The Six Elemental

by Ali House

  Before she knew it, she was on her fourth drink. She’d lost track of how many Nathan had.

  The beer had made it easier to talk with him, but now it was starting to go to her head. She hadn’t had a drink since the night of that stupid game, and she remembered vividly how that turned out. When he suggested another round, she shook her head.

  “Anything wrong?” he asked.

  “No,” she replied. “I’m just not a big drinker. I have to cut myself off.”

  “No worries, I’ll take care of you.”

  His words didn’t comfort her, but she smiled at him.

  “Tell you what,” he said. “Why don’t we get out of here and go someplace more comfortable?”

  “Where?”

  “I was thinking that we could go back to my place. It’s a much better place to talk.”

  Kit couldn’t believe that he’d offered to take her back to his house. An invitation like that meant only one thing, and it was a thing she didn’t want to do. But Triton would be elated if she gave him Nathan’s home address.

  “And all we would be doing is talking?” she asked.

  “If that’s what we want.”

  She thought about the offer. “I guess it would be okay,” she finally said. “I mean, you’re not a psycho, right?”

  “Of course not,” he smiled, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “You can trust me.”

  They left the bar and walked towards the eastern residential area. Kit was glad to have Nathan’s arm around her as she walked, as she was sure that she’d end up falling over something. For some reason, when she stood up from the booth the alcohol hit her harder. Getting drunk tonight was not a responsible thing to do. Her fear of what Zenyth would say about this was enough to sober her up a little.

  As they walked through the neighborhood, the houses got smaller and more modest. This area was close to where the highway connecting Stanton to Tecken had been located. When Erikson invaded, it had been hit the heaviest and most people were hesitant to rebuild here, even after the highway had been blown up.

  As they walked, Kit noticed that they didn’t pass a lot of people. She tried to reassure herself that it was a Friday night so people had either gone out or were staying in. Besides, she was fairly confident that she could handle herself if things went wrong – not that she was planning on anything going wrong. It would be really great if nothing went wrong tonight.

  “Here we are,” Nathan said, stopping in front of a small green house. It was one story and looked big enough for one person. It wasn’t much to look at, but Kit decided to reserve her judgment. The door led straight into the living room, with a hallway off to the left. She could see a kitchen down the hallway, and a couple of closed doors. The house was sparsely decorated, with no pictures or posters on the wall, and the living room was furnished only with a couch and an end table. At least there were curtains hung over the picture window, which looked out into the street.

  “Home sweet home,” he said, leading her into the living room.

  “You live here?” she couldn’t help saying.

  “What’s wrong with it?”

  She shrugged. “It’s just a little bare. Don’t you believe in decorating?”

  “Not particularly,” he said, pulling the curtains closed.

  She started to remark that the curtains weren’t closed completely but then he was standing in front of her, kissing her and she was kissing him back.

  “You’re much more relaxed after a few drinks,” he said, giving her a kiss on the neck.

  “Probably why I don’t drink much,” she joked.

  “Well, I’m glad you decided to tonight.”

  “You know, you said that we’d be talking.”

  “What do you think we’re doing?” he asked, winking at her. He went in for another kiss.

  She should put a stop to this, but what would she say? Maybe she should threaten to go if he didn’t slow down. But what if he offered to walk her home? She couldn’t take him back to the house. Besides, it would look suspicious to leave right after arriving.

  Closing her eyes, she couldn’t help wishing that she was with Vaughn instead of Nathan. The thought of Vaughn made it easier for her to return the kiss.

  He moved her over to the couch, and before she knew what was happening, she was lying on the couch with him on top of her. The kiss started to heat up, and before long she felt his hand at her jeans, unhooking the top button.

  “Vaughn, no,” she said. She opened her eyes and almost jumped out of her skin when she saw Nathan.

  Instead of being confused or angry, he looked amused. “So that’s his name...”

  “What?” Had she actually said that out loud? “Who?”

  “That red-headed guy who’s been following us. I was wondering what his name was. Is he a jealous ex-boyfriend or a jealous boyfriend wannabe?”

  “He’s just a friend,” she said. “I didn’t know he was following us. Is he out there right now?”

  Nathan ignored her confusion. “If you were just friends, then you wouldn’t have been thinking of him while making out with me.”

  “I...” she had no idea what to say. Was it even possible to talk herself out of this?

  “Your other friend was much nicer,” he continued. “And much more relaxed.”

  “What friend are you talking about?”

  “Purple-hair, called herself Anna. She said she was visiting from Briton, but now that I think about it, she doesn’t act like someone who lives in Briton. She’s too... Elemental.” He was still on top of her, confining her to the couch. “And before you deny knowing her, I saw you two on tape together – the video of you punching the Humanist. Nice right hook by the way,” he winked at her.

  “Of course I know her,” Kit said, trying to salvage the situation. “I knew her back in Briton. She was visiting me.”

  “Then why does she work in Stanton? At a bar called Tattooed.”

  Kit opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She didn’t know what to say.

  “I don’t know why you two are so interested in me, but I don’t appreciate being lied to.”

  “I never lied to you.”

