Elementals

6

Jude

Despite my many moves, I've never been to this region of the US before. Georgia feels like a peach, fresh and sweet. Last night's storm left serene weather in its wake, and I relish it on our drive to Atlanta.

Lana has made a list of all the parks; we've already crossed out the more popular ones. We need one that will be empty at night and a little out of the way so we can do our work without being seen, but it also needs to be visited enough during the day so someone will actually report it tomorrow. Then we have to wait nearby for the news crew to show up, and Lana will work her magic.

"We'll split up," Taylor says. "And meet at the museum."

Lana and I nod. With our own set of parks to check out, we go our separate ways. Lana knows Atlanta best, so she's handling the busier areas. I rely on street signs and directions from people to get to where I'm going. On my list, there's five parks, each several streets apart. Some are tiny, sad things that aren't big enough to grow the tree I'm planning. Others are are too crowded.

After crossing off the third, I set out for the fourth, the bounce in my step gone. I'm worried. Even if we're caught, it won't be the end of the world. We're meant to expose ourselves soon, anyway. What worries me is that Rani won't notice our signal—or worse, she will, and she won't come. What if that's why she left, because she decided she didn't want to do it? Her life is her choice—I never expected all four of us to be totally onboard, but I don't think I can handle the mystery if we never get to meet her at all.

Something catches in the corner of my eye, and I whirl around. There's no one behind me for at least a block, but I swear there was something right there. It's a city, I tell myself. A pigeon. A rat. Could be anything.

I go into a store to ask about the fourth park on my list. The guy behind the counter has never even heard of it, but a woman hollers out the directions from the milk aisle. I holler back a thanks and leave, and as soon as one foot is out the door, someone roughly grabs my elbow and pulls me into an alley.

I instinctively raise my hands, and thorny vines burst through the ground to meet my attacker. The girl reels back, raising her hands and exclaiming, "Wait, wait! Jude!"

The vines go limp. This is Rani—I recognize her from Taylor's picture. I break into a gleeful smile. "We've been look—"

She shushes me with a vehement shake of her head. "Listen to me," she urges, and there's so much angst in her voice that my smile falls. "I came to Georgia last night to find Lana, but you got here before me. I've been tailing you all morning."

Suddenly Lana's mention of the raccoons and my earlier unsettling feeling makes sense. "But why—"

"Whatever Taylor has told you," she interrupts, "is a lie. He killed Dr. Jansen."

I'm too shocked to understand, and I laugh nervously. "What do you mean?"

Rani pulls me further into the alley. Before I can ask her what the hell she's doing, she pulls out a photograph from her pocket and shoves it into my hand.

"Recognize this?" she asks acridly.

Of course I do. I can't forget those trees, that road, the view behind it all. I know exactly where this is, but what I don't understand is why the house is completely destroyed.

"Dr. Jansen warned me before Taylor got to him," Rani whispers, "and when I made it to Oregon, this is what I found. Taylor burned it down."

Her words are echoing in my head as I stare at the photo. The window above the front door was a stained-glass portrait of a horse; Dr. Jansen made it himself. His late-wife raised horses when she was a little girl, and he wanted a piece of her in the house. That window must be charred now, distorted beyond recognition.