The Chosen (Chapter Four)

The Chosen1

Chapter Four – We Experiment With Our Powers. About Time.2

I woke up startled, my hands outstretched, bright orange fire burning within my palms. It took me half a minute to realize I was in my room. The back of my head had hit the wall behind me and that caused me to wake up. Cassy, the girl who I had just met yesterday was sitting on the edge of my bed. She was seemed alarmed by my sudden movement. 3

“Do you mind?” She said, staring at my hands. They were still on fire.4

“Oh yeah, sorry.” I extinguished the flames by closing my hands in a brisk movement. I took a look around my room, it seemed different…more tidy. The floor was free of my dirty clothes, the bookshelf which was usually strewn with old books was sorted out. And my desk had been cleared out, the sheets of paper stacked neatly to the side. 5

I looked suspiciously towards Cassy. “Have you done any remodeling of my room recently?”6

“Yeah I have actually,” She confessed. “The place was just so untidy, I couldn’t help myself. I guess it’s one of those very few female traits that I possess. See, I’m not a total boy.” She smiled and I couldn’t help but smile too. There was something about her; I could never be unhappy or sad when she was around. She brought this kind of light to my surroundings. Well she did have the power of the sun so I guess it came with the gift. Jason stirred in his sleep, bringing both of our attentions to him. 7

“It’s incredible how long he can sleep.” Cassy announced. “He could sleep for all eternity if he had the chance. He’s a real pain in the ass, but he’s my brother. I love him heaps, but don’t you say anything to him.” She glanced at me. I nodded with a smirk on my face. So she really did have a soft side to her I thought to myself. My alarm clock went off. 8

“Ugh, turn it off. Turn it off now!” Jason groaned, his voice muffled by the pillow. The beeping stopped but Jason couldn’t go back to sleep. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “So what did you two get up to last night while I was asleep?” He asked innocently, batting his eyes.9

I just sat there, half-surprised with his random question. His sister on the other hand was more proactive. She punched his arm, and told him to shut up. I thought I saw her blushing or maybe it was just the light she was in. The morning sun filtered in through my window, casting Cassy in a pool of white light. She looked different immediately. The sags under her eyes disappeared, her skin seemed to soften and look healthier and her emerald eyes glowed. The sun really did do wonders, well for her it certainly did. 10

“I need to experiment with my powers more.” I declared. “I haven’t really done anything with it since I received it.”11

Cassy smiled again. “Yeah, and I’ll show you what I can do. But where exactly can we do this without drawing attention? I mean, we don’t exactly want a couple of people taking a morning walk to see a teenager creating fire from thin air.” She pointed out and she was right. I racked my brains for a moment trying to come up with a suitable place that was both empty but spacious. I thought of the whole east suburban area and only one option seemed to fit what we were looking for.12

“So do you know where we can go?” Cassy pressed on.13

“Yeah and if you want you can borrow a pair of my board shorts.”14

“Why?” She sounded puzzled. 15

“Because, we’re going to the beach. There’s no one there at this time and it’s an open area so it’s a pretty good place. We just have to be a little careful and alert for passerby’s.” I answered.16

The look of puzzlement vanished and she nodded. She fished out a pair of board shorts for herself, and tossed me one. She grabbed two towels from my bathroom, and we headed for the door.17

“Hey! What about me?” Jason called out just as I opened my door. I hadn’t been thinking of Jason, almost all my thoughts were on Cassy. “I’m coming too.”18

“No you’re not. You stay right here and play with the 360 or something, whatever; I don’t care what you do. But you are not coming with us.” Cassy declared. 19

“Yeah, well you can’t go anyway.”20

“Actually we can, c’mon Jeff let’s go.” Cassy hurried, turning to 21

leave.22

“Jeff has school doesn’t he? It’s Friday today, it’s a school day.” He spoke triumphantly. He really wasn’t going to let it go easily and I had completely forgotten about school. It seemed so insignificant compared to what had happened to me in the last couple of days.23

“I’m ditching today.” I decided. Cassandra led the way outside and I followed her example, closing the door behind me. We went downstairs, out onto the front porch and continuing to the sidewalk. 24

