The Freaks of the Ring

Three: Adam

Come on, little fish. Show me your fins...

I wake up to the sound of the voices in my head, though the one speaking is unfamiliar. I hesitate to try and open my eyes, an almost gut feeling telling me that something isn't quite right. It's just then that I notice my breathing isn't going as it should. Instead of being normal and doing so through my nose or mouth, I'm breathing through my neck. Wait, what?!

Come on, little fish. Just open your eyes and show me those pretty little scales of yours. I promise I won't bite too hard.

I shake my head, trying to convince myself that this is all just a weird nightmare, like a dream within a dream. Except the feeling of cold on my skin and the air filling my lungs is enough to tell me otherwise. And there's that voice.

I try to force my eyes open and take in my surroundings, not that there really is anything to see. Just clear liquid all around and my reflection in front of me. Except...it can't really be me, can it? I don't have scales or gills or translucent webbing between every single one of my fingers and toes. And I certainly don't know how to breathe underwater while sleeping. Okay, maybe it is me. I just can't accept it yet.

Then I manage to see beyond the reflection to the space outside. There's someone standing there, no, two people. One looks overly excited while the other is just shaking their head at the other. Well, someone sure looks happy to see I'm awake, alive, and not decomposing in a waste heap somewhere. Honestly, I'd probably be jumping right along with them if it weren't for my little containment unit.

One of the people seems to catch me staring and immediately points up. It's a girl, I can tell that much from here, with ebony skin and feathers woven into her short, dark hair. Please, little fish. Just trust me.  Well, at least now I know where that voice is coming from.

I take her advice and try to swim, up up up as far as I can. The tank seems never-ending, but it's probably just my imagination. But finally I make it to the edge to find a little platform with some sort of slide attached to it. I climb on and let it carry me down the where the two are standing.

I finally get a glance at the other person, who's insanely tall and has a sheet of dark hair covering their face. It's almost impossible to tell whether they're a guy or a girl, but I get the feeling that that's the entire point. Obviously I can't read their expression, but it would've been nice to know.

The girl practically pounces on me when I make my way over, dripping water all over the floor and on her. I don't know how to react; how would I? As if sensing my initial surprise, she backs away almost immediately. "S-sorry," she says softly with a smile as she tugs on one of the feathers. "We just haven't gotten anyone new in here in a while."

"Speaking of which, where exactly am I?" I glance back and forth between the two strangers, almost hoping that the cheerful little girl will answer. No such luck for me, I suppose.

"We call it the Ring. I's a training facility designed specifically for us, or genetically modified elementals such as yourself." The persons voice isn't exactly warm, but it's not cold as ice either. "We're kind of your welcoming committee, I guess." They shrug slightly. "This little bird is Ventus, she's our air elemental." They reach over and ruffle the girl's hair, resulting in a mildly annoyed look from her.

"And this giant buzzkill is Levi. They're our life saver, both literally and metaphorically. I swear that everyone else here isn't as dull and monotone as them, if you're already wondering." The smile never did fully leave her face, which was probably a good thing for me. It's kind of nice seeing a welcoming person in this place. "I think you've figured out already that you got graced with water powers, though the ocean-sized aquarium that someone almost forgot to fill is a bit of a give away." She glances up at Levi, who just puts their hands up in surrender.

"We should probably take you on a little tour of the place and have you meet the others, but before that, I have to warn you about something." I can already tell that I'm not going to like this. "From here on out, whatever name you were born with gets thrown right out a window. Forget whatever it was that you were called before we sorta-kinda-maybe kidnapped you." Levi almost sounds embarrassed to say it. "From here on out, your code name is Rayne. We all have to go by the codes, it's just easier that way and no one can track us down using them. Okay? Okay. Now let's just get this over with."

Levi leads the way, followed by Ventus grabbing my arm and practically dragging me out of the room. It's not that I'm reluctant to go, it's all just a lot to take in. I don't even see a door anywhere until Levi goes up to a sort of keypad on the wall and scans the leather cuff on their wrist. It's just then that I realize that Ventus and I both have them too. Is it some sort of keycard that gets us everywhere in the building? I don't know, but I have a feeling I'll be finding out soon enough. The door is sliding upwards, though I can't even see it move. All I see is the gap where light is beginning to spill into the room.

"Rayne, welcome to the Ring."