Elias stood on the corner of 37th and 8th, waiting for his ride to arrive. Well, not his ride. He was carpooling with some kids from the Valley, specifically Brent. Brent was a senior like himself, though unlike him, his parents actually had money. This meant that when Brent turned 16, his parents got him a new car. Stalwart Academy, being an upper-class private school, made this a common occurrence. This eventually led to too many students having cars, and parking being limited. The school stepped in and offered a solution, which was carpooling, and limiting the pool of students who could park on school grounds to juniors and seniors. This meant that for Brent to drive his car to school, he would need to take at least three other students with him. He already had a girlfriend, Alicia, and his neighbor Becca, so the only thing he needed was a third person.
That is where Elias comes in. He already had a deal with Brent, and he didn't live particularly far from the Valley. So, at one of their meetings Brent offered, and Elias took him up on it. If there was one thing Elias hated more than kids from the Valley, it was mornings. Finally, after ten minutes of waiting in the chilly November air, he could see Brent's car arriving. The white sedan pulled up to the curb and Elias hopped in the back seat. Becca was to his left. The red-haired girl was absorbed in her phone and didn't so much as react to his entrance.
“You got it?” Brent asked as soon as Elias buckled in.
“Yeah,” Elias responded.
Elias reached into his backpack and pulled out a manilla folder. He handed it to Alicia since Brent pulled away from the curve and started to drive again. This was something of a ritual for the last few months. Brent and Elias shared two classes, Advanced Environmental Science and Classical Poetry of all things. They had a deal: if there were any research papers assigned that didn't require some kind of presentation, he would pay Elias to do it for him. It was the easiest money Elias had ever earned. A smile came across his face as the notification popped up on his phone signaling that he had received $100. He had deals with two other students and it earned him a tidy profit.
Alicia sniffed indignantly from the front seat. Elias tilted his head to look at what she was doing, then realized she was reading his paper.
“You disapprove?” Elias asked. He knew damn well it was an excellent paper. This, however, was the first time Alicia had made a sound of disapproval.
“The Fundamental Flaw in “Clean” Energy Sources.” Alicia said indignantly.
“I see you've read the title. What? Don't like the font?” Elias asked. He knew why she was indignant though. Alicia was one of those save the world types, who believed all problems stem from fossil fuels and capitalism. Elias, however, couldn't care less about the birds and bees, he had bills to pay. He knew what he was getting into by baiting Alicia like this. And so, as he predicted, the argument started.
“So should we just do nothing then and consume until there is nothing left?” Alicia asked. She twisted her body around to face Elias from the front seat. She was a beautiful girl with chestnut brown skin. Her eyes were an even darker brown. Under low lights it looked as if she had no irises. What was most interesting however was her hair. It was braided in patterns so complex that Elias couldn't formulate how it was done or how she maintained it in pristine condition.
“1: Clean energy is not carbon neutral. 2: The current implementation is like putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. 3: Unless you and most of the planet decide to make serious sacrifices, nothing will change. If you had read the paper, you would know that,” Elias replied confidently.
“Oh my god. I am not in the mood to hear this,” Becca said and immediately put headphones on to block out the sound of their upcoming argument. Elias spotted Brent from the rear-view mirror releasing a heavy sigh and rolling his eyes.
Elias disliked Alicia and she disliked him. Elias couldn't even remember when the feud between them started. But her borderline narcissist need to condemn everything she finds to be against her morals was irritating to him. As far as Elias was concerned, irritating her was doing god's work. Alicia no doubt hated his smug sense of superiority since he was the salutatorian for their graduating class and was able to secure a full ride to university.
“Change doesn't happen overnight. It needs more time to take hold within the human subconscious. That means pushing for more green energy. The more common it becomes, the more innovation can happen, then we can solve the net carbon problem and energy storage. Once the public gets behind it then policy will change.” Alicia countered. She answered with a quickness that appeared to be practiced.
Elias wasn't even slightly moved. “All this depends on whether people will go against their own self-interest. History proves that it doesn't ever happen. Change only occurs after a crisis, not before. That is the crux of my argument.”
She rolled her eyes, appearing to be entirely unconvinced. “People like you always think like that.”
“People like me?” Elias asked, already feeling offended.
“Nihilists.” She practically spat out the word.
Elias laughed and said, “We prefer the term realists. Most of us have actual problems.”
