Runaway

by Alycia Linwood

  "Yeah, but we both have the disease and don't even feel each other's elements. It shouldn't have happened," Adrian said.

  "And it was fire you felt?" Paula looked up from her book at Adrian. "Not air? Could air have been the one to cause the conflict and that explosion?"

  "Yes, it was only fire. Air wasn't involved," he said.

  "Ria, could you still feel air inside of you?" Michael asked.

  "I guess. I mean, I don't know. When it happened... I couldn't really think about anything except ice." I chewed on my lip, the presence of Michael's and Paula's elements getting stronger as I got nervous. Adrian hopped off the table and placed his hand on my shoulder. I smiled gratefully at him.

  "Umm, could you do it again?" Paula looked expectantly at Adrian and me.

  "I..." Could we do it again? Honestly, I wasn't sure.

  "We can try," Adrian said.

  "Can you do it now?" Paula asked.

  "No," I said just as Adrian said yes. Ah, great. "Adrian..."

  "What? You only need to relax and let go of everything." He reassuringly squeezed my shoulder.

  "Really?" I gave him a deadpan look. "I don't think it works that way. And you know what happens when I let go of everything. Fields and houses burn."

  "It happened once, Ria. Doesn't mean you'll cause a huge fire every time," Adrian said.

  "I can't." I shook my head. "We're not in a life and death situation and I'll be too afraid to do it."

  "You don't know that," Adrian said. "What's wrong with trying? We won't get anywhere if you're afraid all the time."

  "Please, Ria, it could really help," Paula said.

  "Fine." I relented. "We can try, but we're stopping if it looks things will go out of hand."

  "Thanks!" Paula whooped, a big grin on her face.

  "You should do it in a protected, not so easily inflammable place," Michael said.

  "The garage, maybe?" Paula offered. "If we got the car out and cleaned up a bit, it would be a perfect place. It's not made of wood."

  "And it has a window. Paula and I can watch you from the outside," Michael said. Thank God for the window and no tiles because Adrian would have never accepted the idea otherwise.

  "Ok, we'll do it in two days." I might have just agreed to start another catastrophe, but I hoped it would be worth it.

  "I'm not sure this is going to work," I said as Michael closed the garage door and left Adrian and me alone.

  "Of course not when you're so pessimistic." Adrian sat on the ground opposite from me. I looked up at the light bulb and hoped it wouldn't explode all over us when our elements went insane again.

  "Umm, we're like lab rats right now." I glanced over to the window through which Paula and Michael were watching us.

  "You don't know anything about being a lab rat." The serious look in his eyes told me that he could tell me a lot about that topic if he felt like it.

  "Right. Let's do this."

  "Tell me something," Adrian said, taking my hand in his.

  "What?" I raised an eyebrow at him, unsure what he was aiming at.

  "Do you remember when you tried to put your lip balm on my lips?" A playful smile appeared on his face.

  "No, I don't remember anything." I laughed. Of course I remembered. It had been Adrian's birthday and the first time we slept together.

  "I bet you couldn't do it again."

  Oooh, was that a challenge? I lightly pressed a finger against my lips and was delighted to see that my strawberry lip gloss hadn't dried. "Oh, are you sure about that?"

  "Yes," he said. "Totally."

  He didn't have to repeat it because I lunged for him, tackling him to the ground. The only thing I had to do was kiss him, and that didn't seem like a difficult task as I got on top of him. But he put his hands on my hips and rolled me over, so I ended up lying on the ground as he grinned at me. Before I could raise my arms and place them around his neck, he pinned my wrists to the floor as if it were the easiest thing ever.

  "Is that all you've got?" He smirked. Now I was angry. Very angry. I kicked out with my leg, knocking him off balance and freeing myself. Pushing myself up, I tried to get to him, but he was already standing up. Fuck! He ran to the other side of the garage, sticking out his tongue at me.

  "You're so dead," I said, charging at him. He dodged me at the last moment and caught my arm, sending me sprawling to the floor. I thought about using my elements against him, but that would hardly be fair since I had two and I didn't want to destroy the whole garage.

