(The New) Power of the 8 Elements: Part Two

Chapter Twenty Seven: Killed Someone

"Accidents, try to change them—it's impossible. The accident reveals the man." - J.B Priestly
3 YEARS AGO
THRAX

The party was awkward. It consisted mostly of older juniors and seniors who I hadn't taken the time to get to know. It was a Halloween party at Nicholas Diaz' house. I didn't think he cared who came through the doors. As long as they weren't going to call the police and accepted that there were new rules, he was okay. He invited his neighbors, and they took it upon themselves to bring their friends. Of course, they inspired Nicholas' neighbor's friends to bring their classmates. That was how Nicholas' house ended up getting jam packed with drunk high schoolers. We were running low on alcohol but still had plenty of beer cans left. This meant that people who had little to no sobriety left were creating all kinds of concoctions with a couple of drops from the the bottles down in the basement and their cup of whatever drink they'd manage to scoop before the "Witch's Brew" was gone. I considered myself fortunate to have arrived after the "Witch's Brew" was gone.

Among the chaos and dancing, I stood in the corner of the living room, holding a red solo cup in one hand. Even though I was told my drink was water, I didn't trust the person who handed it to me. In my other hand, I held my phone tightly, waiting for a notification from Fentanyl. He'll come soon enough, Thrax. Just be patient, I told myself to calm my worries and doubts. What if I had gone to the party for no reason? What if Fentanyl wasn't even going to show up? What if he got into an accident and couldn't text me? Was he okay?

"Hey!" Nicholas said, walking up to me.

I could smell alcohol on his breath, and I took a bit of a step back.

"Enjoying yourself?" He said.

I pursed my lips and shook my head. It was better to be honest. I knew Nicholas for two reasons. One, he played football, and two was always screaming "SPIKE IT!" at volleyball games which was slightly distracting but nevertheless amusing.

"Are you waiting for someone?" He asked through drunk giggles.

"A friend," I answered, trying to hide my smile.

"Wherever she is, I'm sure she'll be here. Or maybe she's already here! You'll never know standing in the corner like that!"

"Okay," I said with a shrug.

"That's the spirit," Nicholas said, nodding at the designated dance floor.

I walked past the couch where a few of the students from our rival school were playing a game of  Suck and Blow. Nicholas danced with each other—platonically of course—before he was lured away by whom I believed to be his girlfriend or one of his neighbors. I drank a little bit more. I could think straight, and I could walk normally, but I remembered dancing till my feet hurt. Wearing heels to this party had been a dumb decision. I removed the heels I'd stolen from Neptune, carrying them and my phone in my hands, went outside to get some fresh air, for the drinks had been making me a little sick.

I searched the cars lined up in the driveway and down the street for one that belonged to Fentanyl or at least one of his friends. I could barely see anything through the naked tree branches. I walked past the pool and the hot tub where there was another table with pizza boxes. There, I recognized one of my classmates.

"Kadence, have you seen Fentanyl?" I asked.

"Why does it matter to you?" She asked, looking me up and down with disgust.

"Well, I'm just looking for him. He said he would be here." I was tempted to pull out my phone and show her the text he sent me.

"You're not even supposed to be with him," Kadence said.