“Well, it’s a fifteen minute walk to the beach.” I said, walking in the direction of the coast. A couple of cars passed us, the passengers staring at us as they drove past. An old couple shook their heads in disapproval. I wonder what we looked like, two teenagers in board shorts and shirts with towels hanging around their necks on a school day. I dismissed the notion, who cared what people thought of us. Soon we were at the beach, the very same beach where I discovered the silver ball. This was where my friends and I had received our powers that night, the place where our lives had changed. 25

I breathed in the familiar salty scent of the sea and walked onto the beach front with Cassy by my side. Our feet slightly sinked, some sand trickling into our shoes through the small holes. She wore converse so more sand was able to enter. The remains of our camp fire still remained. A couple of blackened, burnt logs of driftwood lay crossed over each other to our right. That seemed so long ago. I sighed, staring out to the horizon. The sun’s rays caused the rippling sea to sparkle and glisten with white light. It was such a beautiful sight. I wondered how there could be terrorists wreaking havoc all over the world. My thoughts drifted towards the threat I had received last night. “You will be sorry. You and your friends are dead” was what Nicholas had said to me. He had been watching me for a while, I was sure about that. But how had he known where we were, how had he known that we were elementals. 26

“Are you alright.” Cassy said, nudging my arm with her elbow. Her green eyes half concerned, half confused. 27

“I’m just wondering,” I began while walking closer to the shore. “How I can kick your ass without hurting you.” I laughed off. She didn’t find it so amusing. Her face became stern and hard. She stood with her hands dangling on either side of her body, palms open. The air around me was hot and musky making it harder for me to breathe. I wiped sweat from my forehead. It wasn’t meant to be this hot during this time of the year. Only then did I realize it wasn’t natures doing, Cassy was increasing the temperature on the beach. In particular, around me. An orb of light appeared in each of her hands and I managed to cry out before it happened. 28

She blasted me with the white light. Both beams merged with each other before hitting me right in the chest. It felt as though my entire upper body had been incinerated. It was burning and stinging at the same time. The force of the blow caused my body to sail high in the air and then come rocketing down to the ground. I coughed and put a hand to my chest. Now it felt numb, like pins and needles except much worse and more annoying. I gave the death stare to Cassy.29

“Who’s laughing now?” She chuckled. She offered her hand and I took it, letting her pull me back on my feet. I took a deep breath, the air wasn’t humid anymore. A sea breeze whipped gently across the front of my face. 30

“What was that?” I asked her. “It was so powerful and incredibly painful.” I added, rubbing my chest. The numbness was slowly dying down. 31

“Solar light,” She answered simply. “And mind you, that was at the bare minimum of energy I created. Anymore and you could very well be a pile of melted goo right now.”32

“Remind me never to get on your bad side.” I really didn’t want to be a puddle of whatever I would be if I got melted. I shuddered, trying to shake off the thought. 33

“I guess you’ve given up. I totally understand, its okay I won’t say a word to anyone. I’m gonna swim now.” She dropped her towel on the beach and took of her shoes. It took me a few seconds to take in what she just had she just said, I was still a little dazed you know. But then I came back to my senses. Her back was faced to me, her front facing the water. I acted quickly, spouting a tiny amount of fire on my right index finger. I directed it towards the back of her shirt, where it slowly spread. It was thin so don’t worry it wasn’t going to burn her to a pile of ashes. She turned around to face me. It was quite remarkable that she was that oblivious to what was happening. 34

“You ready to swim or are you still recovering. Poor kid, need a doctor?” She asked sarcastically. Then she sniffed the air. The back of her shirt was almost fully burnt and was starting to move down the front of her shirt. “Is something burning?” 35

“Maybe, you should take a look at your shirt.” 36

She glanced down, the small flames right there flickering back and forth in the wind. Cassy shrieked, running frantically to the shore. By the time she got there the back of her shirt was completely gone and her front was following the same path. She dived for the water. Instantly the fire was doused and steam appeared. She ripped off what remained of her shirt and threw it away. Don’t worry, she wasn’t naked she still had pants on. Oh and of course a bra. Cassy stood waist deep in water, now giving me her own death stare but it quickly faded. 37