  "What's the matter?" He made a crying face. "I'm barely even trying."

  Gathering all the rage I had in me, I slammed my body into his, pressing him against the wall so we were face to face. The world seemed to stop as my eyes met his. The only thing I could hear was the loud beating of my heart that resonated through my head. Adrian was trying to catch his breath, his gray-blue eyes warm and inviting. I wasn't angry anymore and I couldn't even remember why I'd felt like that in the first place. There was something in the way Adrian looked at me that made my blood run hot.

  Fire rose inside of me, reaching out toward Adrian. A cloud of coldness enveloped me as I ran my fingers through Adrian's black hair and pulled him to me, my lips meeting his with an urgency I'd never felt before. And just like that, my fire was gone, swallowed by a wave of ice. A prickling sensation spread over me, forming in my mind beautiful images of valleys and lakes covered in ice. At some point I had closed my eyes, trying to get a good feel of this new element. I wasn't sure what to do with it, but I pictured the floor beneath the ice's glassy structure. Only a moment later, the ice was gone, and the well-known fire returned to me, making me shiver. I opened my eyes and saw the stunned look on Adrian's face.

  "We did it," I said, breaking away from him and noticing my jeans were soaked almost to my knees. We were both standing in a pool of water and one of the empty wooden boxes near us was half-burnt. "Well, the garage is still standing."

  "You see? My plan worked," Adrian said proudly.

  "Yeah." I had completely forgotten Paula and Michael had been watching us all the time. Just as I thought of them, the garage door opened and they walked inside.

  "That was... umm, embarrassing, but oh my God," Paula said excitedly. "You can really exchange your elements."

  "I guess so," I said, feeling a bit lightheaded.

  "I'm going to find out what it means. I have to," Paula said. "Can you remember any details that you haven't told me already?"

  "Air wasn't involved and it stayed put the whole time," I said. "Could you even see anything through that window? What did it look like?"

  "Err, you two got really close and fire shot out from Adrian's fingertips. Then ice started forming on your legs and kept spreading until it reached the burning box and melted. It would have hurt you both if you simply used your element on each other," Paula said.

  "That's strange." I frowned. "Our elements usually don't visibly touch our skin when we use them, unless we want them to."

  "I know," she said. "But it might be the only way to make it work."

  "We should try with air," Adrian said.

  "Good idea," Paula said. "Did you feel like you wanted to keep the element?"

  "No," I said. "I think that has something to do with the fact that we both have the disease, so we naturally don't want each other's elements."

  "Could you do it just by standing next to each other and pretending you're going to use your element or use it in a non-threatening way?" Michael asked.

  "I don't think so. It would have happened earlier if that was the case," I said, hoping the element exchange actually meant something and wasn't completely useless. It did make me feel fabulous, but there was no point in risking seriously damaging something only for that.

  "Right," Paula said. "I will investigate this and see what I find."

  Something was nagging at the back of my mind, but I wasn't sure what it was. As Adrian put his arm around me, we went for the door. Whatever it was, I'd proba
bly remember it later.

  Chapter 20

  I was half-asleep, tossing and turning in the bed. My brother was in my dream, talking something about magic disease, but I couldn't understand a thing he was saying. For a second, I saw a light at the edge of my vision and blurry outlines of the room, but I slipped back into the world of dreams. Fire and ice mixed in front of my eyes, melting into each other and forming a ball of light. I couldn't understand why ice didn't turn into water, so I wanted to reach out for it and touch it, only I wasn't able to move. The image in front of me abruptly changed and I found myself staring into a familiar couple. I woke up with a start, suddenly wide awake.

  "Oh, God," I whispered.

  "What's wrong?" Adrian sat up, placing his hand on my back.

  "I need to find Paula. Right now." I threw the sheets off myself and got up, looking around for my clothes.

  "Will you at least tell me what is going on?" Adrian rubbed his sleepy eyes.

