The soldiers were outmatched.

Alex had stood under the shield and watched in awe as Mettan used the water like it was second nature. When the bullets had bounced off of the water shield he had been sold. He could only come up with one word to describe Mettan fighting. It was cool. It was like watching a cat stalk a mouse, the black-skinned Elf had complete control.

When he heard Mettan yell “RUN!” Alex snapped out of his trance and came back to reality. He had to get off the lawn and to the van.

Alex glanced over his shoulder at Paige. “Let’s go.”

Alex scrambled across the lawn. He angled them away from the fight going on to their right. When they were ten feet away from the rear jeep one of the soldiers saw them. Tranquilizer bullets began bouncing off of the shield in front of them as more soldiers turned their attention from Mettan and started shooting at them. A few managed to get through the swirling water, but they didn’t have enough force to stick.

Paige screamed and fell to her knees with her hands over her ears. Alex grabbed her shirt collar with his left hand and her right arm with his and dragged her behind the jeep.

“Everyone ok?” Alex asked. His concentration faltered for just a second, but that was enough time for the barrier protecting them to fall into a puddle on the grass.

“I’m ok.” Paige wheezed, “Why are they shooting at us?”

“Maybe because there’s an Elf with us?” Alex tried to gather up the water in front of him again. The best he could do was wrap it around his body like a blanket, but that left Pagie unprotected. With all the water they had lost, there wasn’t enough to protect both of them.

“Can you do this?” He gestured at the water.

“Wear water?” discomfort wrapped around every word Paige spoke, “I don’t know. I never really tried with water.”

That didn’t inspire much confidence in her ability to hang onto the water they had left. “We have to get down the driveway.” Alex pointed around the passenger’s side.

“I’m not going out there with them shooting at us.” Paige crossed her arms. Her lip was bleeding from chewing on it.

“You will in a minute.” Alex glanced around the yard. He needed more water. He couldn’t take any from Mettan. The front door had been closed right after they had started fighting. Mettan was going to need all the water he had. That’s when he saw the faucet by the garage. He turned back around.

“Does that work?” Alex pointed at the faucet.

“Yeah.” Paige said, “What are you going to do? Get them wet?”

Alex closed his eyes and focused on the faucet, “I’m going to make a distraction.”

At first, he couldn’t feel anything. There was too much to distract him. He took a deep breath and tried to shut everything else out. He ignored the gunshots. The smell of burning oil. The screams of soldiers. He pushed all of that out of his mind and looked for the only thing he wanted. Water.

It began as just a tug on his mind. A little tremble. He locked onto that feeling and it grew. Soon he could feel the water in the pipe, just begging to be released. He pulled at it, but it didn’t budge. He followed the water back down the pipe and through the yard. He searched for a leak somewhere, but he couldn’t find one.

Alex opened his eyes and glanced back at the pair, “I need to open the faucet.” He pointed across the lawn.

“Don’t leave me!” Paige grabbed Alex’s shoulder, “You can’t poke your head out without it almost getting shot off. How are you going to make it?”

“Someone has to get us more water.” Alex pointed at the faucet, “Are you going to turn it on?”

The fear on her face was all the answer he needed.

“Take this.” Alex grabbed her hand and started directing most of the water to cover her. “The way I keep it is to envision holding onto a blanket.”

Paige looked at him like he was crazy, but over half the water covered her body without his aid.

“Stay here.” He gave her a weak smile, “I’ll be right back.”

Alex sprinted towards the faucet. Bullets began firing as soon as he was visible. He spun the water he had as fast as he could and tried to keep it in a wide enough belt to at least protect his head and upper body.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Paige was screaming, and despite feeling bad about her fear, it did draw some of the fire away from him.

Alex ignored her screams as he dashed towards the faucet. He grabbed the handle and heard soldiers shouting. A bullet ricocheted off the siding and tore into his left shoulder. Pain drove him to his knees as he twisted the faucet open. He crisscrossed his right hand in front of him and wove the water in between him and the soldiers. He stretched his fingers and shot blasts of water at the soldiers. More bullets flew, but they landed wide.

Alex dove away from the corner. White blotches clouded his vision after he landed on his wounded shoulder. The increase in pain was enough to interrupt his focus and the water fell to the ground. “Dang it!”

Alex pushed himself up and motioned at the water. Almost five gallons floated in front of him. He cradled his left arm next to his chest and grabbed the water with his good hand. He spun the water around him, but it was barely enough to shield his head. There was no way he could use it to deflect bullets from his whole body.