“Nice one. Maybe I’ll be a little more alert next time. Now get over here.” She more demanded than requested. I pulled off my shirt, leaving it next to our towels and ran into the water. I stood opposite her. 38

“How hot do you want the water to be?” Cassy questioned. I just stared at her, not really understanding what she had just asked. “I can make the water hotter if you want. It’s easy, wanna see?” She explained.39

“Oh no, this is fine.”40

She had moved closer to me. Our heads only about a few inches apart to be more specific. I could feel her breath on my face. It was warm, no surprise there. Everything about her was hot. Her power, her solar light blasts, her breath, her body…what?!? I shook my head, what was wrong with me? I had only known her for a day and what was I thinking about? I had much bigger and threatening problems to deal with I told myself. Nicholas was getting ready for something big, and I had to start learning how to use my powers to their best of their ability. 41

Cassy moved her head even closer to me, her lips dangerously close to mine. Her soft hands, wrapped around my back, worked their way slowly to my head. Despite what I had just told myself, I moved forward and then I had been fooled again. Her hands, on my head, pushed me down into the water. It seemed like such a simple task for her to perform, as though it took no effort or strength. And of course it didn’t, she was stronger during the day. I gurgled underwater, pushing against her hands trying to let me back up. Eventually they pulled me back up and I gasped in air. 42

“Why’d you do that?!?” I spluttered out. 43

Cassy shrugged. “I wanted to have the last laugh I guess. And were you about to make a move on me?” 44

I think all the blood in my body rushed to my face where it showed perfectly clear. What the hell was I thinking, trying to kiss her? I looked like a complete and utter fool, desperate for a girl and that’s not what I am. It suddenly felt extremely awkward being here with her. I lowered my head in shame and embarrassment. 45

“Hey, don’t worry. That hasn’t been the first time someone’s tried to make a move on me. Just don’t try it again.” She warned lightly. “And by the way, I have an idea about what some of your prophecy means.” Cassy continued. She didn’t even wait for me to respond. “The line about be careful of the ones you trust…I think it could mean that friend you were talking about, Cal or whatever his name is.”46

“Kale?”47

“Yeah that’s it, Kale. I think he could be the person that line is referring to.” She pointed out. 48

I thought about it. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, everything fit in place. Kale had been our friend, I had trusted him and he disappeared the day after we found our powers. Nicholas must’ve found him and according to what Jason said about him having powers, Kale might have joined them. He had been the one the line was talking about, he had betrayed us. That must have been the reason Nicholas knew we I had powers like him. But yet, that nagging voice in the back of my head told me that something wasn’t quite right, that there was a little bit more to this that was missing. 49

A loud wolf whistle pierced through my thoughts like blade decapitating a human. It separated the mind from the body, okay maybe that was a little bit too strong of a comparison. Cassy and I turned in the direction of where the sound came from, which was the shore. Brett, Craig, Ricky, David and Jason all stood there eyeing us. The whistle had come from one of the brothers; I had no doubt about that. 50

“Look what we have here guys.” Ricky said with a light tone. “So who’s the girl Jeff?”51

Before I could answer him, Cassy took charge. “My name’s Cassy. We just met Jeff and Craig yesterday afternoon. Jason over there,” She glared at her brother, who in return smiled smugly right back at her. “Is my younger brother. And what are your names?”52

“The name’s Ricky.” Rick replied. “And I’m Dave, his older brother. And that thing over there,” Dave pointed to Brett. “Is good old Brett boy. Don’t mind his appearance, he can’t help being huge.”53

I waited for Brett’s usual shouting or yelling but it didn’t come. 54

I took a look at him. His attention was fixed solely on Cassy. I thought I could see his eyes staring at her chest, but I couldn’t be sure. Cassy turned back to me and whispered, “Do you friends also have powers?” 55

