Elements of the Enemy (Alliance Society Book 1)

by C. J. Felver

  Pulling a breath of air into my lungs—and keeping hold of the water—I step through the metal detector.

  Nothing happens.

  Absolutely nothing.

  Behind the table, the other guard slides a bin over. “You may collect your belongings.”

  The only things in the bin are my hoodie and my wallet. I take the hoodie out first and put it on, grateful no one noticed anything amiss about it. Grabbing my wallet, I purposely fumble with it and it slips through my fingers. A soft thump sounds as it lands on the floor right next to the comms devices. The guard behind me sighs as I stoop down to pick it up. Grabbing both devices and my wallet is a breeze. I stuff everything in my pocket as Reese, who went through the other gate first, waits by the door. Lyza is stepping through behind me without problem.

  “Follow the signs to your right,” the huffy guard tells us, pointing through the next glass doors.

  “Thank you,” I say, turning toward the door.

  Around the corner and out of sight, I pass Lyza her communicator and put my own back into my ear. We follow the directions he gave us and end up in a long hallway. The doors are spaced significantly apart, and benches line the wall between them. Other elementals are already here, filling up the empty areas throughout the hall.

  Sure enough, there are signs everywhere. “Registration: last names A to F here,” indicating with an arrow to the door below the sign. There are four rooms devoted to the registration process and eight dedicated to identity marks.

  “Well, it looks like we won’t be sticking together,” Lyza says, noticing the same thing I have. None of our names are in the same group.

  “This doesn’t change the plan,” Wren says.

  “I’ll be able to keep my eyes on you. Don’t sweat it,” Zander reassures.

  “Guess not,” I say in reply to Lyza, knowing Reese has no idea what the guys are saying in our ears. “I’m not worried,” I add after mustering up some bravado. It could be false, I don’t really know. Bring it on. I’m more than ready.

  Questions

  Plopping down on the bench outside the first room, I bide my time and wait my turn. It looks like there are only two others ahead of me, not counting whoever is inside the room already.

  A woman dressed in a tweed skirt suit comes by and hands me a pen and clipboard with a form attached to it. Her hair is slicked back into a ballerina bun, not a single strand out of place.

  “While you wait, we ask that you please fill out this form. It will help the process run much more quickly.” Without waiting for a response, she turns on her heel, moving with a sure stride toward a potted plant. Sitting next to it is a crate, where she pulls out another clipboard and pen. Her pumps click down the hall as she steps in front of the next new arrival, going through the same spiel she gave me.

  I turn my attention to the clipboard on my lap, thumbing through the few pages. It asks all the basic questions: name, date of birth, affinity, blah, blah, blah. Heaving a breath, I click the pen open and get started filling it out.

  “How long have you been waiting?” I ask the guy next to me as I double check that I’ve answered each question.

  He glances at the clock on the wall before answering. “Oh, about thirty minutes. It seems like each person is in there for about fifteen.”

  Okay, that's not so bad. I’ll likely be sitting here for forty minutes at the most, judging by how many people are lined up ahead of me.

  “This could work to our benefit,” Zander informs us. “Since there’s nothing substantial going on here quite yet, I’ll look around elsewhere to see if I can find any signs pointing toward Doctor Harlow or the serum.” It sounds much more productive than sitting here and twiddling my thumbs.

  I take comfort in the feeling I get from the full bladder pouches at my sides. Mentally reaching out, I can sense more water within the building. If anything happens, at least I know my supply won’t run out.

  “Did you know there were this many elementals in Lawrence?” the guy beside me asks, his gaze wandering around the hallway. The courthouse is beginning to fill up now. There’s quite a line forming at two of the other rooms. In the ten minutes since I’ve been sitting here, a few others have taken a place waiting behind me.

  “Uh, yes and no, I guess,” I reply.

  “What do you mean?” He turns to me, his head tilted to the side. I can tell the moment he notices the bruises on my throat. His eyebrows almost touch his hairline and his eyes go round. He blinks a few times before his expression evens out.