  "I think they lied to us about how the disease can be contracted." I slipped on a pink top, which matched my black pants adorned with a pink flower.

  "Are you sure you're not sleepwalking?" Adrian murmured.

  "I didn't come up with it in a dream," I said. "Ok, maybe it helped me a little. I dreamed of my great-grandparents."

  "Huh." Adrian looked as perplexed as he could be. I could feel Paula's element in the kitchen, so I glanced at myself in the mirror and went out in the hall.

  "Ria, hey! I didn't expect to see you so early." Paula was sitting at the table full of papers, a cup of coffee in her hands. She lifted the cup toward me. "Do you want some?"

  "Sure," I said, taking a clean cup from the dishwasher as Paula got up to get the coffee pot.

  "You look stressed. Is everything ok?" She poured me some coffee. Judging by the sympathetic look on her face, she probably thought I'd had a fight with Adrian.

  "Yeah." I took a sip of coffee, which tasted amazingly good. "I dreamed something. And no matter how silly this sounds... I have a feeling you don't get magic disease just by having unprotected sex with a magic disease carrier."

  "What do you mean?" Paula looked up at me, frowning.

  "According to my brother, our great-grandfather had the disease and that's why both of us inherited it. But even though he had children with our great-grandmother, she never got the disease," I said, a bit weirded out that I was discussing my great-grandparents' sex life. "It's unusual that she didn't catch it if they had relations various times."

  "Interesting point," Paula said. "But how do you think people get it then? Maybe your great-grandmother was immune somehow."

  "Ah, magic disease. My favorite topic early in the morning." Adrian yawned as he came in and sat down on one of the chairs. He must have been listening outside for a moment to see whether he would be interrupting something.

  "Adrian," Paula said. "Do you want some coffee?"

  "Sure," he said. "So what were you saying about the disease? Any ideas how it could be transmitted except by fucked up genetics? If not by having unprotected sex, that is."

  "By elements," I said, and both Adrian and Paula turned to stare at me, clearly not convinced. Well, damn.

  "But how?" Paula placed the cup of coffee in front of Adrian, who gave her a charming smile. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

  "Element exchange. Something similar like Adrian and I did, only a magic disease carrier sucks in a bit of person's element but doesn't keep it since the person is alive, and from that touch, the element gets the disease." Maybe my assumptions were wrong. Who knew? But there was a slight chance I was right.

  "Yeah, but then the number of those with the disease would be much higher, and I just can't believe no one would mention they got the disease without having sex," Paula said.

  "I don't think it's that simple," Adrian said. "What if the disease has some sort of presence, like an element does? Just because we can't feel it doesn't mean it isn't there."

  "No." Paula bit her lip. "That's insane."

  "Why would it be insane?" Adrian raised an eyebrow at her. "It is possible that the disease reaches out and tries to capture the element that is near, but ends up only brushing against it and infecting it."

  "It still doesn't make sense. Why would it happen only during sex?" Paula nervously tapped her fingers against the table.

  "Because it's the only time there is a lot of skin contact and emotions are running wild," Adrian said.

  "So? Isn't it the same with making out?" Paula asked. "You two certainly didn't have sex when the exchange happened."

  "We both have magic disease. I don't think it's the same for us," I said, wondering should I have brought up the subject in the first place. Paula would never believe something that couldn't exactly be scientifically proven.

  "Making out doesn't make you lose so much control," Adrian said. "Maybe you need to have a lot of skin contact with the person, which means no clothes. And if you're making out naked, then you're probably having sex."

  "No, it still doesn't make sense." Paula started pacing. "But could it be that body releases certain chemicals during sex that trigger the disease, which still doesn't explain why you don't get the disease if you use a condom...." She stopped and looked at us.

  "What?" I said.

  "If we have suits and cuffs that can block elements, I wonder what condoms are made of. Maybe they release some sort of chemical that negates the one that triggers the disease," Paula said. "God, I still wish we had grabbed those cuffs so I could see what they are made of."

