Fighting Evil

FE: 2. Reliving the Pain

§ V A L E N T I N A §

"Were they looking for me too?" I asked.

"Yes, and the rest of us too," she said with sad eyes.

"Ethan!" I recalled. "Did he get killed?"

"I wish I knew," my mom said sadly. So did I. "He left so that he could find the people that killed your dad and get his revenge. The day before he left he had discovered his powers, same ones that I have, in fact. I told him the same things I'm telling you now, and other stuff I will tell you soon. And he was kind of forced to leave."

"What, why?!" I asked with tears stinging my eyes. "If he stayed here, or with us, he would still be okay."

"Because they track us by the use of our powers," she said. "That's how you track any elementalist, by the trace of their powers. And Ethan had horrible control over his powers. So, he decided for himself that he was going to constantly be on the run. I left him with a book, describing how to become a master of the water element. I just wish I had a book for you to learn about fire."

"Mom, if they track us with our powers, doesn't that mean we should leave here, now?" I asked uncertainly. I hoped and prayed that there would be a way that we wouldn't have to leave again, but deep down I felt like I knew that we were going to have to move again.

My mom sighed before she answered.

"Yes, I know a place where they can't track us," she said quietly.

The rest was in silence. We went to go get our most prized possessions and pack them into as little space as possible.

In only fifteen minutes I had packed my bag with necessities and a suitcase with clothes, and I was waiting for my mom to finish.

It was simply horrible. I hated how we were getting chased by people just because of our powers. It bothered me why we were so wanted. I hated that I couldn't control my powers, it left me and my mom vulnerable to the people that wanted us.

Tears were welling in my eyes and I stared downwards to try and stop them. I noticed that sparks were flying from my hand and I closed my fist to stop them. It didn't help at all.

"Deja que te ayude," let me help you, my mom said. The water bottle that I was holding opened and a thin snake-like stream of water came out and formed two large bubbles of water on my hands.

"Gracias," I said quietly.

"Okay, vamonos," let's go. I couldn't help it and tears started rolling down my cheeks.

I stood shakily up from my chair and grabbed onto my suitcase for balance. Luckily, the water bubble surrounding my hand didn't burst.

"Valentina, que es para el mejor," it's for the better, my mom told me and embraced me in a warm hug.

I knew that she didn't care about my tears soaking her clothes, so I just cried into her shoulder and wrapped my arms around her neck, careful to make sure my hands didn't touch her.

After a few moments, I had gathered myself together and we started to leave the room. As we were in the kitchen, my mom went to go fill up her water bottle by the sink.

"No more usage of your powers, okay?" she said. "I'm getting rid of this water forcefield. Just don't go overboard with your emotions. I'm driving us to a safe-house owned by another fire elementalist where we can't be tracked."

I nodded and she waved her hands and moved the water off my hands to the sink. Surprisingly, my hands were completely dry. I felt like I needed to know more about elementalists and their powers.

Suddenly, a gunshot sounded and I widened my eyes in shock and shrieked.

We had been found.

I waited for the pain to come, because
I knew it was coming. I closed my eyes tight and prepared myself for the pain.

I heard a loud thud. Slowly, my eyes opened. I couldn't help but scream at the sight. My legs became noodles and I collapsed onto the floor. All I could hear was the ring of the the gunshot in my ear and blood pulsing quickly through my body.

"M-mom..." I stuttered in shock as I stared at the bullet hole on the side of her head. The shot was fatal and she had only several minutes left, I knew it. But I was hoping for the best and convincing myself that she was going to make it "Y-you can't die! I'm will figure out a way to help you." I whipped out my phone and began dialing the numbers for the ambulance.

"Valentina, stop," my mom said as her hand grabbed onto my phone and she flung it across the room.

"Mom!" I yelled angrily as my voice cracked. "Please, you need help, they can fix you. Hold on, please."

"Let my death fuel your anger towards our enemies, so that when you're strong enough, you can bring forth the the revenge you've wanted to do since your dad was killed," she told me and held onto my hands.

"No!" I sobbed. "That's what they want! They want you dead! Why are you going with them?!"

"It's for a good cause," she said weakly. "Just leave, run away, it's what's best."

"Mom...I-I," I was at a loss for words. I thought that after my dad died and my brother died that we would be okay. My mom and I could just live our lives in peace. But here I was with the closest person to me, dying in my arms.

"Valentina, I love you," she said weakly.

"Mom, I love you too," I said sobbing even more.

Her eyes fluttered and I could feel her pulse go at a deadly slow speed. My sobs became louder and I leaned on her chest. I waited there and listened to her heartbeat until it died down and became nothing.

The part of my soul that still existed after all these years was just ripped out of me. A scream of agony escaped my lips, and it was then I noticed the fire burning at my finger tips. I clenched my fists to try and stop the flames.

People were tracking me by my magic. The same people that wanted to kill my dad. Probably the same people who wanted to kill my mom.

I looked at my mother and her previous words flashed through my mind.

"Just, leave, run away, it's what's best"

Nodding at my mother, I told myself to do as she wanted me to do. If I was going to feel any better, I knew I had to run away like Ethan did.

Anger and vengeance coursed through my veins.

I needed to leave this country, and figure out what to do about my powers.