I nodded. She turned around to face them again. “So you guys all got powers huh? So what element do you have Brett?” She smiled playfully at him. He grinned at her. I felt something flutter in my stomach, not because of nervousness but because I was…jealous? Jealous of what I thought to myself. Cassy wasn’t my girl, she could do whatever she liked. 56

Brett lazily stomped his foot in the sand. Where his foot collided with the ground, sand sprang up and a fissure appeared. It zigzagged its way towards the brothers. The fissure wasn’t huge but it was wide enough for the brothers to fall into. Sand poured into the gap, Brett was waiting for the brothers to be swallowed up by his fissure but again he was disappointed. The brothers quickly soared into the air, and where they were just standing, the fissure had just reached and stopped. Brett rejoined the split earth. 57

Brett turned back to Cassy and simply said. “Earth and those two vultures over there have Wind.”58

Cassy got out of the water and went towards her towel. I did the same. Once we dried ourselves off, I gave her my shirt to wear since I practically burned the other one. I guess I would have to deal with walking home half-naked. Another breeze whipped my hair around; it was stronger this time, colder too. I expected the sudden current to pass like the others had but it didn’t, if anything it had become even harsher. Cassy collapsed to the ground, a whirlpool of air circling around her body. Sand mixed in with the wind current caused a mini sandstorm. Everyone one of us squinted to see, not wanting the sand to get into our eyes, well that was everyone who was on the ground. David and Ricky hovered in the air their mouths morphed into a huge grin. They were the ones causing the abrupt change in weather and they were focusing on giving Cassy hell. I looked to where Cassandra lay on her knees, arms wrapped around her shivering body. The next moment, the currents dipped beneath her and lifted her into the sky. She shrieked her arms and legs flailing in different directions as if that could bring her back down. The brothers moved so that Cassy was floating in between them. They’re hands outstretched; they pushed Cassy back and forth in a high arc.59

“Put me down!” She screamed at them.60

“I’m sorry; I can’t really hear you over this wind.” Ricky shouted back, not stopping. Dave was no better either. 61

“I’m warning you, both of you!” She screeched again. The brothers didn’t reply, unless you count the fact that they seemed to toss her harder and faster to each other but that was their mistake. When she reached the middle of the arc shape she was being tossed through. She pointed a palm to Ricky, and the other to David. I smirked because I knew what was coming next. Two perfect beams of solar energy launched itself from her hands, each flying at supersonic speeds towards the brothers. Before they could do anything to counter-attack, the blast hit them in the exact same place where it had hit me, right in the chest. Both of them, along with Cassy, fell back towards the ground. Cassy recovered herself quickly, getting back on her feet while the brothers groaned, clutching their chests. 62

“I warned you both.” Cassy said, towering over both of them who were still writhing in the sand. Jason and Brett were laughing now, mainly at the brothers. Cassy turned her back on Dave and Ricky and who did she go to? Brett of course. I guess she found the muscle-bound, huge armed guy to be the more…attractive boy. But how did he greet her when she came running towards him? He hugged her. Not one of those warm, heart-felt hug. It was the type of hug where he grabs her from her lower back and pushes her closer to him. But what annoyed me even more than that was the fact that she did absolutely nothing to stop him. When it comes to me though, it’s a whole different story isn’t it. I mean they knew each other for a total of ten minutes and he was already putting his hands all over her. Part of me wanted to tell him to back off, but he was my friend, I couldn’t tell him what to do. Besides, she wasn’t my girl.63

The brothers had recovered slightly and had shakily got back on their feet. They were both massaging their chests, grim looks on their faces. I know how they must be feeling right now, well it was their fault. 64

“Next time, you should face me when we’re both ready. Not the cowardly way you did.” Cassy told the brothers. “But I guess it’s only because you two can’t take me down could you.”65

“No, we just don’t want to give you that much attention.” Ricky shrugged. 66

“Actually,” I began. “I think that’s a good idea.”67

“What is?” Cassy asked. 68

“Well, I mean we want to experiment with our powers don’t we? And you guys are fighting over who would win in a fair match-up. So why don’t we do just that?”69

“Do what?” She asked again, a little exasperated this time.70

“A little tournament, just us. And we’ll really see who’s the strongest here. Who’s in?” I glanced at my friends around me. 71

