurora and saw her coming up the stairs, the last of us.

The mood up here was really somber so I stood in the middle of the roof and placed my hands in my pockets.

"You guys excited," I asked. No one answered, and this much I predicted, so I just kept talking. "Well, right now it's 9:59 so we should be getting answers soon." Not even thirty seconds after I said that the opening to the roof closed loudly, making Alice squeal and cover her ears. A moment of panic rushed through me but I calmed myself quickly. After all, they were the good guys.

Everyone waited around silently, waiting for something to happen. Nothing happened for a long minute before someone finally sighed angrily.

"Well this was a pointless load of bull-" Suddenly the ground of the roof shifted and I fell to my knees, unprepared for the sudden movement. The three girl quickly scrambled off the edge of the building and everyone gathered in the middle, equally confused.

"Earthquake," Alice asked, her voice shaky.

"I doubt it," Aurora replied. The ground moved again, this time like water, causing everyone to stumble. I reached out blindly and held onto the closet person to me. God, I hope it wasn't a Fire. I could just see the beating I would get from just touching one of them. My breathing quickened and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears.

But the real horror came when we all started to sink into the ground.

Alice screamed out loudly, right next to my ear, and I tried to tell her to please calm down but I was scared to. Everybody started struggling to get out of the ground but that only made us sink faster. I groaned out and tried to use my powers to stop the ground from moving, hoping it was made of some type of water, but it was a waste of time and energy.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Are they going to kill us now?"

"Dammit, what the hell is this stuff?!" Everyone was yelling, cursing, and struggling to get out of the ground. It had only been thirty seconds or so before I was up to my chin in roof. I sent a silent prayer to God, begging him to let everyone live through whatever was happening, and that's when we fell.

There was screaming all around as we fell through nothing but black space. I couldn't see anything, no matter how many times I looked around. I couldn't feel anything, no matter how hard and wide I flung my arms and legs around. I knew the others were there, I could hear their screams over my own, but I didn't know where they were. My stomach fought to stay in it's rightful place as I fell, but if I could keep falling forever I would. The only thing I worried about was landing.

-

We were probably only falling for less than a minute but it felt like forever and a day. Suddenly there was a bright white light coming from below and I could see everyone around me, encased in what looked like bubbles. I looked around and saw that I was in one too. Suddenly I stopped screaming, too astonished. But I didn't have much time to wonder of what these bubble things were before I hit ground. The casing around me absorbed all the impact and bounced a few times before coming to a stop and popping. Everyone around me went through the same thing.

We all gathered in the middle again, coming together for our safety despite what happened at The Headquarters. Now, if only we could be this close without facing a confusing and possibly life threatening situation. I wanted to ask someone anything, mostly just so I could hear them talk and confirm they were okay, but the intensity was too high and no one spoke.

Suddenly there was purple sparkles falling from an unknown location right in front of our little group. Everyone was instantly on guard. The only water substance I had around was chocolate milk so I wielded that, causing it to hover above and around my hands, ready to use. The sparkled turned into a figure and everyone was ready to attack but stopped when the old lady appeared. I let out a sigh of relief and nearly collapsed when I saw her face. Never in my life had I been so happy to see someone. Never.

She waved a hand and the white box illusion around us shimmered and died, revealing us standing on an impossibly beautiful island. "Welcome to the Water Continent," the old lady said. "Please, be careful." And with that she disappeared, leaving us alone on the island. Rory was the first one to leave our tight group.

"What's this," she wondered out loud. I shrugged and sipped from of the chocolate milk I was wielding from the air. If I wasn't going to use it to fight I might as well drink it. Everyone broke apart slowly, wandering around the magnificent island.

"What are we supposed to do," someone asked. I shrugged again and continued with my chocolate milk. We'd been wandering around aimlessly for a minute or so when something popped out of the water and landed on the ground in front of us. It looked like a person from the waist up, a girl with long red hair, green eyes, and a sea shell bra on. She reminded me of Ariel from the Little Mermaid, even down to the green tail flopping on the island.

Everyone backed away from her, ready to fight again. She looked up at us through her wet hair and smiled.

"Oh dear," she laughed, "just give me a minute to dry off!" She hummed as the sun warmed her skin and I stepped forward nervously.

"If you need to dry I can, uh, help you." I gave her a charming smile and she returned it.

