Devils | ONC 2023 SHORTLISTER

four

"What mission?" Elena asked, hating the feeling of helplessness she felt again.

Kaz sighed. "I hoped at least you'd re—"

A shot rang through the air and the jeep swerved dangerously. Kaz cursed loudly, almost standing on the brakes. Elena grabbed her seatbelt, trying not to crush her face into the dashboard.

"Someone shot the fucking tire," Kaz threw the door open and jumped out, his dark blue eyes searching the road.

The sound of a motorcycle engine filled the air; Elena scrambled out of the jeep, following Kaz's gaze. She could see a dark spot appearing in the far distance. Kaz lunged at the jeep, throwing the back door open and grabbing a tactical belt lying there. He tossed it at Elena; She snatched it off the air with a reflex she didn't know she had. There was a gun and half a dozen knives stuck to the belt.

"The Rift. It's not far," Kaz said, turning to her. "You'll see it. I'll hold her off."

"But—"

"Just go!"

Quickly fastening the belt around her waist, Elena turned and sprinted down the dusty road. She could hear the screech of wheels behind her but she didn't stop or turn as the sky seemed to darken and the temperature suddenly dropped. She knew what was coming; She didn't have to look. She pitied Nella Alden at that moment.

It turned out Kaz was right. In the middle of something that looked like a dais, the air shimmered with a golden light. Elena didn't know how, but she knew it was the Rift. It was the door that connected the two worlds. If she stepped through it now she will be leaving Kaz behind. 

"Elena, go!" She heard Kaz's shout behind her and she turned briefly. Nella was crouched—more like kneeling—on the ground, her hands grasping at her throat. Dark pools of shadows swirled around her attacking her from every corner. Kaz was slowly backing away, his hands still raised.

Elena turned suddenly and without wasting any time to think, leapt through the Rift.

It was a strange feeling. She felt like she was suspended in some kind of gel, tiny pin-pricks of pain vibrating through her body; Then was spat out onto the solid ground. Elena felt the dampness of grass under her; She could smell it, the fresh smell of rain and leaves. She lay there wondering how different this world was from the Lost City as her body recovered from being spit out of a different dimension. 

The air above her rippled and Kaz landed heavily on the ground next to her. He was breathing hard, a thin sheen of sweat covering his forehead. That much power sure took a toll on anyone.

"You alright?" Elena asked, standing up.

"Yep," The boy propped himself up on his elbows and winced. "Give me a second."

"What happened to Nella?"

"Not dead, if that's what you are worried about," Kaz sat straighter, pulling his knees up and folding his arms on them.

They sat there in silence, looking down at the city that expanded below the green slope. It looked alien there with its never-ending chatter of people and the sound of cars. Sunlight reflected off the windows of the buildings. They weren't skyscrapers but they seemed to be in better shape than that of the Lost City. A small human town.

"What do we do now?" Elena asked, resting her chin on one of her knees.

After a brief pause, Kaz said, almost inaudible, "I don't know."

Elena didn't reply.

"I warned the others," Kaz continued. "They'll try to find us. I know it's hard to track someone when they are running around but we can't stay in one place with Alden coming after us."

"Can we get something to eat?" Elena asked suddenly feeling like her stomach was burning. "I'm starving."

"Same," Kaz muttered, standing up, and brushing the grass off his jeans. "Come on, Lendorr. I'm not helping your lazy ass up."

Elena pouted, getting to her feet. She ran her fingers through her hair trying to make it look presentable. She was pretty sure she looked like a ghost. She hadn't really rested after waking up with no memory. She felt like she would crash anytime. 

"Do you have money?" Elena asked, twisting her long hair into a bun on top of her head.

Kaz hummed absently, walking down the slope. Elena fell into step beside him, making sure her weapons were concealed. She was sure normal teenagers didn't carry weapons around all the time. Speaking of which...

"This might sound weird, but...how old am I?" She asked sheepishly.

"Turned eighteen five months ago. That was in March if you don't remember that too."

"How old are you?"

Kaz looked momentarily surprised. "Turning sixteen in two months. Why?"

"Do the Devils recruit children?"

Kaz didn't look too happy to be referred to as a child. "You remember the Devils?" He asked instead of answering the question.

Elena scrunched her nose trying to actually remember anything. "Instead of I was—I am—a part of them, no, I don't."

"And no, usually they don't recruit kids," Kaz said as they stepped onto the street below. He lowered his voice so anyone else won't hear them. "There were just three of us. You and me because of our powers. And Maverick because he's the son of our Commander."

"Wait, isn't Maverick your brother?" Elena asked suddenly remembering that the two of them had the same last name: Mordino.

"It's a long story," He muttered, not meeting her eyes.

Elena wondered why he didn't refer to himself as the Commander's son. Was he adopted? Or was it something else? She couldn't remember.

A small bell chimed as they stepped into a small diner. There weren't many people inside: Only a bunch of teenage girls, and an old couple who was talking with a waitress. A few heads turned around at the sound of the bell; Kaz, as if he suddenly remembered something, pulled down his sleeves, hastily covering his tattoo. Elena's sleeves were already down. 

They found an empty booth—which wasn't hard—and ordered the first thing on the menu, none of them actually bothering to check the rest. With a sigh, Elena slumped further into her seat and leaned her head back against the back of her seat. Kaz, who was sitting across her, leaned back against the window folding a leg under him. He frowned at his phone.

"Anything?" Elena asked, without raising her head. 

Kaz shook his head. "It's kind of hard with the Rift, you know. We are in two different dimensions after all."

Elena hummed in response, leaning forward and propping her chin on her hand, staring out of the window. She knew how they might look to others. The two of them looked like death warmed over; Both were wearing the same dark clothes, looking like they had run a marathon which they kind of had. She noticed the group of girls watching Kaz, giggling among themselves. Kaz was still furiously typing away on his phone unaware of the girls. Elena bit her lip to herself from giving a teasing smile. Kaz was stunning in the way every dangerous thing was; Like how wolves or black panthers were elegant. 

"You know, Kaz," Elena grinned at him. She was aware of the girls looking back and forth between them. "There's a bunch of girls eyeing you over there."

He hummed, still glaring at his phone like it had personally offended him—Maybe it had, who knows. Then he looked over his phone at the girls, his gaze uninterested. "Whatever. I'm not into girls."

"I pity the women," Elena quipped. His lip twitched at the corner.

Their food arrived; they were eating in comfortable silence until Elena spotted a truck pulling up outside the diner. She saw the familiar red-brown hair from the window. Her pale blue eyes widened; She nudged Kaz with her feet, nodding at the window. He almost choked on his food, his expression mirroring hers.

"Let's just hope they won't pull a stunt in here."

total word count 5050