Alicia replied sarcastically, “Yes, I’m sure the mass extinction of vulnerable species, wars over resources and rising sea levels aren't actual problems.”
Elias rolled his eyes. “Oh, they are, but I'm not naive enough to think anything we do will change the world. But you go ahead and buy your hybrids and solar panels. In reality, the only thing you're accomplishing is making yourself feel good.”
Alicia was ready to continue the argument before Brent stepped in. “Jesus Christ, can we just wait until class. It's early and I didn’t get much sleep.”
Elias saw his blue eyes in the rear-view mirror for a moment. There was a hint of a threat. Elias shrugged then relented. “Fine, we can do this later. Brent’s about to hit the highway.”
Alicia gave him one last disdainful look before sitting properly in her seat.
“Think Mrs. Jones will like paper?” Brent asked Alicia. Elias ignored their conversation and gazed out the window.
“Yeah, she loves this kind of controversial shit. I still think you should have just written your own.”
“Babe, I got four AP classes and I’m the captain of the soccer team. I barely have enough time as it is.”
“It's better than having this trite attached to your name.” She said, mostly to herself.
Elias knew his dislike of them was largely petty, but he couldn't help himself sometimes. They did look down on him for his social status, but it wasn't anything overt. Without any good reason to hate them beyond that they had a better roll of the dice with life, these petty arguments, which he usually won, were the only thing that he could funnel his frustration into. Now though, none of it mattered. In a few months he would graduate and attend one of the best Universities in the country. His future was bright; he knew it and so did everyone else.
He still remembered the day he got both the scholarship and acceptance letters. His mother cried and his father did his darndest to hold back tears. His little sister was bragging to her classmates for a week straight. It was the greatest day of his life. Hard work and sacrifice was paying off and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.
Four Hours Later.
Elias and Alicia were in a heated debate. He was fairly sure that Mrs. Jones was purposely stoking the flames of their argument. But Elias didn't care at the moment, he would be damned if he admitted defeat to Miss ‘Save the Planet.’
“Really wind energy. Do you even know how much lubricant is needed for each wind turbine? How often does it have to be replaced? And what is this lubricant made from? Ah yes, oil. Not to mention the cost of building, transport, and maintenance. At that point might as well just burn coal. It would be the same carbon cost and waste a lot less time.” Elias countered.
At the mention of coal Alicia looked like she had been slapped, “Coal? That's your brilliant solution. How does the carbon cost of wind farms compare to the air pollution, habitat loss and groundwater contamination? Do I really have to explain to you why coal is a horrendous source of energy.”
Elias actually agreed with her for the most part, but he was far too invested in winning. “Everyone knows the consequences of coal. But if your solution requires burning a tremendous amount of non-renewable resources for its construction and maintenance it's not worth the effort. Even over its entire life cycle no wind turbine has ever been even close to carbon neutral. So, either you are ok with the environmental damage from its construction and maintenance or environmental damage from coal. Either way, the environment suffers.”
She scoffed, “At least wind has room for improvement while coal and oil. For 120 years it has been nothing but a blight on the environment. We had two spills this year and both companies got off with just fines. The entire industry is beyond corrupt and only perpetuates the problem.”
Ellias didn't give her an inch. “Really? you’re criticizing petroleum? Sweetheart, the entirety of modern human civilization is dependent on the petroleum industry. Everything is made from it, cars, plastics, lotion, and everything else you can think of is petroleum based. They're not the problem. Those industries respond to demand. And you, like everyone else, want to live comfortable lives. So how about you look everyone in the eye and tell them that they should go back to the stone age so that the birds and the bees can live good lives.”
Elias was changing the goal post, and he knew it. It was an underhanded way to argue, but he was here to win, what they were arguing about didn't matter to him. The argument continued for the rest of the class until the bell rang. Mrs. Jones, as expected, did not interrupt. The rest of the class could kick back and relax while the they went at it. They were incompatible and would disagree on everything.
Six Hours Later.
Elias walked through the front door of his three-bedroom home. It was a decent enough house to grow up in. While it was in a bad neighborhood his parents prided themselves on maintaining a clean and orderly home.
“Elias, you're right on time, dinner is ready,” His mother yelled from the kitchen. A smile came over Elias’s face. His mother, Julia’s, fresh cooking was usually the highlight after a long day of school. He dropped his bag near the front door and saw his little sister, Sasha, setting the table.