  “Well, there have to be a lot of us out there, or they wouldn’t be so threatened, right?” He nods. “Besides, I’ll bet this is only half,” I speculate, seriously doubting anyone would be so inclined to out themselves if no one knew about them. Honestly, half is probably an understatement. There are probably triple the amount of elementals still blending in somewhere in Lawrence as there are here. If they can get away with not showing up to register, why would they bother?

  “Half, huh?”

  “Well, yeah. If someone were able to hide themselves really well, why would they jeopardize that?” If it weren’t for extenuating circumstances, there’s no way I would be here, waiting to give them a sample of my blood and to be publicly branded. How degrading.

  “I see your point,” he says, nodding.

  The door beside him opens and a teenage girl steps out with a paper in her hand. I watch as she scans the hallway, before going toward whichever line she’s supposed to go to next. A click signals the door closing again. I didn’t get to see who went in after her.

  “It looks like Aulder isn’t on the grounds. No surprise there.”

  Zander’s not kidding. No surprise there at all. Aulder may be full of pride, but I doubt he’d put himself in any potentially harmful situation.

  “So, was that—ex-boyfriend?” the guy beside me asks, making an odd gesture toward his face with his hands.

  What? He seriously couldn’t have heard Zander, right?

  “Ex-boyfriend, right? I’m only assuming if you had been dating the guy responsible for that, you wouldn’t still be with him,” he elaborates, pointing to my neck.

  Seriously? Who asks such a personal question to a complete stranger?

  I make a noise of disagreement as I shake my head. When I chose not to wear my scarf, I expected my bruises would be questioned, but what do I even say to that? The truth wouldn’t be a bad place to start, would it? Glancing down the hall, there are at least eight guards wandering around the area. Probably three of them are within earshot. If I tell him where my bruises come from, I could be risking a lot. It’s not worth calling attention to. So much for making a statement.

  “I’m sorry,” he says, rubbing his hand down his face as he pales. “That was out of line. I’m sorry. I’m Mark, by the way.”

  “Cleo,” I tell him with a side eye, against my better judgement.

  “What’s your element?”

  Appraising him for a moment, I try to figure out if he’s being genuine or if he has some sort of angle. He blanches a little under my stare.

  “I really am sorry. I have a habit of speaking without thinking,” he says. Judging by the downturned set of his mouth, he looks like he’s telling the truth. “If I had to guess, I’d say you’re probably a water or earth elemental. They tend to be a little more reserved. So which is it?”

  I cock my head to the side. I’ve never had anyone try to guess what my element is. “Water, actually,” I tell him, deciding that he seems to be a decent guy. There’s something about his bluntness I appreciate. “And you?”

  “Nature. You know, like flora. Grass, leaves, flowers, that kind of thing.”

  “I can honestly say I’ve never met a nature elemental before.” They’re said to be one of the rarer elements.

  “Nah, we’re out there. Not as common as earth or wind, but not as rare as fire. Have you ever met a fire elemental?”

  My heart clenches. Joe. Where could he be? Once this crap with Aulder is
dealt with, we need to go find him. Across the hall, Lyza’s gaze slams into mine. All of my thoughts seem to be going through her head as well. The look in her eyes is fierce. I give her a nod.

  “Oh, you have? That’s amazing,” Mark says, misinterpreting my nod.

  The door swings open again as another person exits the registration room. Mark pushes himself off of the bench.

  “Well, good luck. I don’t know about all this, but hopefully something good will come out of it.” His sad tone doesn’t match his words. It seems like everyone knows nothing good is going to come of this.

  “Same to you, Mark.”

  A nature elemental. I never thought I’d meet one. My dad always said they were the rarest of our race.

  Could Mark be willing to help when—definitely not if, because it is going to happen—the fighting begins? There’s no way of knowing until it happens. People have a tendency to say one thing, but when it comes down to it, they do the opposite. Actions speak louder than words. Every. Time.

