He wished he hadn’t volunteered.

Alex shook his hands to warm them up. He grabbed the doorknob and then stopped. Paige had been locked up in her room by people she had trusted. He really hoped that she wouldn’t attack the first person who walked in. His skin still itched from the beating he had taken from Alicia.

“Why did it have to be a wind?” Alex muttered as he pushed open the door.

The room was dark but the light of the hallway was enough to illuminate the basics. Past the pink door was a canopy bed covered in stuffed animals. The only other furniture was a nightstand, a floor lamp, a plasma TV, and a poster of a famous actor.

The side door opened and a girl walked into the bedroom.

She was young. Her file had said that she was nineteen, but her five foot four wiry frame made her look much younger. Blonde locks curled over her shoulders and blue eyes stared daggers at him. Her flawless skin was covered with very short pink shorts and a pink sports bra. She put her hands on her hips, “Who are you and what are you doing in my room?”

Alex averted his eyes and looked for the light switch by the doorframe. When he found it he flipped it on and turned back to her.

Paige leaned forward on her tiptoes so she could get in his face.

Alex felt the air in the room getting thick and memories of his last encounter with a wind user flowed into his mind.

“WHO. ARE. YOU?” Paige demanded again

Alex forced a smile, “Hello Paige, my name is Alexander Hancock-“

“How do you know my name?” She interrupted

“I got it-, wait-, That’s not important.” Alex sputtered, “Look, we need to leave. Your father called the army-.”

“Alexander Hancock!” She exclaimed, “I thought I recognized you!” her hands came up as she backed away, “You’re the professor from Arkansas who put one of his students in the hospital!?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Alex held up his hands with his pals facing her in a non-threatening gesture. “She was attacking people and had to be stopped.”

“Are you going to stop me?” Paige tilted her head

The air was getting even thicker. “Look.” Alex pointed at her face. “Your stepfather has called the military. They are here to arrest you. And these aren’t white-collar cells either.” He glared at her, “These are a needle in the arm-long nap cells.”

The pressure in the air built for a split second, then it vanished. Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“So I’m just supposed to go with you?” Paige sat down on her bed

“Do you have any better options?” Alex nodded at the window, “Cause I don’t see one.”

Paige grabbed her stuffed bear and held it tight. They waited in silence for a few moments.

“Do you have powers too?”

Alex leaned against the doorframe, “I do,” he gestured around the room, “But I can’t manipulate air, I can only mess with liquids,”

“I can do that too.” Paige tossed her bear on the floor as she got off of her bed and ran into her bathroom.

Alex heard the faucet running. It stopped and Paige walked out with a paper cup full of water.

“Prove it.” Paige threw the water at him.

Alex quickly reached out with his mind to the water. Taking control of the water was easy, after the exercise that Mettan had put him through earlier, and he was able to stop it in front of him and then formed it into a globe.

“What was that about?” Alex asked

“If you want me to go with you, I needed to know you were the real deal.” Paige crossed her arms, “Next question: Why me?”

“I don’t know.” Alex admitted, “The Elf in the video gave my teacher a list of who to pick up. Your name is on that list.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Have you seen him?” Paige asked, “The Elf?”

“Kark?” Alex nodded, “He seems to be a pretty cool guy.”

“What about your teacher?” Paige asked, “Who is he?”

“He’s an Elf named Mettan.” Alex replied, “He’s related to the Elf from the video somehow.”

Paige nodded slowly, “So what happens if I decide that I don’t want to go with you?”

Alex shrugged, “We leave you here. The army will come and take you to one of their camps, where you will probably be kept in a cage to counteract your power.”

Paige bit her lip, “I don’t really have any choice do I?”

Alex shrugged, “You can stay here and get caught.”

Paige looked around the room and then back at Alex. She was putting on a strong face but he could tell that she was scared. He silently wished that he had developed some of Bill’s people skills, but he was at a complete loss for words on how to reassure her.

“If you come with us, Mettan won’t let anything happen to you.” Alex tried to reassure her.

“His name is Mettan?” Paige asked

“Yes,” Alex motioned at the door, “If you’re coming with us we need to go.”