“Hey, El.” She said. Sasha was four years younger than him and was the spitting image of her mother. Black hair, brown eyes, and short stature. Elias, however, looked like his father. Tall, thin with the same sandy blonde hair and grey eyes.
“Sup Ash.” Elias said as he started to help her set the table. He placed the knives, forks, and spoons in the same meticulous manner his mother taught him since he was a child. According to her, being broke didn't mean they couldn't have proper table manners.
“Dad’s gonna make it?” Elias asked his mom. He could see her making the finishing touches in the kitchen.
“No. He's doing some overtime at the plant.” She said, A small amount of sadness crept into her voice, but it was gone in almost the same instant.
A few minutes later, the family sat around the dinner table eating some roasted chicken quarters and a side of red bean rice and vegetables.
“So, how was school?” Julia asked both her children. It was one of the Harkin family's many rituals. Elias shrugged and Ash tried and failed to hide that she was texting under the table. Julia squinted and pointedly asked Ash. “Sasha you first.”
Ash sighed and shoved her phone into a pocket. “Umm. I tried out for Volleyball.”
“And how did that go,” Julia inquired, sounding excited.
“Not well since I'm not even five feet.” Ash picked up a fork and pointed at her mother. “I blame you for that.”
Elias chucked under his breath. Ash’s complaints that she didn't get any of the tall genes were a common occurrence.
Ash sniffed and turned her attention to Elias, “And you. You're 6 foot and you don't do shit with it.”
Julia coughed and said reproachfully, “Language.”
Elias shrugged completely unapologetic to Ash’s complaints. “I’m allergic to exercise. So, I leave all that running around for people who can't think.”
“You’re just lazy.” Ash said then the second part of his statement dawned on her. “Did you just call me stupid?”
“What? No. Never.” Elias answered, his voice filled with sarcasm.
Then her angry expression turned into an evil smile.
“At least I didn't need surgery after my first and only tryout. What did they call you again?” She teased.
The horrific memories from middle school came back to him and his cheeks reddened. That was a low blow and even Elias, who prided himself on winning battles of wit, was powerless to such a strike.
~
Sasha grinned as she watched her brother squirm. It was the only thing she knew that would make him stumble. So, she saved it for special occasions. While Sasha wasn't even out of elementary school when it happened the teasing, he went through was legendary. She often wondered at times if Elias worked so hard to get into Stalwart Academy, so he never had to see anyone from his middle school again.
She glanced over at her mother who held back a smile. She was immensely proud of Elias and bragged about him to anyone who would listen. But he could get a bit full of himself sometimes. Sasha knew that so long as she did not push too hard on this soft spot. She wouldn't get in trouble.
After a few seconds Elias got control of himself. He squinted at her then he uttered the words she was waiting for. It was always fascinating to Sasha how quickly Elias could switch moods. He could go from a whirlwind of anger in one moment and be still as a lake in the next.
“You win this round.” He said, every trace of embarrassment disappeared from his face and his soft, almost arrogant, smile returned.
And so ended another one of their bouts. Soon enough Elias started talking about his day and as expected, he started complaining about his classmates, particularly Alicia. He droned on and on about her arrogance, self-righteousness, and general lack of real-world experience. As if he doesn't have those same flaws, but it wasn't her job to point that out. She would leave that to whatever poor woman ends up with him.
“How did this whole competition between you and Alicia start?” Her mom asked. That was something Elias had never mentioned to either of them.
Elias paused in his tirade and leaned back into his seat. His eyes squinted and eyebrows furrowed, clearly, he was thinking about it deeply.
“I don't remember, but however it started, I'm sure it was her fault,” Elias said that ridiculous statement with such complete confidence that it took Sasha a few seconds to realize how absurd it was.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Sasha looked over to her mother and with a subtle nod they decided not to bother with this line of inquiry. Her mothers theory was that Elias was in love with her, but Sasha had seen her brother around girls he liked, and this certainly wasn't how he behaved. Sasha’s theory was that he took some small insult or slight from Alicia and made that molehill into a mountain. He was just that petty sometimes.
~
Elias woke up the next morning feeling decently refreshed. He left his room and headed to the bathroom to get ready. He studied late into the night since midterms were close. Allowing his GPA to drop was not an option. Gazing into the mirror he examined his face. Tired grey eyes stared back at him. A result of months of poor sleep. He tied his long blonde hair back and started to brush.
