Element

✯ Chapter 50

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I'm not going to breakfast this morning. I'm not even hungry.

And I'm not exactly in the mood to be endlessly questioned about what the heck is going on with Drexel either.

Yes, I'm aware that everyone must have gotten up this morning with the intent of getting their curiosity satisfied, but they're just going to have to wait.

So, I'm not going to breakfast. It's 7:00 am. First class isn't until 9:00. I'll take a well-deserved break in my dorm room before then. And I won't tell anybody about Drexel until I talk to Kaelie  and answer any of her questions. The girl's been my best friend for a long time. She deserves a long and thorough explanation.

I lay down on my bed, hugging a pillow to my chest. It's hard to wrap my head around something I don't want to believe. I spent the whole drive back to school replaying everything Drexel said, and more importantly, how he said it.

Every single word that he said was laced with self-loathing and regret. He doesn't want to be a Shadow, definitely not. He's spent his whole life thinking he was an Element, like the rest of us. But if it's hard for me to believe, I can't even imagine how difficult it is for him to cope with this.

I squeeze my eyes closed. How could he be a Shadow? How is it even possible?

Maybe it had something to do with his parents? That one was an Element, and one was Shadow.

But I know that could never be it. It's one of the things you learn at the beginning of your first year of school; different Elements don't mix. It's like we're different species, because two individuals of different elements cannot produce any offspring. I expect the same rule applies for Shadows mixing with Elements.

Time seems to pass by slowly. I only spend a small portion of my time pondering Drexel's condition. Because eventually, I realize that if the brilliant minds at the Central City Investigation unit can't figure it out, certainly I won't have any luck.

Slowly, I drift into an unconscious state of mind. The ceiling above me is only a plain white, and doesn't occupy my mind at all. Like it, my mind is blank. My eyes fall closed, and I feel myself drifting into a deep sleep.

It's as if my body has been suspended in time and space. My limbs weaken, and I slowly feel every inch of muscle relax. Normal sleep doesn't feel this way, but before I can resist it, I'm gone.

An endless prairie stretches in front of me for miles around- Large, rolling, golden hills of gently waving grass. The sky is a swirled combination of dark and light grey clouds, churning slowly like the grass. I can't hear anything. It's as if entire world has been put on mute.

I slowly turn my head to the side, my hair billowing behind me in a rush of warm, sticky wind. In the distance, little black dots appear in an ever-lengthening line, coming closer and closer. My eyes are drawn to the progression, my mind a whirlpool of awe and confusion. The line extends out towards me, finally getting close enough for a better look. People. The line is made of people.

I stand in the line, surrounded on both sides by an endless amount of bodies. Faceless people. They are clad with militia uniforms, standing with a readiness to fight. Feet spread wide. They clench various weapons in a death grip. Bows, arrows, swords, crude element guns, even spears. None hold the exact same weapon, but one of five slightly subdued colors find themselves on every one. A color for each Element.

In such a mass of people, you'd expect talking, shuffling feet, coughing, something. But the eerie, formidable silence creates an uneasy feeling inside of me. I want to scream, but my throat and the suppressing hush around me won't allow it.