Elementals: Book 3: The Dark World

Chapter Seven

Jay took in a deep breath of the fresh salty air, a soft breeze coming off the ocean as waves beat against the shore. His eyes closed as the morning sun radiated a soft heat that warmed the sand at his feet, causing a sense of warmth to encompass his entire being. He felt his muscles relax from the comfortable warmth, his wings flexed, shoulders rolled, stretching his entire body. Something soft impacted his face and forced his eyes open, looking down he saw the Snow Leopard in a playful stance on the ground in front of him, low on his front paws, back legs straight and tail flailing around, his bright red tongue sticking out playfully.

"We're not here to play, Sky," Zuka spoke as he stood beside Jay. "We're all here to train and grow your Elements. The beach is a great place for both Earth and Water Elementals to train." He looked over at Kunai who didn't seem all too pleased to be standing in the soft sand.

Braxton stood awkwardly at the edge of the water, avoiding the waves, while Brooklyn hovered above the water near the large pillars of stone that led out into deeper waters. The Spaniel watched on as Brooklyn skated along the surface of the salty water, willing it to move with his paw movements, meanwhile he stood unable to take a step into the scary abyss that was the Water. He looked down at the crystal clear water as it ran to his paws before fleeing backwards away from him, the sand being undisturbed at its bottom. He wanted to touch it, to reach out and control it, will the Water, bend it, sculpt it, and be engulfed within it. But it scared him.

"Come on, Brax. Just take one step," Brooklyn encouraged from about 10 feet out. "Or I'll pull you in," he joked.

Braxton turned back and saw that everyone else had dived right into practicing, Zuka was teaching Kunai to shift the Earth beneath them and change its structure, turning sand to stone, rocks to dirt. Sky was basking in the high he was achieving as Jay and Elena unloaded into him, attempting to teach them to absorb Power from others. And here he was, standing at the water's edge, unable to move, feeling useless.

"Alright then." Brooklyn's voice snapped him out of his trance as he looked up to see that the Wolf was no longer in view. Something wrapped around his foot and he found himself being pulled into the Water.

Braxton tried to scream as his paw pads touched the Water and a rush of emotions flooded over him. It only lasted a second but as he was pulled under he closed his eyes and began to wish for death, he was scared beyond belief touching the Water. But as time carried on, he felt his emotions drain away until he was empty, there was nothing, no happiness, no sadness, just emptiness. He opened his eyes and looked around, finally feeling at peace, he lay on his back with his paws up. But he wasn't lying on anything, there was nothing beneath him, nothing around him, just an odd darkness of blues and purples. Above him was a light blue circle that rippled like water, beneath him was nothing but a darkness that he felt himself slowly falling towards. Was this death? How did he end up here? What did any of it matter? Here in this place, wherever it is, he felt at peace, he felt content and his mind was clear. This wasn't a bad place, it was his sanctuary. He wondered where he was, and how to leave it, but did he even want to leave? Or was he just happy existing in a place where he felt actual calmness, where the pressure he felt everyday had washed away and replaced with serenity.

Something grabbed his paw and suddenly he was pulled above the Water and standing in the shallows of the ocean, his paw gripped by a concerned looking Brooklyn.

"Are you okay?" The wolf asked him. "What happened?"

He couldn't answer that, all he could do was look down at the water that lapped at his paws, it was only a few inches deep but the second his head had been pulled under he felt the ocean open up to him. Brax looked out towards the rocky spires, he wanted to be back there, back in his happy place, it was calling to him. He wanted to take a step forward but found his feet were stuck, looking down he saw that his paws were now standing on a solid block of Earth.