‘I should really have this cut.’ He thought to himself. ‘Nah I can't be bothered, I'll just have Ash do something with it later. I don't know why she is so enthusiastic about cutting my hair, but it saves me the effort of taking the bus.’
After finishing his preparation for the day, he walked out the front door of his home and headed to the usual pick-up spot. He was the earliest and rarely saw anyone else in the morning. Elias breathed in the cold November wind, enjoying the silence of the street. No cars or loud neighbors to deal with when the sun hadn't properly risen. He checked his watch to make sure he was on time.
Half an hour later Brent arrived again, and Elias hopped in.
“Hey,” Brend said, barely acknowledging him. The other two women didn't so much as react. The ride was largely quiet. Becca was still absorbed in her phone and whatever Brent and Alicia were talking about wasn’t enough to interest Elias. He completely tuned them out and gazed towards the passing scenery with mild disinterest. The downtrodden and ill maintained buildings of his hometown gave way to modern buildings of industrial design. Eventually they reached the highway and Elias, still tired from last night’s studying, drifted off to sleep.
~
Elias drifted between that border between being asleep and awake. It would take a small force of will to fully rise from slumber. When in this state he could normally make out details about his surroundings. He remembered getting some shut eye on the drive to the school and nobody shook him awake so he figured he could catch a few more minutes of sleep before they arrived. Or at least that was his plan until a few incongruities began to surface in his mind.
First, he was rather cold, not surprising since they were heading into the winter season. Still, this wasn't enough to cause him any concern. A sound drifted into his consciousness and his sleep-addled mind realized it was the patter of heavy rainfall.
‘It’s raining?’ a question drifted into his mind. But once more the thought faded into the obscurity that was sleep.
“I don’t know how the fuck we got here or where here is.” A panicked and angry voice drifted into his mind.
‘Ok, that is concerning.’ As that thought solidified, he began to notice more oddities: the rain was too loud and not muffled from being in a car. He wasn't sitting but propped up against something hard. It was too much and in an instant the sleep vanished.
Elias jolted upright looking around at his surroundings. Nothing made sense, he was in a large cave, to his right was the massive opening, large enough for a school bus to drive through without any difficulty. To his left the cave continued for around 20 feet before stopping completely, as if the tunnel had collapsed. Elias was propped up against the cave wall. Outside there was a forest going through what looked like a rather intense storm. Confusion wasn't a severe enough word to describe what he was feeling.
“About time.” Alicia said.
Elias turned to face her. Brent, Alicia, and Becca were standing a short distance away, their clothes were drenched in water. So was Elias, but that wasn't his concern at the moment. Becca looked terrified and largely as confused as he was. Brent and Alicia looked frustrated, but he could see a little fear beneath the anger.
“What the fuck is going on.” Elias asked them. Try as he might, Elias couldn't make sense of his situation; he wanted to believe he was still asleep, but no. Reality was far too clear.
The three teens looked at each other unsure of how to answer him. “We don't know. But you might want to hold off on questions for the moment.” Alicia finally said.
“Yeah…. No. I want to know where we are and why we’re in some cave. That’s a forest out there. We were in the middle of a damn city. The nearest national park is like half a day's drive.” Silence and concerned glances passed between the three and Elias became irater as they didn't answer him. Elias focused his glare on Brent since he was the driver.
“We don't know alright. We're trying to figure it out, just wait until it passes then we can talk, it won't last long.” Brend said.
“You all need to start making damn some sense, and wait until what passes?” Elias asked. The instant the words left his lips pain beyond words blossomed in his mind. It was so bright and intense that he couldn't even scream. It was like white hot pokers were being repeatedly stabbed into different parts of his brain. Then it spread to his entire body as if every cell was on fire. The pain grew to the point where started to beg God, the devil, and even Mrs. Jones for reprieve. He would swear at anyone and anything to stop the pain. Then it was over. The pain didn't slowly leave him. In one moment he was in mind melting agony, the next, nothing.
He laid against the cave wall staring at nothing for a few moments, unwilling to move even an inch due to not wanting to restart whatever that was. As another minute passed, he realized that the pain wasn't going to start again. His breathing slowed and he clenched his fist repeatedly. Elias sprung to his feet and faced the trio.