"Oh that would be lovely," she said. I nodded and knelt beside her, using my gift to life all excess water from her skin. I stored the water in my empty chocolate milk bottle for later use and, when her skin was dry, she was enveloped in a white light. The light faded away and she was revealed to us again, dusting the sand off her legs. She fixed her skirt and turned to us with a wide smile.

"Welcome to the Water Continent! If you are not an air or water element please pair up with one, or else you'll drown." She smiled sweetly at our confused faces.

(The Water's turn into mermaids when they go into the water.)

Jayk Hartz - Earth

The gate deposited us on an island. It was dimly lit by the shining sun. The warning for us to pair up came at a surprise. Unwillingly, people began to get together. I walked over to Hanna, asking her if I could be her partner. She allowed it. We explored the island for a bit, only to realize that there wasn’t much except for a large cave that led deeper into the ground. The journey through the water continent did not begin until we were fully under water, I surmised. We entered the cave.

Arwen created a fire ball in her hand, providing extra light as we proceeded to explore the area further. It was such a change from out normal life of urban sprawl. There were green plants hanging from the ceiling, mushrooms that burped and belched, and streams of water that didn’t seem to follow gravity. Everyone was excited; they ran around, touching and poking the new things. Just like little kids…I thought. Though if said I wasn’t excited, I would be lying as well. We seemed to forget the seriousness of the task we were faced with for a moment. I wandered away from the group and poked a clam hiding in a pond of water. It shuffled back down into the area below.

“Hey guys, check this out!” I yelled. I felt a sharp jab through my left shoulder, forcing me to wince. There were screams and gasps. I turned and saw why: a black spear was protruding from my shoulder. I fell to my knees, more from shock than in pain, though it did hurt like hell. Dribbles of blood came out my mouth. A dark figure began to materialize next to me.

“So… you children are the newest fundamentals…” it mused.
“Who are you?” I croaked.
“Is that really an honest question? Who do you think I am?” I didn’t want to say it. I knew who it was though. I just knew. Only one person could have such an aura to make me even shudder. Their appearance could only be that of a demon or devil.
“Karzai,” I whispered. No… No…it’s too early. Why is he here? Isn’t this our first mission? The demon seemed amused as I thought those questions.
“So you mistaken me for Karzai. No, I am nothing more than one of his pawns. I am here because he instructed me to eliminate all of you. It would be a hassle if he was locked away again for such a long period of time. So in order to make sure no one stops me in the future, I decided to… what do that call it… cut the stem before the flower buds? I don’t understand your human expressions,” but for a ‘pawn’ he had an immense amount of strength. I could feel it. His power made me shake. I made a decision there. I brought up my right hand, forcing stone around the demon to bind him.
“Run!” I screamed. There was no way we could take him out now. We had no other choice but to flee. Everyone broke their trance and ran deeper into the cave.

Hanna, looking slightly worried, came over to help me hobble along. I waved my fingers frantically, telling her that I would be ok. There was a mighty roar, shaking dust and rocks from the ceiling. A fist punched through the stone cage I had made. There’s no way we escape in time before he catches up. I stared at the group running further and further. I slowed my pace until I came into a halt. That’s right, don’t look back, I prayed to them. I gathered as much energy as possible in my fist and punched the wall. The area shook violently. I hit it again and a few stones shook loose. I hit it one last time and the ceiling collapsed, blocking the path between myself and the other fundamentals. I can’t believe I just did that. Someone had to stall this monster though. I had never been a religious person, but I prayed to God that he would give me the strength to see through this task.



“What was that?” Alice asked as there was a deep rumbling.. Hanna, being the last person, looked behind her. She watched as the ceiling came crumbling down. There was a figure on the other side: Jayk, making the sign of the cross over his head.
“Jayk! What the hell are you doing!” she yelled. He didn’t hear her and the last stone fell in place. She began to turn around and chase after him. Thuake held her shoulder.
“Stop. There was no way we could have outrun that thing. Jayk stayed behind to stall him so we had time to escape.”
“And you completely agree with that? He’s going to die!” everyone was silent. They hadn’t known each other for more than two days, but already a member of their team was disappearing. Aurora stood up to take command.
“We have to go, don’t let his life go in waste. Plus, we all know Jayk’s personality from the show he put on. He’s a stubborn bastard that probably will refuse to die. We’ll meet up again later,” she said, trying to comfort everyone. It was a lost cause though. As they ran on, glances were cast backwards.