  "Umm, you can check out a condom." I smiled innocently.

  "Do you have it?" Paula said, looking away from Adrian and me.

  "Yeah." I swear, if God of Magic created magic disease, he was laughing like crazy right now at how awkward this situation was.

  "Good. I'll see what I can find," she said.

  "But that still doesn't explain why my great-grandmother didn't get the disease, unless they had bracelets or necklaces that could block elements," I said. "Except all the inventions you mentioned are fairly new and still in testing, so that can't be it."

  "Do you still have those pills that numb you and your element?" Adrian asked.

  "Yeah," Paula said, and I cringed at the mention of pills.

  "I believe almost every magic disease carrier uses those pills when having sex with a normal person because the desire to go for the element is too strong. You'd end up killing that person whether you want it or not," Adrian said. "Maybe it's not condoms at all, but the pills."

  "Then how come some people got the disease?" Paula sat back in her chair, resting her elbows on her knees.

  "Because the magic disease carrier had a fresh and pure element in himself. Then he wouldn't need another one, assuming that he wasn't like us, and he didn't need to use the pills," Adrian said, running a hand through his hair. "The other person could always assume the condom broke."

  "Yeah, that could be it," Paula said. "It would certainly explain how some magic disease carriers managed to hide they had the disease. Of course, slipping pills in someone's drink isn't uncommon at all."

  "You're making it sound like magic disease carriers are some kind of sex freaks." I snorted.

  "We're talking about the ones that are because they are the problem. Just like those who kill people," Adrian said. "It's their fault they call all of us monsters."

  "I really shouldn't have brought this up so early in the morning." My eyes were starting to burn a bit because I hadn't slept enough, so I kept blinking like an idiot. "This conversation fried my brain. I think I'm going to lie down and talk about this nonsense later."

  "It's not nonsense. Maybe you're right," Paula said. Why was she so chipper in the morning? Even two cups of coffee couldn't give me that much energy.

  "And maybe my great-grandmother was special," I said.

  "If she was, then I regret I didn't have a chance to meet her and take a blood sample," Paula said jokingly.

  "Right. We need to think this t
hrough better." I looked at Adrian, who got up and washed his cup in the sink.

  "And you're clearly thinking the best when you're asleep, so let me take you back to bed," he said, and I smiled. Yeah, more sleep was exactly what I needed.

  Someone was banging on the door really loudly, rousing me from sleep. Ugh, what time was it? I pushed myself up on my elbows and looked toward the door. Adrian opened it, looking great in his gray shirt and blue jeans. His hair was unruffled and the TV was on, which meant he hadn't been sleeping this whole time like I had. Paula peeked inside, looking flustered. Oh, God, what now?

  "Umm, your brother wants to speak with you," Paula said. "Both of you."

  "What? Why?" I got up, running a hand through my hair. "He called you?"

  "Not exactly. I contacted him and told him some things, so he said he'd get online and let us speak with some of his friends," she said. "We established a video link in the lab. You must come. Now!"

  "Ok, ok. What's the rush?" I slipped on my shoes and followed Paula and Adrian downstairs. If my brother thought it was worth the effort to speak with Paula, then it had to be something important, especially if a video feed was in question. Wouldn't he freak out if the government intercepted the video? What was so meaningful that he'd risk someone finding out about the place where he was hiding?

  "Hurry," Paula said. "Before he changes his mind."

  As we entered the lab, I saw Michael sitting in front of the computer. My brother's face was taking up most of the screen, but I could see dark walls behind him. Where was he? We pulled more chairs around the computer so we could all sit and still see the screen.

  "Sis," my brother said, smiling. Great, we were all on camera. How come I hadn't seen it before? Oh, well.

  "Brother," I said, placing my hand on Adrian's knee. Paula was too excited and I was too close to her, so I couldn't risk attacking her.

  "You impressed me, little sister. I never thought I'd be giving you this call." My brother hadn't changed much since the last time I'd seen him. His hair was still short and dark brown and he had a creepy glint in his brown eyes.