Chereads / The Rise of Elementals / Chapter 3 - Chapter 1: The Girl

Chapter 3 - Chapter 1: The Girl

About 4 months ago, the very first of the race of elementals came to existence. There was a boom in elemental population at the beginning, but for the last three months, there has only been a slow increase in elementals. Over time, the chance of becoming one is slightly increasing. Today the charts show about 50,000 in population throughout the world. What's different about this race is that you aren't born into it. You're chosen. To clear some confusion, I'll start with what an elemental is. The term elemental is a label that is given to someone who has the ability to wield one, or more of the seven elements. The seven elements are fire, water, lightning, dark, light, lunar, and blood. When one reaches the age of eight, sixteen, or twenty-four, there is a chance of suddenly being chosen to wield one or more of the elements (scientists and researchers are unsure about the process by which a person is chosen). The people who have this ability are labeled as elementals. That is all the information the government has released to the public so far. Whether or not they know more? Nobody's sure.

When I first heard about this, I was just as shocked as everyone else. The main question I heard floating around was, "How dangerous are they?" People naturally were afraid of these elementals. They looked different, and could use special abilities that normal people wouldn't stand a chance against. Personally, I wouldn't say I was afraid, but I was surely cautious of them.

School was cancelled until the situation was controlled. The boys and girls that became elementals were removed from school. Unaffected families threatened to take their kids out of school, so whether or not the government planned on it, they were going to be removed either way. Nobody knows what happened to them, but we all assumed they were receiving some sort of personal schooling. Once school started back up, that's all students talked about. For two whole months, the topic didn't change. The news only covered elementals and weather, It was in every post on social media, and hundreds of thousands of articles were published regarding this "rise in elementals". I continued to live a quiet and relaxing life with my friends and family.

Out of me and my friends, I talk the least amount. I tend to stand on the side when they're all in the middle. I avoid conflict, and never get into trouble. I finish most of my homework on time and get A's and B's for grades. My parents we're a little more outgoing than me, but had similar grades. They're supportive and kind to me, but tend to avoid conversation about family. I never understood why. I wasn't sure if they didn't want to associate with the rest of the family, or if they were hiding something from me. At times I thought I was adopted, but then I would look at a picture of me and my parents, and I can find features from both of them in me. I figured it was nothing important and didn't really bother asking anymore.

Today, me and my family celebrated my 16th birthday. I had an anxious sleep; although I was able to fall asleep probably because of how low the chance was of being chosen. I woke up the next morning feeling a little more tired than usual, most likely due to the lack of sleep. I ate breakfast, packed my lunch, and headed to school as usual. On the bus I could see the sun beginning to rise just over the horizon. It was pretty, and had a blinding light that only allowed you to watch for a few seconds. I noticed that today I was a little more focused on the little details in my everyday life. I was recognizing the fine details of the leather seats, and the slightly dusty air that filled the bus. Everyone was quiet and had their music playing in their wireless ear buds as usual. Most of all, I realized it was just a normal day. I arrived at school and got through my first few hours, tired, but I was able to pay attention. It was finally lunch time, I opened my pack and layed out the contents. Rice and chicken, along with broccoli and cherry tomatoes on the side. I headed over to the microwaves to heat up the rice and chicken, and on my way over I was stopped by one of the faculty members.

Faculty member: "Are you heading over to use the microwaves?"

Tsuruki: "Yes"

Faculty member: "I'm sorry, they're unavailable at the moment and will be replaced by tomorrow"

Tsuruki: "Oh, uhh that's alright. Have a nice evening"

My meal doesn't taste good when it's cold, so naturally I thought of ways to heat it up. I headed back to my seat thinking about how much I really wanted my meal heated, and all of the sudden, the food and container started to burn. It wasn't hot, even though the melted plastic and steaming food fell apart in my hands. At this very moment, I realized that my entire future is being rewritten. From that very second onward, I was going to lose my quiet, easygoing life. Even before I looked up, I could feel the dark, terrified stares of everyone in the room. I looked for my friends, and all I found was their cold and frightened glares. Everyone in the lunchroom saw me as a monster, as something that threatened their lives. They no longer considered me human.

I wasn't sure what was going to happen to me. By now everything in my hands began turning a charred black color. I saw two policemen heading my way, and for some reason I decided to run. I'm not entirely sure why I ran, but I did. The two policemen weren't running at me, nor did they have any weapons out. I just had a feeling, or some sort of hunch that whatever happens, I shouldn't go with them. I ran out a side door that led outside to the back of the school. I could see the bleachers and soccer field in front and past that, the woods. I headed down the bleachers, the two policemen started dashing at me. I noticed that one of them was using some sort of communications device. Not a phone or walkie talkie, but a small handheld device that he was talking into, and someone was replying back. I know that running is almost never the right option, but I really didn't have much choice. I continued on and I began thinking about the element I am able to wield. I knew it was the fire element, but how to wield it was a complete mystery to me. My only clue was that I was thinking about my meal being heated, and all of a sudden the stuff in my hands were being burned. I came to two conclusions on how to wield the fire element. Either I have to be thinking about things like heat, fire, and the sun, or I have to be thinking about what I want to use fire energy on. Neither worked. I was just about to cross halfway through the soccer field when suddenly, there was a boy in front of me. He looked about the same age as me and had semi-lomg blue hair, with bright, sky blue eyes. He was slightly shorter than me and had a slim body. I stopped and kept my distance, wary of whether or not he was an elemental. No... he was for sure one. Nobody would stand against an elemental unless you had one on your side. The two policeman must have been notifying him, or some sort of force to send him out. His bright, sky blue eyes hinted that he most likely wielded the water element. The perfect counter to a newly chosen elemental that wields the fire element. The two policeman caught up to us and I noticed that one of them said, "he's here". This pretty much assured that this boy was here to stop me. How did he get here so fast? Was he always here? The police began getting cuffs out. Should I fight the boy? Probably not, as he could be a master at wielding the water element, let alone he counters me completely. The amount of questions that I had filled my head and I couldn't think straight. The boy finally spoke...

Boy: "Hey!" "I suggest you don't resist. The water element counters the fire element, especially when yours is at a low level"

Me: "Where do you plan on taking me?" I try to stay somewhat clueless to resist giving away how much I know. I'll try to have him underestimate me.

Boy: "It depends. If you cooperate it could work out better for you, but as of now, running away isn't going to fix anything"

He won't tell me. Either because the policeman aren't supposed to know, or he's keeping it a secret from me. Either way I need to make some sort of distraction. All of the sudden, a girl flew past me. She was quick, and I couldn't make out what she looked like. She must be a fused elemental with the combination of lightning and light elements. That combination allows high speed movement, it's essentially super speed, but with your muscles. She struck at the boy, throwing him back with the attack. I was right, bits of electricity buzzed around her feet and arms, along with a bright aura that surrounded her fists. She was a short girl with silver hair from what I could make out. She had white skin and she was wearing an over-sized hoodie. She didn't look like a fighter. Especially in her outfit. Why was she here? Is she an enemy? Is she part of some sort of counter-attack force? Only more questions filled my head as the situation carried on. She turned and looked at me with bright eyes and a smile as bright as the sun. She said...

Kira: "My name's Kira. You may not remember me, but just know I'm here to protect you"

Me: "Th- Thanks. From what I've seen by his eyes, he most likely wields water energy. I'm not sure on his skill level though"

Kira: "Thanks, I specialize in surprise attacks so any information is helpful"

The way her face looked... It was like me, but as a girl. It was wierd to think about and complicated to explain but, I feel like I'm related to this girl in some way. And unsurprising, only more questions filled my head...