“Fuuh… Ha…” I clutched my bloodied face. The demon had broken free and chased us down the narrow opening. He had proceeded to maul me with various attacks. I charged forward again and lashed out with my fist. He stepped to the side and I fell over, tumbling on the ground. Could I not land a single hit on him? At first he seemed amused by my attempts to stop him, but it quickly became boredom as he saw that I would be no match. He yawned and snapped his fingers. Another spear came out of the air and stabbed me in the back of my leg. I gritted my teeth, keeping my eyes on him.

“Boy, what is your name.”
“Jayk Hartz,” there was no harm in telling him. I tried to hit him again. My fist met air as he disappeared and appeared a few feet away. I hit the ground, cracking open another section, “Yours?”
“Raphael. Do you not see that you have lost?”
“What are you talking about? I’m still breathing,” my next attempt to hit him failed as well. Stop moving, god dammit. If I could just get one hit… one hit…
“So your definition of losing is death? Are those other eleven really worth dying over? How long have you known them?”
“Two days,” I grinned and hit the ground again as he dodged me.
“Two days? And that’s enough for you to… create a friendship?”
“Not exactly a friendship. I’m sure they hate me,” I willed a boulder to come up from behind Raphael. Even when attacking his blind side, he dodged the attack with ease. My breath was turning shallow. I was worn out already, having had collapsed the cave. I looked beyond the rubble, hoping that they were far enough by now.



The tunnel ended and was replaced with a deep pool of water. So the journey through the water continent finally began.
“Air Fundamentals,” Aurora instructed, “water elementals should be perfectly fine in the water, but the rest of us can’t breath in water,” They looked nervously among themselves: they hadn’t practiced this move yet. Alice stepped forward.
“I… I think I might be able to do it. I was flipping through the pages of my book and saw how to create air bubbles. I didn’t practice it… but I remember the page,” Alice stepped towards Aurora and placed her hands on her temples. The hands trembled, both from fear of Raphael and nervousness at this task. Anthony placed his hand on Alice’s shoulder. His eyes conveyed the message: It’ll be ok. Just do your best.



“And there’s that,” Raphael threw aside my left arm. He threw a glob of green acid at it and it disintegrated. I was kneeling on the ground, clutching the area where my arm had once been. The pain… it hurt so much. I wanted to die. But I looked up at the demon as he towered over me.
“You… you really are going to die for them aren’t you?” I nodded.
“Are you sure you don’t want to accept my offer? I’ll spare your life if you hand over the other eleven,” I nodded ‘no’.
“Well how about becoming one of my demons then? Your power will increase tremendously and your arm will come back. All you have to do is pledge allegiance to me,” another no nod.
“Go to hell,” I managed to utter. Once he was within my range, I slammed my first into the ground. The area he stood on fell, revealing a deep chasm. All of my punches had weakened the cave’s floor. It was only later did I realize this and began directing my attacks to this trap. The demon fell down, a look of surprise on his face. As he disappeared, I let out a sigh of relief. So it had worked.
“That… was an interesting move,” his voice said. Are you kidding me? Is he even hurt? “But it won’t be enough to stop me,” Raphael materialized beside me. I looked at him with weak eyes. I couldn't even hurt him.



“Got it!” Alice exclaimed. Aurora felt the bubble of air surrounding her head.
“Great, now do every one else’s so we can get out of here.



He drove another black needle into my leg: that marked the tenth one. I charged again, willing my body to listen to its master. I missed once more and he flicked the air, driving yet another needle into my leg. I gave up trying to beat him by myself. But that wasn’t the plan… I hope they’re far enough by now. I though about the situation I was in. You just gave your life away for eleven random people you don’t know. How stupid must you be to do that? What ran through your mind? To be honest, I didn’t know the answer to my own questions. Though… if I were to die… this is the way to go, right? I was a thug in my life time. I was a loser of society, a nobody of this world. I relished this feeling, the idea of being a hero. I know I’m weak. I always tried to hide it behind a tough demeanor. I was lonely, but I didn’t want any friends. I was scared, but never sought comfort. Maybe this is just karma biting me in the ass again. Raphael stared at me with such fascination. How could such a young man have the will as a hardened veteran? But those eleven… they deserve a change to live life. I had my fun, it’s not fair that they have theirs stolen away so early. The least I can do is give them that and do my job until the end. I am an Earth element, it is my duty to protect and defend. I still had one last trick up my sleeve. I gathered the last of my energy. The ground began to shake: an earthquake. But that wasn’t it. The ceiling began to collapse all around us. Raphael narrowly dodged one of the falling boulders. I slammed the ground one last time. The stone below Raphael rose, moving him towards the ceiling and attempting to flatten him. This is my last attack.