  With him gone, I’m definitely not alone but the bench is quiet again. My thoughts creep back to the forefront of my mind.

  When Aulder’s plan is exposed, what will happen to everyone he has locked up at HSI Labs? In my mind’s eye, I see them all pouring through the doors of his heinous building with fog filling the gaps between them. They return to their families, bearing no ill effects from whatever they’ve been put through.

  I shake my head. If I had to guess, I’d say each of them will need some level of help, like my dad. I don’t even know how many there are or how to get them the help they need. But getting them out of there would be a good start.

  Aside from that, will all of the AGAS guards end up in jail? Will they get off on some plea bargain? Ugh, the possibilities are endless and infuriating.

  Down the hall, Lyza is heading into her registration room. My leg starts bouncing up and down. What are they going to ask her? I’m kind of excited to hear what will be going on in that room.

  I don’t get lucky enough to hear it. Mark is pushing through the door beside me.

  “All yours, Cleo.” He holds the door open for me.

  As I pass him, I mumble my thanks and enter the room.

  I make my way to the table on the far side of the room and sit in the only available chair. Across from me sits a woman with pin-straight brown hair and cool blue eyes. There's kindness to them. I don’t know why I find that surprising. It’s not like I was expecting to see an expressionless monster behind the door.

  “Good morning, Cleo,” she says in a peppy voice, taking my clipboard. “I’m Nicole. Today I’ll be taking a blood sample and asking you a series of questions. Let’s get started with that blood sample.”

  I’m not really sure what else they could possibly ask. The form pretty much covers everything.

  At the back of the room, another door opens and a guy wearing scrubs walks in. He approaches us and sets a small plastic basket on the table beside me. No words pass as he wanders over to an area where a makeshift hand sanitizing station is set up.

  The guy comes back to the table and pulls a pair of blue gloves onto his hands. He looks pointedly at my left arm and arches a brow.

  Oh, right.

  I push my sleeve up high onto my bicep and rest my arm on the table. He tears open a foil packet and swipes the pad across the crease of my elbow. The distinct smell of rubbing alcohol stings my nostrils and he fans the spot with his hand for a moment before reaching back into his basket.

  “Slight pinch,” he informs me as he pokes my arm. He takes one tube of my blood, then places a cotton ball over the needle and pulls it out. He removes his gloves, scribbles my information on a label and sticks it to the tube.

  “Alright, let’s get started, shall we?” Nicole says as the guy collects his things and leaves the room without another word.

  “According to your form, your element is water, is that correct?”

  Really? No, that’s not correct. I just wrote it for fun.

  “Yes, that’s correct.”

  “Have you ever used your abilities to harm others?”

  The urge to shift in my seat slams into me, but I fight it hard. Obviously, I have. But I can’t tell her that. Something tells me this interrogation is all in vain anyway.

  Then again … What do I have to lose if I tell the truth?

  “Yes, I have.”

  Her expression turns to one of horror.

  “Before you judge me and freak out, hear me out.” Her demeanor doesn’t change much, so I quickly add, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  She takes a deep breath, her body trembling, but nods her head. “Go ahead.”

  “Put yourself in this scenario: you’ve been abducted. Taken and held against your will. Do you just allow the people responsible to do whatever they please? Or do you fight back, with any means necessary?”

  Nicole’s jaw comes unhinged, but she covers it with her hand. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I completely misjudged you. Of course you would fight back, especially when given a gift such as yours.”

  “So yes, I have used my abilities to harm others, but it was always in self-defense.”

  “I understand,” Nicole says, writing something on her paper. Clearing her throat, she continues. “It says here,” she says as she peruses over my papers, “you recently lost a job because of these abilities. Care to elaborate for me?”

  “Yeah,” I begin, heaving a sigh, “so I worked at a gas station. The ice bucket on the pop machine was empty, and happened to look absolutely disgusting, so I cleaned it.” I give a shrug.