  “Not outright. But you’ve got ulterior motives. Why else would you come here with me?”

  “I…”

  Nathan leaned in closer. “I’d been hoping to put on a show for Red, but I guess that’s not going to happen.” His eyes traced down her body. “What a waste–” He stopped suddenly and pushed her shirt up, exposing the Ice Tattoo on her stomach. “What the...?”

  Before he could finish his thought, she shoved him off of her. As he fell, he grabbed her, and the both of them landed in a heap on the floor. Kit tried to shove him away but they were too close and he easily blocked her attempts to hit him.

  Suddenly the door burst open and Vaughn entered the room. Nathan jumped up and went for the couch, reaching behind it. Vaughn ignited the back of the couch, but Nathan had found what he was looking for and moved away from the flames.

  Kit couldn’t believe her eyes. Zenyth had been right – Nathan actually had a gun. Kit crawled away from Nathan, wanting to put as much distance between her and that weapon as possible, but she wasn’t his target.

  Nathan aimed the gun at Vaughn and fired. The noise was louder than Kit had expected. Vaughn managed to dodge the first bullet, but Nathan fired again and the second bullet hit Vaughn in the left shoulder. His grey shirt turned red; at first a small circle before growing larger as the blood began to spill from the wound. Backing against the wall, Vaughn put his hand over the wound, his face turning white with shock.

  Kit had no idea that a gun could be fired so quickly. She saw Nathan aim a third time and she instinctively threw a gust of wind at him. The wind wasn’t strong enough to knock him over, but it had the desired effect. The gun fell to his side, forgotten, and Nathan stared at her as if she had three heads.

  Taking advantage of the situation, Kit leapt to her feet and grabbed Nathan by the shoulders, pushin
g him back against the wall while sending a charge through his left shoulder. His body convulsed and dropped to the floor. His shirt was singed and there was a burn mark on his shoulder where her hand had been. She wondered if she’d over-done it. She’d only meant to knock him out, not kill him.

  After confirming that he was still breathing, she went over to Vaughn. He had slid down to the floor, his right hand still pressed to his shoulder. Blood was seeping through his fingers.

  “We have to get out of here,” she said to him.

  He stared ahead blankly.

  The couch was almost completely in flames. Ignoring Vaughn, she tried to use her Water element to put out the fire, but she was only able to conjure up a handful of drops. Controlling water was hard enough, but creating it out of thin air was almost impossible for her.

  “Vaughn, we have to go!” she said, trying to pull him to his feet. She didn’t know how much pain he was in, but she couldn’t risk him staying here and burning to death. Eventually he stood up and allowed her to lead him out into the yard.

  Once they were safe, Kit remembered that Nathan was still inside the house. She needed to keep him here until the police came, so that they could arrest him for shooting Vaughn.

  Vaughn was still in a trance, so she didn’t bother explaining her plan. She hurried back into the house and looked around for Nathan’s body, but that the room was empty. Kit turned around, expecting to see him behind her, but Nathan was nowhere in sight. Reminding herself that he had a gun, she carefully walked down the hallway and checked the rooms. When she reached the back of the house she noticed that the back door was open and still swinging from recent use. Outside there was no movement. Nathan was gone.

  Sirens sounded in the distance, and she hurried back to Vaughn. Had one of the neighbors spotted the smoke and called the fire department or had they heard the gunshots and called the police? It didn’t matter who was coming. She would be thankful to see anyone.

  She looked at Vaughn to see how he was, but instead of staring into nothingness he was looking at her with a confused expression on his face.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Kit...” His voice was low and sounded far away.

  “Is it about Nathan? Because I think he’s gone.”

  “How did you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “You pushed him, but you weren’t touching him.”

  “No,” she said carefully, “I didn’t. Nathan stumbled on his own. You must have been imagining things.”

  “But the water...”

  “Vaughn, you’re in shock. You don’t know what you saw.”

  He stared at her as the sound of sirens grew louder. “But... But I saw your eyes glow...”

  Kit’s breath caught in her throat. Oh no...

  Vaughn closed his eyes and collapsed.

  Nathan’s entire body hurt. He’d been hit by electricity many times during training, but never a charge that big. His left shoulder hurt like hell and he couldn’t raise his arm. He was lucky to be alive.

  After regaining consciousness, he’d watched Katherine try unsuccessfully to put out the flames before hauling Red out of the house. He had no idea what was going on with her. How could she have an Electricity Tattoo on her arm and an Ice Tattoo on her stomach? Also, he knew the difference between Ice and Air, and she had definitely knocked him over using air. How was she able to use that many elements? It was impossible.

  He knew about genetics – he’d studied EDNA a lot after his twenty-first birthday, when he didn’t receive a vision. He wanted a reason to explain his lack of an element, but nothing satisfied him. It didn’t matter that there were other people like him – he only cared that he didn’t have an element and other people did.

  But this... This was a whole different thing.

  He had been in too much pain to fight, so once she’d taken Red out of the house he slipped out the back door. Running away wasn’t his style, especially when he still had bullets, but this wasn’t a fight he could win.