There was more rumbling as Alice finished off the last air bubble.
“There, we’re done,” she proudly spoke, “we can go now,” one by one they jumped into the pool of water until only Thuake and Aurora were left. Thuake made the motion to jump in.
“Wait… Thuake,” he turned around.
“It’s about… that feeling right?” he said.
“Yeah. It felt like… something was just ripped off of me. Something is missing now.”
“Jayk. He’s probably-“
“Don’t say any more,” they stood there, staring at the ground.
“Should we tell the others?”
“No. Let them have the hope that he’s still alive. I don’t know how the others will re-act. We can’t afford to have too many sentiments at this moment.”
“That demon… he was strong wasn’t he,” Aurora looked bleak.
“We were caught off guard.”
“Let’s just hope it was that. I don’t want to face more demons like that right away. Maybe in the future when we’re stronger, but not so soon,” they jumped into the pool of water, never looking back.

Will be on vacation this week/next week. This marks a departure. A friend gone. Continue the fight and defeat Karzai, but ask yourself this: do you have the will to continue?

P.S: Jayk may or may not be dead Let your imagination roam. And sorry for controlling certian people's characters. If I portrayed something wrong, let me know what part and how to change it and I will.

Arwen ¬

I didn't extinguish the flame in my hand. Instead, I walked over to a large boulder near the waters edge. I heated it up. I enscribed Jayke's name on it. I placed the fire on the floor. Then I concentrated.

I manipulated the fire. I made a flower, making petal after petal. Then, when my energy was nearly spent, I coloured the flame purple and left it next to the boulder. I wiped away a tear, wondering if Jayk was dead.

Elijah Woods - Fire

Alice formed an air bubble around our heads so we could breathe, but I barely noticed it. If she removed it I probably wouldn't even realize I was drowning until I died. Yeah, I didn't know him very well, and that's what made it all the more heartbreaking. Because he sacrificed himself to save us. Shit man. That was devestating. I looked over and saw tears running down Alice's face as she kept us alive. Everyone else was looking around, their face filled with confusion and a special type of sadness.

If we lost one person not even thirty minutes into our journey then how many more will be torn away from us. Suddenly I wasn't very mad at Arwen or even Jerr. I looked over to them both and sighed, giving a smile that said "I'm sorry. Forgive me?" I don't know if they understood because I turned away just as quickly, blushing at my sudden show of compassion.

The mermaid guide we met on the island sighed heavly and ran a rand through her hair.

"I'm sorry about your friend," she said. It choked me up even more. 'We weren't even really friends,' I wanted to tell her, but I kept my mouth shut. "Listen, I'll get you kids a place to... well... recover. This way please." She started to swim away and it wasn't until I saw the two waters swimming behind her that I realized they had tails. My eyes widened and, despite myself, I smiled.

"Nice tail," I called out. Antony turned around and smiled sadly at me.

"Don't be jealous just because you don't have one," he called, air bubbles running from his mouth. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Jealous? Of a tail? Don't be silly." I folded my arms across my chest, defiant once again, but had to quickly unfold them and keep paddling out towards a magnificent underwater city.

(I'm not sure if this is okay tell me if its not)

David Baker-Air

I swam quietly pondering the future of this journey. Before the menace of death had been hiding but now it had reared its ugly head and snatched one of us. I would of been lying to call Jayk a friend in truth the only thing I had said to him was "stop being a crazy asshole". Wow I felt like an asshole.

The city came into view as we swam over a coral reef and down quite far to the sea floor miles below us. We all stopped and our guide allowed us to float in awe for a few minutes. For the first mile or so the sun penetrated the sea and as we looked down we could see the city illuminated by lamps contained in dry containers. The city was truly beautiful all built in white stone with pillars and towers large sections of the city were covered in seaweed and other sea faring plant species. Their was a huge mountain that came up out of the centre of the city and the peak seamed to be above sea level. The water where we were a few hundred meters below sea level was a warm temperature but as are guide led a down it got slightly cooler like standing in an air conditioned room. Despite the apparent pointlessness the bottom of the city did in fact have a cobbled road. I thought that perhaps the palace of the ruler we were going to meet would be at the top of the mountain but quickly realised that it would be illogical for a ruler of sea people to have his palace above land.