Paige walked over to her closet and slowly opened it, “Can I at least pack a bag?”

Alex motioned at the bathroom door and deposited the water in the toilet. “I guess.” he looked at the suitcase that she was taking out of the closet and raised his eyebrows, “Just don’t pack the kitchen sink.”

Paige took out a smaller bag and tossed it on the bed, “I don’t plan to,” She put her hands on her hips and stared at him, “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Then hurry.” Alex turned around. He stopped in the hallway. He half turned back to the room. “We don’t have much time.”

Alex walked down the hall and jogged down the stairs.

The situation below didn’t look much better. Paige’s stepfather and mother were sitting on a couch and two soldiers in army green uniforms were unconscious in front of them. The mother’s eyes were red but she had stopped crying. The stepfather looked completely freaked out. The faint smell of smoke was thick in the air. The source was the remains of the father’s cell phone.

The stepfather’s eyes were fixed on the pistol Mettan was holding. He was holding it loosely in his right hand by his side, with the barrel pointed at the floor.

“Everything ok?” Alex nodded at the pistol

“We’re fine.” Mettan looked behind Alex, “Where is Paige?”

Alex motioned at the stairs, “She wants to pack a bag.”

“Why?” Mettan asked, “There are supplies on my ship.”

Alex sighed, “She wants her things. Things that will remind her of home.”

“Ah,” Mettan looked at his pad, “We need to hurry.”

“You want to try to hurry her?” Alex crossed his arms

Mettan looked up the stairs and shook his head.

“What’s going to happen to my baby?” The mother sniffled,

“Nothing.” Alex nodded at the unconscious soldiers, “But if we don’t get her out of here soon, then the army will take her.”

Tears began dripping from her eyes again.

Alex looked helplessly at his teacher, but the Elf didn‘t offer any sympathy.

Alex turned away from the group and walked to the front door. Things were getting too real. As long as he kept moving he didn’t have to think about what was happening.

Alex stared out the window. Two days ago he had been happy with his teaching job. Now he didn’t know how he could ever go back. He flexed his hands and closed his eyes. People with powers were getting rounded up. It was these stupid powers that had changed his life. If he didn’t have them, then he wouldn’t have to be on the run right now.

Alex reached out with his mind. He could feel every bit of water in the house. How the pipes snaked through the walls and out into the yard. He could even feel each person that was in the house.

“That’s cool,” Alex thought, “It must be because the human body is mostly water.”

Alex reached out with his senses and felt Bill and Paige’s mom on the couch. The stepfathers and even Mettan were like bright beacons to his senses. He decided to see if he could feel Paige upstairs and when he broadened his senses he was shocked by what he felt. Not only was he able to sense the girl upstairs, but he also felt about forty other people outside of the house.

Alex turned to Mettan, “How are we getting out of here?”

Mettan started to answer when Paige came down the stairs. Her face contorted in horror as she saw the soldiers on the floor. That horror quickly turned to anger as she turned toward her stepfather.

“You tried to get me arrested?” Rage filled her voice

Alex put his hand on her shoulder, “Now isn’t the time.” He looked at the Elf, “Do you have something that can make us invisible?”

Mettan shook his head, “We’re going to have to fight our way out.”

New tears fell from the mother’s face as she got up. The Elf didn’t stop her as she wrapped her arms around Paige, then looked at the older man.

“You’ll protect her?”

“I will teach her how to protect herself.” Mettan said

Paige’s mother squeezed her daughter again, “Does she have to go?”

Alex peaked out the window, “She can go with them if you’d rather.”

Seven jeeps were in the yard. Forty-two soldiers jumped out of the vehicles. Rifles pointed at the house.

“I’m going with you guys.” Paige reluctantly pulled away from her mother.

Her mother looked at Mettan, “Please look out for her.”

“We will,” Mettan looked at Alex. “They have surrounded the house. With this many troops, air support will be on the way.”

Alex balled his fists, “How are we going to get out?”

Mettan took a slow, deep breath, “We fight our way to the van.”