“We’re out.” Ricky and Dave said, shaking their heads. They both looked at Cassy and Dave spoke, “And this isn’t because we’re scared of you. We just don’t really feel that good since you did whatever that was to us.”72

“Okay,” I said. “Anyone else not wanting to do this?73

“Well, I can’t. I’m only powerful at night remember.” Jason explained. He joined where the brothers were standing. 74

I sighed. I really wanted to do this, partly because I wanted to give Brett a little ass whooping. “C’mon guys. All of us have been bickering over who’s power is stronger so now let’s prove it.” I urged. 75

“Alright. I’m in.” Brett answered. He turned to Cassy. “What about you? You gonna help me kick some ass?” 76

“Yeah sure.” 77

So that was three. Odd number, we needed at least one more person. Craig had been pretty quiet the whole time that I hadn’t really noticed him that much. “Craig? We need one more guy.”78

“Why not.” He shrugged.79

“Great!” I exclaimed. “Okay, so this is gonna be a quick two round tourney. Umm, first round will be Cassy against Craig.” I announced. 80

I moved to where the non-participants were sitting down. Craig and Cassy moved to stand opposite each other. 81

“Ready?” I called to both of them. They nodded. “Begin!” 82

I knew who was going to win…Cassy. She seemed unbeatable, she was really strong. But I hoped that Craig would defeat her, bring her off her high horse you know. They got right into it from the moment the word left my mouth. Cassy went on the offensive immediately, blasting Craig with those dangerous solar light beams of hers left, right and center. I thought Craig was a goner, that he didn’t stand a chance but I was surprised to find that the attacks had all missed him. Now it was his turn to attack. I only realized that he had a clear advantage over any one of us. We were on a beach. There was an unlimited supply of water right behind him. Craig grinned as if he knew what I had just thought of. He quickly backed up into the sea. The water seemed to become a richer blue with his presence surrounding it. Craig outstretched his arm behind his back and with what seemed the tiniest amount of effort; he caused the tide to rise. A wave around 14, 15 meters high rose above him. He brought his arm down, and the wave followed. Everyone who wasn’t fighting scrambled for cover, including me. The water began its descent, aimed directly at Cassy. She reacted fast, clapping her hands and a thin but strong line of white light spouted forward trying to cut the water’s body. Unfortunately it wasn’t fast enough; the energy she created didn’t get 2 meters in front of her. The blue, rushing figure of water crushed it and proceeded to Cassy. She shrieked just before the water completely covered her. The power of the ocean was something I didn’t really want to mess with. The water was either rejoining the sea or absorbed by the sand, making the ground damp and soggy. Cassy lay motionless on the sand. She was still breathing but I think she had been knocked out by the full force of the wave. 83

“Craig wins.” I simply said. 84

Craig laughed and the brothers wooped. “Way to show her Craig. 85

Damn, that wave thingy you did was crazy!” Dave 86

exclaimed. “Alright, so next round is…Jeffrey against stone head over there, I mean Brett.” Ricky added.87

We all took our places. They moved Cassy to a safer position and we were set to go. “You guys ready?” Jason asked. We both nodded. “Well, what are you waiting for? Start! Duh.” Ricky said.88

I waited for Brett to make the first move which he did. I expected one of those mini earthquake thingy’s he always does, and that’s what I got except it was bigger. The fissure line rushed towards me, wanting to swallow me into the gorge. I jumped to the side, easily avoiding it. Apparently it could only travel one direction, forward. I summoned fire from my hands. The same numbing sensation took place in my arms. I released the orange flames, aiming them at Brett’s arms. They didn’t exactly burn him; more like scalded his skin slightly. He cried out, clutching his right arm. For some sick reason, I enjoyed seeing him in pain. Suddenly he collapsed, and lay there unmoving. Was that my doing I asked myself? I ran towards him and knelt down. That was my mistake. He opened his eyes, and grabbed my neck. He had been faking, wanting me to come to him. I couldn’t overpower him, he was too strong and I wasn’t exactly the best hand-to-hand fighter. He put me behind his back and then throwing like a quarterback, he launched me straight towards the water. I soared through the air, and skidded on the surface of the water for a split second before sinking slowly underneath. I kicked up to the surface, sucking in mouthfuls of air. Brett was right behind me. He grabbed me from behind and once again tossed me, this time back to land. I landed full on my back. I felt completely weak, I couldn’t even get up. Brett was soon towering over me again and I couldn’t do anything to stop him. 89