Alice Belltris - Air

I kept the water bubble around my head and the people I had to keep from drowning. None of the other Air's knew how to make a bubble so it made me feel good inside that I was helping in such a huge way. But the good inside me was short lived as memories of the rocks falling down and trapping us off from Jayk kept replaying. I hope he didn't die. I mean, he still had that gun, right? I hoped so, guns were supposed to be deadly.

"Nice tail," I heard Elijah call. I blinked and looked up to see what she meant. Up in front of us, along with the mermaid that met us on the beach, were Antony, Hannah, and Liam, all sporting a nice fishy tail. I giggled at the sight, they just looked so unusual. Their normal clothes seemed to disappear, the boys had on no shirt and Hannah was dressed like the mermaid in front of her. I felt a sudden spike of jealously. I want to be a mermaid too.

We swam into the city and my arms were already tired. I wasn't a very good swimmer and the only reason I learned was so I didn't nearly drown at another pool party. All the people around me seemed to be swimming easily enough but I was struggling and at the back of the group. As we approached the city my arms got weaker and weaker and my legs were aching. I just didn't get swimming. If I was meant to swim I would have been a Water Fundamental.

The mermaid led us into a underwater building and closed the door behind her before pressing a button on the wall. A drain in the floor opened and took all the water away. I dropped my air bubbles and dropped to the ground, my arms and legs aching. I've never swam that long in my life. Everyone around me simply stretched - except for the three Water's and the mermaid who were still half fish - and they were better instantly. My arms ached and I could barely lift them to wipe my hair out of my face.

"By the way," the mermaid guide said, "my name is Shelly. I have to leave now to go alert the King that you've arrived, he'll be so happy to know that the Fundamentals are back. We're glad you came before things could get too out of hand." She smiled before pulling herself across the floor to a hole in the ground next to the drain that was covered with glass. She centered herself over the hole and pressed a red button. A dome closed around her once she pressed the red button and when she pressed the green one the glass covering the hole pulled back. She fell into the hole and disappeared.

"Wow," I said. I wanted to get up and look at it closer but I was just too sore. Instead I sat up with my hands in my lap and watched everyone around the room. "So, umm, this is a really pretty place. Right?" I bit my lip and looked down. I didn't know what else to do. Silences like these made me uneasy.

Natalie McKenzie- Air

I was still shocked by what Jayk did. He's probably dead by now. We've only known him for like, two days, and he's dead. Tough luck. I looked around. It's a really pretty place. The water was a clear and pretty blue.

"So, umm, this is a really pretty place. Right?" I heard Alice ask. I turned my head to her and nodded.

"Definitely. It must be nice to live here," I thought.

I began thinking what my lifestyle would be like here. Swimming all day, out in the sun and such. I begin shaking my head. Not my kind of lifestyle. I remember the pool parties I used to go to. Man, I hated those. Most of my friends were either lounging on recliners, or throwing people into the pool. One time I was thrown into the pool. That's all I'm going to say. I turned my attention to that Shelly mermaid. She looked like one of those Disney Princesses. Aurora? No. Meg? Nope. Oh! Ariel! There we go. I scratch my head an let out an annoyed huff. I didn't get enough sleep, so I was a bit cranky.

(Hope this is okay!)

Aurora Clavelle - Earth

Jayk was gone and I could feel it. Even as I gazed around at the beautiful air kingdom, I could feel that little hollow in my chest. I glanced over at Thuake but he wasn't looking my way so I cast my eyes to the floor again and let out a sigh. I'd been wrong to consider that we were all the same. We weren't. I could feel his loss; it felt like I was lost too. And there was no saving me. I was Earth, just as he had been, and at the next confrontation perhaps it would be my turn to relinquish my life for the sake of the group. Earth defended and saved. I didn't know whether I felt more proud or saddened by that thought.

