Lillian Smith, Earth Elemental

  The day was eventful, yet uneventful. I think they both know, which is bad. I've already failed the number 2 order I've been given. Number 1 was to defeat the fire elemental and report any elementals I come across. I should report that elemental. Water, I think, or maybe wind. I should report him… but I don't. Not yet. The general was very insistent over how dangerous elementals could be for society as a whole. That's why I wanted to help them. I wanted to be a good elemental to help defeat the bad elementals. The problem is I'm starting to see I've been looking at the world too black and white up till now. I’m unsure. William is kind, I'm sure of that. But am I being too black and white in my view of him as well? I'm unsure. I can't be sure.

  Either way I sent my first report through the phone I'd been given.

  “Settled. Met new associates. No sign of fire elemental.”

  I set my phone down after that short message and bury my head in my pillow. My life is just stress and exhaustion at this point. All the training I did over the last month was grueling and stressful, and now I have the stress of what I assume is the water elemental nearby.

  I can feel him still, though he's on the other end of the street now. It's a constant subtle sloshing about of my brain, as if my instincts were telling me to get rid of him. I ignore those instincts. The reason for that is because these instincts are new. They aren't human instincts. They're from my powers. My powers hate being around another elemental. It's like oil and water. The earth fears the erosion of water, the splitting of ice, and the washing away of rain. It makes little sense to me. Water can't be that strong, can it? Perhaps I could imagine it cutting through things if focused and pressed in the right way, but beyond that, water is just… water. Right? All splashy and harmless, but mildly annoying? If we had to fight I'd win.

  I can control stones, metals, dirt, mud, and all other forms of what may be considered earth. I even have control over gems. The scientists learned that I can fuse together minerals and materials into new things. All sorts of scientists wanted to see me. Geologists, biologists, physicists, neurologists(for some reason), radiologists, and even a few government doctors. It felt… uncomfortable.

  I feel faith to my country and its government. What good citizen wouldn't? But I still felt … I don't know… less than human? To them, at least. I felt like an animal in a cage, being poked, prodded and sampled to see how I taste and what makes me tick. I'm more than glad that being here means not being in area 51 anymore, but… the water elemental, William.

  I sigh and cover my face with my pillow. I have a feeling sleep won't come easy to me, at least tonight.

  …

  I mumble and twist about in the sheets as the light of the morning shines into my face. I'm awake. Barely.But what really woke me up was when time froze. This wasn't supposed to happen. The next vote was still quite a ways away, why was this happening? Then I heard it.

  The [Air] elemental has died

  Then time resumed. I gasp in shock as I stare at the message and jolt out of bed. An elemental is dead already? How? I take a few calming breaths before sitting up and dressing myself. I had a shower last night anyway, and I don't actually really get dirty or stinky anymore, so showering is more to keep up human appearances than due to any sort of need. I do take long showers though, since they just feel so nice. I feel bad about wasting the water bill of Miss Yesman, but not bad enough to stop.

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  as I pull on my final garment, My door swings open any I yelp.

  “Oops, sorry!” selena shuts the door again and she sees me getting dressed. Then she speaks through the door. “Can i come in?”

  “Uh… sure.” I eventually say after a moments thought. She immediately barges back in full force, nearly making me jump again.

  “That happened for you too, right?” She aks immediately, and I nod.

  “It's scary.” I admit, frowning to myself. “Someone killed a being with so much power…”

  “I think it's scary for both of you.” Selena says, making me freeze. “I know Will will shake it off, but ti doesn't make me less scared for him.”

  “You…” I just stare at her, frozen.

  “I won't tell, I promise.” She says. “You won't tell about Will, right?”

  “I… no, I didn't… plan on it.” I admit. “How did you know… oh.” I facepalms as I come to the obvious realization. I can feel will, so he can likely feel me. And why wouldn't he tell her? For a second I feel indignant that he'd share this top secret information, but at the same time I know I owe him nothing. He has no reason besides honor to keep my secret. I'm likely supposed to tell my superiors about it, but… I don’t know. I wasn't explicitly ordered to, so they can't get mad about me not telling about an elemental that isn't the fire elemental.

  “Good.” She nods. “I know Will wanted this to be a whole thing where he asked you and all that but that message shook me and I needed someone to talk to…” She pauses, then frowns. “I probably betrayed his trust in confirming it with you though…”

  “No, no!” I insist, shaking my head rapidly. “I pretty much knew already. He felt all wet and cold to my earth senses, and when I spoke to him I just… knew.”

  “Scary.” She mutters to herself. “You two will need to be more careful around areas that feel off to you. He said that you feel all solid and dry to his… I think he called it liquid sense?” She sits down on my bed and crosses her arms. “There's a dead elemental already. Will is a lot more durable than he should be, and can take a real hit too. I once punched him in the gut because he was being an ass and it felt like punching a water balloon and an ice sculpture at the same time. Hard as ice and resilient as water.”

  “My bones are as hard as diamond and I can regenerate limbs.” I confirm nervously, scratching the back of my neck where the chip is nervously. discussing this with someone who isn’t wearing camo or stale white feels a little weird, yet strangely more comfortable.

  “Really? how'd you find that out?” She asks, and I feel a burst of panic. Not telling the government about William is one thing, but telling her about the experiments is another. She already knows my secret and that can be explained away. Sharing government secrets can’t.

  “I, uh, cut myself with a knife while making dinner one time.” I explain quickly. “I cut my pinky off. Hurt less than I thought it would, and regenerated in a few days. It regenerated quicker while I was eating.”

  “Oh, ok.” She nods. “Sounds sucky. You're lucky to have your powers.”“Yeah… I am.” I agree. I hate lying to her. She's so nice to me, and I'm genuinely starting to think of her as a friend. “So, uh.. todays halloween, right? Is it the same up here as in America?"

  “With the spooky costumes and free candy? Yep. It's the exact same, but a lot colder.” Selena informs with a grin, pushing herself up off the bed. “Got any ideas what you want to dress as? There's a Halloween party at the college tonight. I’m bringing some cupcakes, and all sorts of students are bringing different goodies.”

  “Hmm…” I pause, thinking over the question. What to dress as… I do have some good money with me.

  “Maybe… is there a halloween store nearby?” I ask.

  “Yeah, there's a spirit halloween 3 minutes drive away.” Selena nods, then grins. “Lets go together!”

  “Oh… ok.” I nod. “Um… is Will going to come?”

  “Only if he wants. I think a girls trip would be better though.” She grins and takes my arm. “Ready to go?” She then pauses. “Wait, I'm not ready to go. Give me 40 minutes.” She rushes out of the room and I just stand there, staring at the door she slipped out of. Yep. Exhausting and stressful.