One spring night, I couldn’t sleep,
even with sleep aids. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I was anxious and full
of energy. I couldn’t bear to lie down or sit still, so I decided to go for a
jog.
The guard at the gate buzzed me
through and I took off along the path coursing through one of the nearby parks,
enjoying the feel of cool air on my face. I felt alive and empowered by the
clear night and the chatter of wildlife around me—so much clearer than I ever
remembered.
I experimented with using air to make
me faster, to deepen my breathing; I was enthralled with the results. The
freeing feeling spread throughout me, sending my mind into levels of ecstasy beyond
any runner’s high I’d previously experienced.
At some point, I had closed my eyes,
letting my feet lead me through this solidly fraudulent world. Something yanked
on my arm and spun me about. When I jerked my eyes open, Drei stood before me,
a tight grip on my wrist to keep me from going anywhere. He looked deathly
serious as he said, “We need to talk.”
His words echoed hollowly in my head.
What did we have to talk about? I hadn’t done anything wrong. Well, nothing
that I knew of. Besides, I hadn’t seen him in months. Why was he showing up all
of a sudden now?
Drei dragged me along to a bridge,
seemingly because of the stream trickling below—since he checked over the side
as if assuring himself there was water there—though that didn’t make sense. Then
again, how much of who he was or what he knew did?
“You cannot be careless,” he warned;
his voice was low and gruff—waking terror inside my chest—and his features were
paler than usual.
“It’s just little tricks,” I muttered,
trying fruitlessly to escape his scathing eyes. Why was this such a big deal? If
he didn’t want me using these powers—or whatever you wanted to call them—why
did he show me I had them in the first place?
“And tricks are hilarious!” he snapped
and I flinched. This was a whole other disposition, distinct from even how he’d
been in that alley. “Of course risking your life for fun and games is
hilarious!”
“My life?” I questioned dumbly,
feeling completely lost in the conversation and trying not to say too much in
case it angered him more. I liked him better when he was happy; even disappointed
was better than this.
“Bounty hunters watch for careless
elementals,” he said, his eyes livid and passionate with a hint of fear
somewhere on their edges, though I couldn’t imagine why he would have anything
to fear. “It is their job. If they catch you, you are shipped off to some
government building to be experimented on. Is that what you want?”
“No,” I replied meekly, struggling to
find something solid to support me; it felt like everything was slipping away
from beneath me. Not only had my life been turned completely on its head, but
now the change I was beginning to actually enjoy was bringing its own
restraints. As if my life didn’t have enough of those already. “But I can fight
them;” I sounded more confident than I felt as I pulled free from his grasp.
“They don’t know what I can do. They—”
“—already took your mother.”
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