Now that the water was gone I was cold and I rubbed my arms together as I shivered. Most of the others didn't look to be in much better condition. "Could someone..." I left the question hanging in the air but Antony seemed to understand what I meant. He came closer and I watched as the droplets of water lifted out of my clothing and splashed against the floor. "Thank you." I made myself smile. "The others-" He nodded and I was glad to see that already Liam and Hanna were helping everyone dry out. Get a grip on yourself, Rory. You need to be strong.

We were left alone for some time but nobody seemed to feel like talking. There was a grim atmosphere about the group and I didn't know how to dispell it. But there were things that needed to be done.

"Alice. Can you show David and Natalie how to make those bubbles? We might be here for some time and if you're always doing it by yourself, it will be tough on you."

Alice had been looking a little wretched but she perked up at my words and nodded eagerly. "I can try," she promised.

"Good." I watched them practice for a while and they seemed to have got the hang of it when Shelly returned. She walked over and said that the king would see us but that we'd have to swim again.

"There are a few rooms like this around the underwater pallace, but most of the kingdom is water based. We are a people who move more freely in water than on land." I nodded my understanding and turned toward the air fundamentals but David gave the instructions first:

"Alice, you're the best at this so do you think you can manage Aurora and Thuke? I'll take Jerrson and Arwen and Natalie can help Elijah."

- deleted -

Jerrson Hastings - Fire; Hanna Paker - Water

Hanna quietly went around, drying everyone off. She was heart-broken that Jayk sacrificed himself to save them. Her. She refused to believe that he was dead; she just couldn't give up hope like that. He'll make it through. Hanna walked ober to Rory and dried her off.

"You okay?" Rory whispered. Hanna nodded quietly and dryed over to Anthony.

"He's paring people up." Anthony nodded in David's direction. "Wan to team up?" Hanna nodded. He opened his arms and she fell against his chest, stifling her cries of pain. She had lost way too my people in the pask week: her family, friends, school, Jayk, even herself. Whether she liked it or not, she was a different Hanna now. She hated the new Hanna; so sad and in pain all the time.

*

Jerrson watched Anthony comfort Hanna. It was strange. Nowadays, Hanna was so sad and weak, so quiet all the time. That's not the Hanna she was at the meeting. That Hanna was strong and fierce, so stubborn. Like the others. Like Eli. But even the strongest can grow weak. Still, he couldn't believe someone so strong could fall. Like Jayk, someone he could've been good friends with. He wished that Jayk could've made it out; he should've! He was so hard-headed and strong. So were all of the Fundamentals. Like Thuakd. Like Rory. Like Eli..

"Jerr! Wake up! I said you're teaming with me and Arwen!"

Jerr looked up to see an annoyed David. He smiled sheepily. "Actually, I think Natalie would rather go with you, David. Right?" He shot Nat a pleading look.

She blinked, caught off guard. "Yeah?!"

Arwen looked hurt but David shrugged. "Whatever."

Nat glared at Jerr. "You owe me." She mouthed. Jerr shot her a thumbs-up and walked over to Eli.

"Go away." She said, not looking up.

"Not this time. We need to talk. What happened when we swam here? Why do you hate Arwen and me? Why do you push everyone?" Jerr asked all yhe questions he'd been dying to ask.

She glared at him. "I don't know. I just do. Butt out. Bye." She turned to leave.

"No! I'm sick of you dropping the subject!" He pulled her back, his face inches from hers. "Answer me." He breathed, trying ignore the fact that her lips were oh so close to his.

Liam

Partners. This was going to be rough.

I knew I should have been more occupied with the idea that we had just lost someone. That would have been a logical emotion. To feel pain or at a loss. Of course, normal emotions were for normal people, and as much as I wanted to be 'normal', normalcy was for those who couldn't make water swirl around a sink by using their minds.

Though all these people were the farthest thing from 'normal', I already had the growing suspicion that I would be the odd man out. There were uneven numbers and, at this point in time, everyone seemed to be quite happy with their own group of fundamentals. The two other water fundamentals already appeared to be in pairs...

I crossed my arms over my chest. Pairing up was silly. I would be more occupied with keeping myself alive anyways if alone. We would be moving soon, and the sooner the better. I wanted to be where I was useful. And useful I would be if I had the chance to do so. Maybe not by hardening blood again, seeing as I still hadn't quite recovered all the energy I lost by completing such a move, but there were many moves of which I could variate between and that was good enough for me.

Yes, I needed to be useful.

I walked towards Shelly, hands behind my back, waiting for the right time to say something if anything at all.