Alex kicked the faucet, but it didn’t budge. The pain from the jarring wasn’t as bad as it had been. He guessed that he might be going into shock, or that it was adrenaline. He tightened his focus on the belt the size of his hand that was spinning in front of him. He didn’t have enough water, but he had to help his friend.

A soldier came around the side of the house and lifted his rifle.

Alex jumped as he broke the ring and sent all the water at the soldier’s face. The soldier dropped his rifle and clawed at the water, but he couldn’t pull it off.

The soldier fell to one knee then collapsed facedown. Alex pulled the water back and spun it around his waist. He walked over and felt for a pulse on the soldier’s neck.

The soldier sat up gasping for air. Alex punched him in the face with his right fist. When the soldier didn’t go down he hit him three more times. He pulled away his bloody fist and stood up. This time he could see the soldier breathing.

A shot was the only warning he had. Actually, it was more explanation than a warning. Pain arced up his right leg and drove him to his knee. He threw his right hand out and caught himself.

Anger surged inside him. He had been trying not to hurt these soldiers. It wasn’t their fault that they were sent to round them up. All they were doing was following orders, but now they were trying to kill him. Pain overrode restraint and he poured his focus into stopping any more pain.

Alex looked up and the water around him shot forward. It wrapped around the head of the offending soldier. A second soldier leaned over the hood of the fifth jeep and lifted his rifle.

Alex squinted and his focus sharpened. Half the water around the first soldier split and wrapped around the head of the second soldier. He pushed himself back up. The pain wasn’t hurting as much and he was starting to feel like he was dreaming. He flexed his fingers and grabbed the water that had pooled under the faucet. Three quick swipes of his hand and he had forced a third soldier to his knees.

Alex twirled his wrist and the water wrapped around the third soldier’s head. He pulled the water away from the limp body of the second soldier. He pulled the water away from the third soldier and wrapped it around himself. There was more water now. The belt was four inches wide and almost two feet high. He smiled as he thought about how he looked. It made him look like he was playing with a big hula-hoop.

Alex limped to the driveway. He braced himself against the back of the jeep that they had been hiding behind. He staggered as he moved down the driveway. A rough hand grabbed his shoulder.

Alex spun around and threw his water at the person. The water arced around and merged with a greater amount that was shielding them.

“What happened?” Mettan demanded.

“You needed a distraction.” Alex fell into Mettan’s side, “I gave it to you.”

Mettan wrapped his arm under Alex’s shoulders to steady him. “Where is Paige?”

“Over…” Alex pointed at the jeep where he had left her, but she wasn’t there. Heard shouts and a woman screaming down the driveway. He pulled away from Mettan, “We have to help her!”

Alex’s legs refused to move as fast as his body wanted and he began falling over. Mettan caught him and lowered him to the ground.

“Stay here.” Mettan straightened up, “I’ll handle it.”

Alex tried to grab Mettan, but the Elf dashed down the driveway. He took all the water with him.

Alex dragged his leg as he pulled himself with his right arm. He reached the last jeep in the line and pulled himself into the driver’s seat. The pain was almost nonexistent, but his right leg was throbbing. His left arm hung limp at his side. Breathing was getting difficult; he had to take short breaths because it felt like he was inhaling nails if he breathed too deeply. He blinked back black spots as he fumbled for the ignition and cranked the engine.

The jeep roared to life. Alex pressed on the brake with his left foot and changed it to reverse. He told his right foot to press on the gas, but it was slipping sideways on top of the pedal.

Alex grabbed his numb leg with his right hand and pulled it off of the pedal. He pushed the pedal with his left foot. The steering wheel smashed into his ribs as the jeep bounced off of a fence. He coughed three times and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He shifted to drive and pressed the gas again. The jeep ran down the driveway. Alex flipped his wrist around so he gripped the top of the steering wheel from the back and braced his arm against the front of the wheel.

At the base of the driveway, Mettan was standing over Paige. A globe was swirling around them and spitting jets of water at soldiers.

Six soldiers lay unconscious on the ground. Alex angled the jeep toward a group of five that were hiding by the gate.

Bullets peppered the jeep for a few seconds before the soldiers jumped out of the way. The jeep hit the gate and tore it off. He twisted the steering wheel hard to the left and aimed for a fire hydrant at the end of the driveway. Alex choked as he slammed into the steering wheel. He gasped for breath that refused to come. His lungs felt like they had frozen. A wave of water rushed over him and swept up the soldiers.

Alex pushed himself out of the jeep and landed on his bad shoulder. This time he felt the pain. He barely felt Mettan grab him. It was time for a nap. He closed his eyes and surrendered to the pain. Free to run through his mind the pain burned white hot. It drove his consciousness away and dragged him willingly to unconsciousness.