  Taking a look at his surroundings, Nathan tried to figure out the nearest entrance to the base. He had to get back to the compound immediately.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The entire hospital was buzzing with energy. Stanton hadn’t had a gunshot victim in over seventy years, so the entire hospital had been standing by for the ambulance’s arrival.

  Vaughn was still unconscious when they arrived and was rushed into surgery. For the following hour, Kit sat in the waiting room, trying not to freak out. How long was surgery supposed to take for something like this? She wanted to find a nurse and demand to know what was going on, but she couldn’t bring herself to stand up.

  “Kit!” a voice called out.

  She looked up and saw Bryanna running down the hallway. Naydir was behind her, walking briskly instead of running. Instead of smiling, Kit froze. If Naydir was here, then Zenyth had to be somewhere close, and Kit didn’t think she’d be able to deal with Zenyth right now.

  “How is he?” Bryanna asked, hugging Kit tightly.

  Kit didn’t answer. She was dreading seeing Zenyth and facing the anger that would follow.

  “Cale and Zenyth are at home,” Naydir said, taking a seat next to her. “We thought it might be suspicious for all of us to show up at the hospital.”

  “Oh,” Kit replied. “Vaughn’s still in surgery. They haven’t told me anything.”

  “I’ll see what I can find out,” Naydir said. He stood up and walked over to the information desk.

  “What happened?” Bryanna asked, taking Naydir’s empty seat.

  “I don’t know. It was so weird. We went to a bar. Then he invited me back to this house and while we were there, he started talking about Vaughn and you.”

  “Me?” she squeaked.

  Before she could reply, Naydir returned with a doctor.

  “Vaughn should be fine,” the doctor told them. “The bullet was still inside his arm, so they had to keep him under while they removed it. There’s a risk of infection, but the doctors are optimistic. It was mainly the shock of getting shot that made it seem worse. They’re keeping him overnight, but he should be able to go home tomorrow, if nothing bad happens.”

  Kit breathed a sigh of relief. Vaughn was going to be okay.

  “When can we see him?” Bryanna asked.

  “Visiting hours are technically over, but considering the situation I can take one of you up to his room.”

  “I’d like to be there when he wakes up,” Kit said, standing up.

  Naydir shook his head. “You’re going back with me. Bryanna will wait here.”

  Kit opened her mouth to protest. There were a few reasons she didn’t want to leave Vaughn, one of which was the fact that he had seen her use more than one element. What if he said something to Bryanna?

  Naydir stopped her. “You’re going back with me – it’s already been decided. We need you to tell us what happened.”

  “But -”

  He shook his head again. “Home. Now.”

  “I’ll take care of Vaughn,” Bryanna said cheerfully.

  Kit stood up reluctantly and walked out of the hospital with Naydir. How was she going to explain what had happened? There was no way that she could tell everyone everything. Edits would have to be made and things left out.

  As Naydir drove, she looked down at the bracelet on her left wrist. Underneath that bracelet was the Tattoo for Air. Naydir didn’t know about her other Tattoos or elements, but Nathan knew and Vaughn knew. Should she confess everything to the others?

  No. She still wasn’t ready. There was no reason for her to go overboard and start spilling out all her secrets. Nathan might not say anything, and even if he did, nobody would believe him. They would all think he was crazy if he talked about seeing a Six-Elemental.

  Tonight had been a wake-up call. She wasn’t strong enough, but if she worked at her elements, then she might be able to be a half-decent Six-Elemental. All she needed was time.

  “
How’d the date go?” Akola asked as Nathan stumbled past her in the hall. “Rough one?”

  Nathan glared at her. Even though they were on the same side, he didn’t like Akola. She was too self-righteous, too afraid to take a chance, and she always followed the rules. She could have passed for human with her blond hair and green eyes, but she insisted on dying her hair a bright red.

  “Your roots are showing,” he grumbled as he continued walking.

  “So’s your failure,” she yelled after him.

  Nathan ignored her and went to his room. He looked in the mirror at his left shoulder. His shirt was ruined – the fabric where she had been touching him had charred and burned away. Looking through the hole, he could see a black mark on his skin, and the skin around it was a bright red. The feeling had returned in his arm, but he’d still have to go to medical to make sure that there wasn’t lasting nerve damage.

  What was he going to do with the information he’d gotten tonight? He should definitely tell someone. They needed to figure out if it was the Council or the ISS who was spying on them. There were rumors that the ISS had thoughts of creating a civilian team, but they hadn’t been able to get any information on it. Nathan had thought that the whole thing was just a hoax, but now he was starting to think otherwise.

  He also had to inform Christian that house number 8 was no more. It was good thing that it had almost burned down, because it was useless to them now.

  And what was he going to do about Katherine? There was no way that someone could have four elements. It was impossible to have more than one element, unless you were the Six-Elemental, but the Six-Elemental didn’t exist. Unless... Could science be wrong?

  He had to tell someone. If Tecken could get the Six-Elemental on their side, then they could make this entire Segment bow down. Nathan needed proof, but the only proof was her and there was no way she was going to go near him again.

  After a few minutes of thinking, an idea popped into his head, and he headed for the science room. As expected, a woman with short brown hair was inside, tinkering on a project.