“Okay,” I rasped. I had no choice. “I give up. You win.” I raised my hands in defeat. Brett dropped me and the brothers sighed. 90

That trick he did really was my downfall. I dragged my feet to where Cassy lay, unconscious. I plopped down, not even bothering to watch the battle between Craig and Brett. I turned my head to look at Cassy’s face. A couple of strands of her now damp blonde hair covered her face. I tucked them behind her ear and that’s when I saw it. On her upper neck, just below her jaw was a tattoo. It was a set of scales that were pure black. Now it wasn’t the weight scales we all have, it was one of those old measuring scales. The type where you put an object on a platform on one side and a different object on the other. Okay, it wasn’t unusual to see tattoos but there was just something about this that didn’t seem quite right. Like there was something big I was missing. I decided to ask her about it later when she was awake again. 91

I heard a grunt and the rushing of water. I sat up to see what was happening. Brett was swirling in a rapid whirlpool. He was in the ocean, Craig just twirling his fingers to make the whirlpool move faster. Brett was unable to do a thing; he was trapped in Craig’s domain. He tried to push himself out, but every time he tried he was pushed back in by a strong spurt of water. Soon he surrendered causing the brothers to laugh and woop with joy. The whirlpool vanished, the sea calm once again. Craig had won. And I thought he would be beaten by Cassy. How more wrong could I be?92

We all congratulated each other, praising each other’s abilities and moves. Cassy’s eyes fluttered open and she stretched and rubbed her head. She saw me sitting next to her and asked groggily, “What’d I miss?”93

“Oh, nothing much really. Brett beat me, and then Craig beat Brett.” I replied, shrugging. “And you fully got owned by the way.” I laughed.94

“Oh shut up.” She punched my arm jokingly. “And why did you look so angry before?”95

“Angry?”96

“Yeah, when I hugged Brett. You looked really pissed off for some reason.” She raised an eyebrow.97

I blushed a deep shade of red. She had seen my expression I thought to myself. What a douche I was. “It was uhh, nothing.”98

“Okay. That’s cool.” Cassy said. “Just hope you weren’t…jealous or anything.” She added slyly. 99

“Whatever, like I would be jealous of Brett.” I lied. Jason walked to up to us.100

“So how you doing sis? No concussions or anything?” Jason asked 101

sarcastically. 102

“I’m fine Jason.” She answered. I took a look at Jason. His black hair was scruffy and all over the place and I then I saw it on him too. The exact same tattoo I saw on Cassy’s neck was on the same place on Jason. What the hell? I was about to question them about it but before I could the brothers interrupted. 103

“Alright, I’m outta here. See you guys later.” Dave said. “THE WEEKEND! YEAH!” Ricky shouted happily. They began moving off; Brett followed them after giving Cassy yet another hug. The three of them lived in the same are although I didn’t know why that was. They weren’t exactly always the best of friends. 104

“Let’s go too.” Craig told me. I grabbed my towel, tossing Cassy the other one and we slowly walked back home. It was an effort for me to raise my feet and walk properly. I pretty much dragged my feet home. Craig left us early, going back to his house and Jason, Cassy and I silently walked back to my place. I stayed behind them, thinking about the questions I was going to ask them. Soon we entered through the familiar front door of my home. They quickly climbed the steps where as I crawled. I reached my room and settled down on my beanbag. I wished I could’ve had the bed today but that wasn’t going to happen. Jason jumped on my bed and Cassy lay next to him. Before I could do anything, my eyes shut, my mind wandered off and I was sleeping. I guess those questions could wait for tomorrow, sleep was more important I told myself. I mean, it wasn’t like the world was going to end tomorrow right?105