“Ok now we can talk.” Brent said, almost amused.
Elias focused on Brent and uttered a single word barely holding back his fury. “Explain.”
Brent took a deep breath and exhaled. “We don't know much more than you ok. We woke up in some clearing like half an hour from here. We were all just lying around on the grass. Becca woke up first and yes, we all went through that.”
Elias turned his gaze to Becca; she nodded at his unasked question.
‘Ok the accident did happen but what was the pain?’
“And what was that?”
All three shrugged, “We're not sure but I think it has something to do with this.” Brent said.
Brent walked over to the cave wall and readied himself to throw a punch. Elias was wondering what kind of stupidity was compelling the guy to punch a wall. The last thing they needed was someone walking around with an injured hand while they figured out where they were.
Elias felt a warmth flood over him that disappeared a moment later. ‘That was weird.’ he thought to himself.
But he was too focused on the stupidity happening in front of him. Brent struck the wall with a right hook. Elias started to question his own sanity as he registered that the strike didn't sound like flesh upon stone. It was more like he struck it with a sledgehammer. The sound echoed through the cave as Brent removed his fist. Small cracks that could be seen in the stone. Then Brent brandished his fist towards Elias. Other than some dust it was perfectly fine.
Elias couldn't do anything other than stare. Then he turned his eyes to Alicia and Becca, the question clear on his face.
Becca spoke first, “We all do something different.” Her voice was quiet and hesitant.
She still looked rather frazzled, her red hair was plastered to her face, her white blouse and skirt was stained with grass and dirt. Her pale skin looked almost blue from the cold.
“Ok then. What do the rest of you do?” At this point Elias couldn't be completely sure he was actually awake. He half expected someone to shake his shoulder once they arrived at Stalwart.
Becca opened her right hand revealing several small stones. She tossed one into the air. Elias watched as the smooth grey stone sailed a few feet over his head towards the exit. Then Becca wound her hand back and threw another stone. The second stone connected with the first with a high pitch crack. It struck with enough force to halt the fall of the first stone, sending it higher into the air and further towards the exit. In quick succession she threw the rest of the stones in her hand, each connecting with the first stone, sending it skipping through the air towards the exit.
The first strike wasn't exactly impressive but the fact that she could accurately hit the stone over eight times at just the right angle to keep it in the air was beyond imagination. That wasn't simply good aim; It was supernatural. At the back of his mind he registered that each time she wound up her hand he could feel warmth flooding over him. It wasn't warmth exactly, but that was the best way he could describe it. He looked at Becca, awestruck. She just shrugged, then looked at Alicia.
He followed her gaze. Alicia walked to one corner of the cave and sprinted towards the opposite wall. Then she ran up the wall for a few steps. far higher than should be physically possible then backflipped off the wall falling from nearly 15 feet and landing in a crouch. Elias pinched himself just to make sure he wasn't dreaming, unsurprisingly, he wasn't.
“Yeah. We were just as surprised. So, figure out what you can do and then we can come up with a plan,” Alicia said, in the condescending tone that Elias disliked.
“How do you do it?” Elias asked Becca.
Becca shrugged and answered, “I don't know. Like, how do you breathe? You just do it.”
Elias frowned, and looked to Brent and Alicia,” Do either of you have an actual explanation?”
Becca huffed in offence and Alicia answered, “Becca's right actually, just focus and you can feel it.”
He looked at Brent; he just shrugged noncommittally.
“Ooook, I'll just feel it,” Elias said, resigned.
Elias closed his eyes and tried to feel whatever it is he was supposed to feel. He breathed in and out trying to find the power was within him. Their explanation didn't make much sense but he tried searching his senses to see if there was something different. He lost himself for a moment before he felt something pulse within himself.
Elias gasped as warmth spread through him and immediately it disappeared.
“See, I told you. Keep trying.” Becca said. She seemed excited, momentarily forgetting that they were in the middle of a forest somewhere.
Elias gave her an affirming nod then focused once again he felt that warmth rush though him, this time he maintained his focus. He followed Becca’s advice and trusted his feelings. There was a pull from behind him. Following it, he walked to the entrance of the cave where the storm was still raging. He could feel the water around him, almost calling out to him. Elias extended his hand towards the rain and, not entirely sure how he knew what to do, commanded the water to come to him.
