The Elementals Project

Raina

We rose pretty early the next morning, deciding we were going to head to the next village, Shane kept saying I was too at risk here. Jedd didn't say what he meant but he agreed more than he usually would, Anya was balanced on Shane's back fast asleep, Taylor hadn't let go of my hand since we left and Jedd kept behind us a few feet claiming he was lookout. Lookout for what I didn't know and although everyone was trying to play it off as a joke I could tell they were all serious.

"The next town is smaller than Mayville, you can't just lash out here Kay?" I could hear the jokey tone in Taylors voice but I could feel my face burning as I hung my head to the floor, she giggled and re-assured me. "I was just joking Raina!"  I let out a small laugh to try and hide my embarrassment, but as always it didn't work. I heard Taylor sigh and I looked up to meet her eyes, for a moment everything faded away, I had never realised before but her eyes weren't just blue, they had specks of green and brown in them too. And by god they were beautiful ... she was beautiful. Her long straight black hair slightly moved with the breeze and the morning sun coming over the horizon caught her skin just right to show off her slight tan. She smiled at me and my heart skipped a beat, I knew she was serious "No matter what happens, I am right beside you" Her voice was soft as she pulled me into a hug.

"I hate to interrupt" Jedd cut in, giving me a weird side glance as he did so "but right now, we really need to focus on getting to the next village without getting separated, We have to make our way through the woods, so please stay close" A feeling arouse in my stomach and I stopped dead in my tracks. Separated. I knew his plan, I knew what he wanted. But most importantly the scorch marks at the forest entrance told me he had been here. Trees barley holding themselves up, almost as if used for target practice. Grass gone and no signs of life. I look round at the others and catch Shame giving a side glance to Jedd. So that's what they've been hiding. He's here. They've seen him.

"You saw him in Mayville didn't you" My words came out quiet, I wasn't sure how I felt but the look on their faces told me my answer. "You realise he will try to split us all. He will do whatever it takes and if he does, we can't hold back" My voice was strong even though I was shaking. I knew I wasn't ready for this.

"Yes." Shane looked up at me meeting my eyes. "I need to know your ready Raina. I need you to be the strong woman I met when you first joined the corp. I need that strength" I took a deep breath and calmed my thoughts, nodding my head in agreement. Was I really ready for this? No. Did I have a choice? Definatley not. I had to do this... if not for me for my family.

The first few steps into the forest on the edge of the field we the hardest I had ever had to take. To know that soon enough I would have to face him, and worse fight him. That scared me. I look around at the others, I can feel there anxiety just as much as I feel my own. Could we really do this? Shane, Jedd, Anya and most importantly Taylor. My family. My loved ones. Would I really be able to pull this off without hurting them. no. Without losing them.

This forest was bigger than we expected, Shane kept a tight grip on Anya who still lay sleeping on his back, and Jedd stuck close to the back of the group, Taylor was on the defensive over me, although when it comes down to it I'm honestly not sure what she could do. Fire can't hurt fire, but it can hurt her ... I think. My grip on her hand tightens and she looks round at me, but this time there is no smile, no joy, just pure fear, she was as scared as me. It was about 3 hours before Anya woke up and we stopped for lunch rations. Just food we had saved up when we were stopped in town, and although ham and cheese sandwiches weren't the best thing in the world they hit the spot perfectly. Anya lightened the mood pretty quickly, I was starting to think she knew a lot more than any of us realised although I wasn't going to trouble anyone by asking. Lunch was spent laughing and joking about random things, Taylors sandwich was stolen by a squirrel which made us all laugh, luckily we had spares and I have never seen anyone eat so quick, we were crying by the end of it. It was nice to see life in this part of the forest, it put us all at rest for a while. It meant he hadn't been here yet, either that or he was trying to lay low but none of us wanted to think about that. We must have been sat there laughing and joking for at least a couple of hours before deciding to keep moving, night was drawing closer and that scared all of us more than we realised it would. Anya and Taylor walked in front of me hand in hand, singing songs and skipping along, behind them was me Shane and Jedd, the adults of the group I guess you could say, although I really wanted to join the other girls in front.

"We need a plan" Shane said out of the blue and my eyes widened. He was right, we were going to be spending the night here after all, so we had to have something in place as a just in case.

"Well one thing I can say for sure is if we see fire anywhere at least we know where he is"

"Raina do you realise how big this forest is?" I looked at him, general confusion on my face "There's acres of this forest, we could walk for days and not bump into him, which is what I'm hoping, I need to know are you feeling confident with your powers?" I nodded, certainty shining through, I knew if I focused I could control it, I just couldn't panic. "alright then we will need you to set up campfire, I'll focus on the west side and Jedd can focus on the east side with the tent" I look over to Jedd who is nodding along with the plan. I obviously don't get a say in any of this so I just nod along with them, listening to everything Shane says in detail. The longer I can stay awake tonight the better and honestly, knowing he could be so close was enough to keep me awake for days. I used to trust him with everything. Originally I came after him to help him... but I knew now that was just a dream. He couldn't be helped any more, He was too far gone, and his target was me. If I could just remember that girl, the though pulled at my brained and I could feel a headache start to form. Deep breaths I remind myself. The more I lose it the more he wins.

I can't let him win. I can't let him drag me down too.