Elementals (#Wattys2017)

Truth

We walked into the conference room and Tricity hurried over to me.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
"Yes." I answered.
She placed her hands on my shoulders and looked at me worriedly.
"Good because, we have a lot to talk about."
I looked around the room and everyone looked scared. Something was wrong.
I felt Pine's hand on my back. I sat down in my chair. Everyone's heads were down and they were staring at something on the ground or the ceiling rather than looking at me. It was silent. Awkwardly silent.
"What's going on, besides the fact that someone tried to kill me?" I said breaking the silence.
I wiped my palms on my lap. Pine reached over and grabbed my hand under the table. No one seemed to notice.
Tricity leaned forward.
"I'm sure Pine has told you about our friend who was like you." She started.
"She and Pine were on a mission and she heard a cry for help. She ran towards it leaving Pine behind. He tried to catch up to her but, he lost sight of her. The last thing he heard was her screa-"
"Tricity, please...." Pine cut in. "Let me tell her."
"Ok"
"The last thing I heard was her screaming and I saw a figure throw her off the bridge. We never found her body."
"Oh god...." I whispered. I wanted to cry for them, all of them.
"What happens now?" I ask.
"I don't know. But whatever they're up to must be able to be stopped with fire so, the main priority now is keeping you safe and training you." Tricity said.
"Why?"
"You might be fighting for your own life and many others in the future and we might not be able to help you."
I sank back into my chair.
"Still wish you killed yourself?..." River mumbled
"River!" Tricity snapped.
How could she possible know about that.
"What?" Pine said looking at me.
They all looked at me. I trembled in my chair. They can't know that. They'll think I'm weak.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I said shakily.
They kept staring at me. I couldn't do this again. There is just something about the way people look at you when they think you're suicidal.
"Look, I don't know why you hate me but, I was just told that I will be fighting for my life and possibly millions of others without any help! So just leave me alone!" I got up and walked out. I could see the ends of my hair flaming up.
"Lina!" Pine called. Tricity grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.
"Don't call her that. Lina is dead. She is Scorch now." Pine yanked his shoulder away, glared at River, and came after me. By the time he got out the door I had turned the corner and was gone.

I sat on the edge of the cliff. I couldn't help myself, I just started to cry. I buried my face in my knees and curled up in a little ball. I had stopped crying by now. Just then I heard footsteps on the stair leading up to the cliff. Pine. When he got to the top he said...
"Lina?"
I turned and walked into his arms. We sank to our knees and just sat there in each other's arms for the longest time. We just sat and said nothing for a while and just listened to the silence of the surrounding forest.
"Whatever happened before you came here..." He started.
"I don't need to know. All I care about is that you're safe and you are here... With me."
I turned my head upwards to look at him. I kissed him softly on the lips and he kissed me back.
"I love you." I said.
"I love you too."
We stayed for hours before finally getting up and walking back to the compound.
The next day I woke up a little late and walked into the common room. Breeze was in the kitchen of to the side of the room and River was sitting engulfed in the couch asleep it seemed. Pine wasn't there but he wasn't at the cliff either. He had told me last night on the way back that he had something to do today with Tricity and wouldn't be here so, I figured I would just spend time with Breeze. Breeze was cool. He usually just liked to goof off but not to the point of being destructive. I could see why he and Pine were best friends.
"Hey candlelight! Where's your boyfriend?"
"How could you possibly know that?!" I asked, stunned.
"It's a bit obvious, lightning bug." He joked cheerfully.
It seemed as though he and river were watching tv earlier because, it was still on the news channel.
"You want food?" He asked playfully.
Breeze usually made the meals just because it gave him a chance to get away from training. I didn't blame him. Tricity can be hard sometimes. I've at least learned that much in the past year I've been here. Wow. It's been a year. Technically, I've been dead for a year. Weird. I soon pushed the thought out of my mind and went on talking to Breeze.
Just then the screen flashed red and the words "breaking news" appeared at the bottom in bold. I got up and walked slowly to the screen.
"In a shocking turn of events, the daughter of a multi-million dollar entrepreneur, Margery White, is caught in a bank robbery and is being held as a hostage." The reporter said.
I just stood there shocked. I felt the blood rush from my face and I couldn't control myself.
"Scorch, do you know her?" Breeze asked.
By this time, River had woken up and looked at me half annoyed and half concerned.
"What's wrong Lina?" She asked seriously. She turned and saw the headline on the screen and quickly turned back to me.
"Lina...don't!" She pushed but it was too late. I took off in a sprint. Pine had showed me where we were and I knew how to get back to town. I didn't care who she was, I didn't care what she did to me, she was an innocent that needed help and I couldn't let her die the way she let me die.
"No, this is not happening again!" I heard River say.
"Krissie!" She screamed at me but I didn't stop I couldn't. I was already gone.