He felt some of that warmth leave his body and slowly a few dozen drops of water drifted towards hand. Elias tried as hard as he could to congeal the water into a single ball. More of that warmth left him in a steady stream as the floating drops of water began to coalesce. Elias tried to speed the process along, but this broke his concentration, and the half-congealed orb of water splattered to the ground.
Staring at his hands in fascination Elias couldn’t believe what he had just done.
“Well, that was…….something.” Brent said, barely hiding his lack of enthusiasm for what was for all intents and purposes, some kind of water magic.
“It's my first time,” Elias said defensively. He turned to face his audience. Alicia looked underwhelmed and Becca offered an encouraging smile. Elias examined their soaked, dirty, and largely bedraggled appearance of his schoolmates and remembered just the severity of their circumstances.
“Alright, I need details. What happened exactly starting with Brent.”
He shrugged, and answered, “I’ll tell you what it told the rest. I was driving like normal and suddenly a bright light appeared in the center of the highway, like super bright, to where I couldn't see anything. I thought it was a truck with its high beams on.”
“And?” Elias prompted.
“I slammed the brakes and that's it. I woke up in the forest next to Becca who was freaking out.”
Elias looked at the two girls and they nodded in affirmation.
“Ok Becca you woke up in the forest. You didn’t, see? Hear anything?”
“No, one moment I was on my phone, then the light, then I woke up in the forest. And just like you, a minute or two after waking up I keeled over pain like someone was giving me a lobotomy with hot pokers.”
“This makes no sense,” Elias mumbled and reached for his phone. He tapped all four pockets and found nothing. Then he looked at his left wrist and it was empty.
“My phone and wallet are gone.”
“You didn't think we thought of that. Ours are gone too.” Alicia said exasperated.
“Headphones are gone too.” Becca said.
“That's weird,” Elias said.
“We were probably robbed after whoever kidnapped us?” Brent said in a questioning tone. As if he didn't believe it.
“Is that real gold?” Elias asked Becca.
She touched her ears and neck to feel that her earrings and necklace were still there. “Of course.” she answered.
Brent’s eyes widened as he realized Elias’s point, but Alicia spoke up first, “Why rob us of our phones and wallets but leave the jewelry, even if they didn’t know it was real, why leave those.”
Brent looked at the two rings he wore. Aisha also had earrings. She pulled up the pant of left leg to reveal an ankle bracelet.
“Maybe we were not robbed, and they were lost in the crash?” Becca offered.
Alicia and Brent nodded as if that made sense, but one thing was off.
“No, they were taken.” Elias said. He held up his left wrist and they stared at it in confusion.
“I wear a watch, and it was pretty damn durable. I could fall from the damn stratosphere, and it would still be on my wrist. Someone took it off. And if they had the time to take that off why not just rip your necklaces and ring off. It doesn't make sense.” Elias said.
Everyone was silent for a moment before Brent spoke, “Electronics and identification. Why is that?”
Silence reigned once more before Alicia answered. “So, we can’t call for help or find our way out and no one could identify the bodies if we die.”
That was certainly a grim thought, but it made sense to Elias.
“Ok as grim as it sounds, let's assume that's the case, then whoever took us gave us these abilities. Are we supposed to fight something?” Elias asked the group.
Everyone’s eyes became grim at the prospect of fighting something or someone to the death. Why else were they given these abilities, if not to fight?
“Whatever it is, we're not going to figure it out now. Let's rest and see if we can't find our way to civilization when this rain lets up,” Brent said. Elias wanted to continue the discussion. They met with their eyes, and he nodded to Becca. Who had gone even more ghostly pale. Alicia looked grim but determined. Elias shrugged and decided to table the conversation for now.
~
Everyone dispersed, sitting in their own separate corner of the cave. Brent and Alicia were having a quiet conversation. Elias sat near the mouth of the cave just far enough inside that none of the rain could reach him, but close enough that he could use his abilities on the ambient spray. The rain outside was so heavy that he could barely make out much more than the outlines of trees.
They really should have a proper conversation about what to do and their abilities, but Becca was getting more nervous by the moment to the point that she looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown. Elias had many more questions, but it was unlikely that anyone there had the answer.
He sighed and focused on the one thing that offered any hope. He wasn't sure what to call it, but it had to be more useful than just creating large drops of water. Over and over, he gathered balls of water from the spray of the rain. He got the feeling that he could shape the water, but every time he tried something more than just creating a ball, he would lose control of the magic, and it would splatter to the ground.