  “To clarify, you used your water affinity to clean the empty ice bucket?”

  “Yep.” My lips pop on the “p.”

  For a beat, she simply stares at me. Laughter begins to bubble up from her lips. Once it starts, it doesn’t seem like she’s able to control it.

  “I’m sorry,” she says, stifling the last of her outburst with her hand as she rights herself. “You were fired for that? How ridiculous.”

  “Well, his reasoning was not wanting to lose business because of what I am.”

  “I see.” She clears her throat. “Let’s move on to the next question. On the form, you mention your father but not your mother. Was she an elemental as well?”

  “I wouldn’t know, she dipped out before I can remember. My dad has always said she’s human though.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” she says, sounding like she genuinely means it. “Do you generally have a decent control over your ability?”

  “Yes,” I tell her, even though I’m not entirely sure what she means. I haven’t met an elemental unable to control their element. If an elemental was weak with their abilities, it didn’t mean they frequently lost control, it just meant they weren’t as connected to it and were unable to command it to do as much. Gotta love Hollywood’s misinterpretations.

  The rest of the questions blur together, and before I know it Nicole is telling me we’re done.

  “The last thing I need from you is a demonstration. Please take the contents of this glass and move them to the sink.”

  My skin prickles. I bristle in my chair. Giving a demonstration seems so … demeaning.

  How I hadn’t noticed that glass of water in front of her until now is beyond me. Maybe I did, but subconsciously assumed it was there for her to drink?

  “I’m sorry, Cleo. I’m afraid this part is mandatory,” she says.

  I look into her eyes, seeing regret and pity there. I don’t want her pity. I’ve had more than my fair share of that my entire life.

  Holding her gaze, I do as she asked, mentally gripping the water in the glass and guiding it to the sink. Her lips part in awe as she tears her gaze away from mine, watching the sphere of water as it moves.

  “Impressive. That is absolutely spectacular.” She slides a piece of paper to me. “You need to take this form and hop into line two for Gunn to give you your identity mark.”

  “I’m sorry, did
you say Gunn?”

  “Yes. She’s the tattoo artist who will be working on you,” she clarifies. “It was nice to meet you, Cleo.” Her dismissal is final.

  “Likewise,” I say, unsure of what else to say. I pick the paper up from the table and head to the next stop, feeling a lot like herded cattle.

  “That was mind numbing,” Zander says through the communicator.

  He has no idea.

  This next step … I don’t know about it. I can’t let them brand me, but I’m never going to know Aulder’s plan with the serum if I screw this up now. Refusing the tattoo and being detained would definitely screw this up.

  Answers

  Much to my surprise, I sit on an empty bench. Judging by the size of the last line I was in, there should definitely be more of a wait than this.

  Glancing across the hall, I notice the other line for our alphabetical section has a few people waiting. Why aren’t they splitting us evenly? That would make more sense, right?

  Things just aren’t adding up here and I can’t put my finger on it.

  As I wait, I go over every interaction I had with Aulder, trying to recall anything that could help. Nothing seems to stand out to me.

  His words continue to haunt me. “My serum will be discreetly given to those deemed unfit.”

  I heave a sigh, letting my lips vibrate at the end of my exhale as I drop my head back against the wall.

  “I know, Cleo,” Wren says over the comms. “I hear you there. Today is the day we’ll get the answers we’ve been looking for. I can feel it.”

  A click sounds beside me. The door swings open to reveal Mark. On his wrist, there’s a black circle encompassing a small green leaf. The tattoo is about the size of a quarter, maybe a little bigger. His skin around the mark is irritated. The whole thing is covered in plastic.

  “Don’t look so worried. It really doesn’t hurt that much,” he says.

  He’s wrong though. I’m not worried about pain. I’m worried I’m missing something vital. I push myself up off the bench, giving him a small—albeit forced—smile. Warning alarms are going off in my head, making my stomach turn queasy. I can’t tell if my subconscious is trying to warn me about him or the situation itself.