War of The Elements

2

The smell of the air in the city is acidic and waxy, filling my lungs with a thick layer of whatever is in the air, making me cough. We walk through a large wooden gate, painted with a light green hue. As we enter the building of the city council, we hear the laughs of young children, the nervous prayers from excitement and anticipation, and then a tapping on a microphone.

"Hello, and good afternoon to all of you." A man, not much over the age of 50, with a dark complexion and bright blue eyes announces to the building. "I've come from the city of Pintilla. We welcome you to the draft of 2084." Claps then begin to take over the area. He goes on telling us that a select few will be chosen, and that those who have been proven worthy will have the chance to compete. "Today, we will choose two honorable children. Let me begin the shuffle." He pulls out a box with names from all over the section, with a gap only big enough to fit one hand in. The box is painted with trees and mountains, those that come from our area. He pulls out a boy's name first. "Atlas Diver!" He calls out. The name's familiar to me, but I'm not sure where from. Maybe he was a counselor at camp with me? Screams of joy come from the section of which I assume he and his family might be, and I watch a gap form for him, letting him through to the stage. He's grinning and waving to his family as he practically races to the stage. Everyone is celebrating this moment, and then the man starts to speak again. "And now for the ladies." He reaches into another box, for the girls. He swirls his hand around for a few seconds, then unfolds the paper he has chosen. I squeeze my fists together, and pray that the name reads Hazel Fluria.

"Hazel Fluria!" She shouts out to the crowd. I am in shock. My mother grabs my shoulders and shakes me like a doll. She pulls me in for a hug, then pushes me towards the stage. "Congratulations Hazel" I hear a voice say. I am beaming with excitement as I walk up to the stage. I've been waiting for this moment my whole life, and I've finally been given the chance to prove my worth to the world.

I'm on the stage, smiling faces looking up at me, with happy and awarding attitudes. The man speaks up again. "These two will be apart of the ten chosen from our element, and they will compete alongside one another until the final round. Thank you, please shake hands." He asks us. I look up at the boy, he's very tall and sturdy looking. Like he works with lumber. He makes eye contact with me, and grabs my hand and shakes it with a firm grip. I smile back at him. "Congratulations Atlas, I'm excited to work alongside you."
"And same to you, Hazel." He nods his head.

Everyone is dismissed from the building, except Atlas, Me, and our families. We all are invited to a large room, with three couches. One, labeled for the family of the lady, the other for the family of the boy, and the third for the chosen. We all take our seats, after congratulating one another. "Welcome, welcome, welcome." The man says. "My name is Drew Burban, I will be telling you all about your adventure this year. First, you two will be companions, teammates you could say. You don't have to pair up with any of the other sections, if you don't want to." He talks in a soft, but strong manner. He wears a white beanie on his head, decorated with different varieties of flowers. He continues his speech. "For the families, you will be updated weekly about your children, and will only be allowed to contact them after two weeks into their journey." He tells us that we will be visiting the Fire element first, to meet the rest of the elected boys and girls. We will be traveling for twelve weeks total, and will be arriving back home on November 10th, with either loads of riches, or nothing at all. He finishes giving us all of the details, and sends us home with a book full of everything he just said, in case we forget.