Seeing Alicia run up a nearly vertical wall and backflip off the height of a building with no damage and Brent's ability to punch a wall with the force of a sledgehammer was driving him to figure something out. Even Becca’s ability has uses.
“Not working out?” Becca asked, Elias didn't even hear her approach, so focused was he on mastering whatever his ability was.
“Not really if we ever get attacked by a bear, I can certainly make his nose wet,”
She sat down next to him. Becca looked better than before; Elias noticed. Which still wasn't particularly good, but at least she didn't look like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
“Well, all I can do is throw rocks. I can annoy a bear at least,” she said, sounding almost as dejected as he fell. She didn’t seem to realize how dangerous that could be.
“What if you were throwing a knife, would it be hard for you to take out an eye or bury it in a throat?” Elias asked.
“Now that is an idea, but we don't have anything sharp around now do we.”
Elias nodded, “That is the kicker.”
“So, got any new ideas about what's going on?” Becca asked, she didn’t sound like she was expecting anything, just making conversation.
“No, not really. Just more worries. How long were we unconscious? Are we even in America anymore for all we know we're halfway across the world? And these abilities; magic doesn't exist, but there it is.” Elias summoned some water from the surrounding spray and formed it into an orb. After he finished, he said sarcastically, “The wonder of magic.” Then he released his control, and the water splattered on the ground.
“Shit I never thought about that. I assumed we were unconscious for maybe a few hours at most, but it could be days, weeks for all we know.”
“Nah it can't be weeks, Brent's hair is the same length, and I would have had a little stubble. So days at most.”
Becca ran her hand along her arms and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Right. Well, that's comforting,” She didn't sound very comforted.
“What do you think the pain was? I mean it’s something to do with the abilities. But why only after we were awake.” Elias asked her.
“We asked the same question while bringing you here. All we really have is guesses. Maybe whoever sent us here is an asshole.” She said absentmindedly.
“Right, I was unconscious for a while. How did that really go?”
“Pretty much the same as you; consciousness pain, then you realize you can do some weird shit. After Alsiha woke up it started pissing rain. Brent threw you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and we headed for a cliff off in the distance. Then we found the cave, end of story.”
“Nothing of note?” Elias asks.
“No, just forest. I heard some birds, that's about it.”
Elais went quietly for a few moments. ‘Assuming we were still in Nebraska we must be in one of the national parks in that case it wouldn't be too hard to find people, they weren't that large. Though that's even if we're in Nebraska anymore, which I doubt.’
“What do you think our parents are doing?” Becca asked.
“I don't know about your parents, but my mom and dad are probably losing their shit with worry. Hell, my mom passed out when she was told I was brought to the hospital.”
“When were you in the hospital?”
“Not important,” Elias said quickly.
“Well, I'm sure search parties are combing to every square inch of Nebraska for us. Since, you know.”
Elias couldn't believe he could forget that little detail, “Of course, your dad’s a senator.”
His enthusiasm faded practically instantly, “That would be reassuring assuming we're not in Madagascar or something.”
Becca did not respond so they sat in silence for a few minutes before she said something that brought worry over the entire group.
“It's getting darker, what are we going to do without light?” All heads turned to her as no one else had thought about that.
“We’ll just have to wait out the night, stick close together.” Brend said after nearly a minute had passed.
Four hours later.
Elias and the rest stayed inside the cave until nightfall. They spent most of the time practicing their abilities. While Elias still couldn't do much with his ability, he did find that as he practiced, his speed increased and so did his control. They huddled together the rear facing wall of the cave sitting side by side in the dead of night. With nothing but darkness and the sound of rampaging wind for company.
Never before had Elias understood the word darkness, none of them could see anything; it was as if he was blind. Becca was to his left with Brent directly next to her and Alicia on the opposite end. No one spoke, the only sound other than the constant rain and wind was their heavy breathing.
Elias was shaking, he knew it wasn't from the cold or his still damp clothes, it was fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the darkness. A brushed hand against his, he flinched before he realized it was Becca. The momentary touch was enough to tell him she was in the same state as he was. He reached for the hand again and gently held it. It gripped him tightly. While he told himself he was reassuring Becca, deep down he knew he was doing it for himself. The warmth of her hand was like an anchor providing just enough stability to endure the long night.