Six (Countdown book 1)

Chapter 2

Scarlett and Tony seemed pretty paranoid to me. They kept looking left and right as we walked. We went down to the London Underground, got on a train, and then they seemed to relax a little. "So... what's going on?" I asked. I realised I'd been whisked away from my home by two kids only a little older than myself with no idea where I was going, and only just enough consent from my mum. 

"It's a long story." Scarlett said uneasily. "But you're part of a group of kids with special abilities."

"Special abilities?" I asked, frowning. 

"I suppose you've had some trouble with light and gravity today?" Scarlett said. Tony had put headphones in and was completely ignoring the two of us.

"Well today, in Science, the lights kind of went out." I said nervously. "Except the lights weren't on." 

"That sounds about right. Tell me, Eli, how many elements are there?" 

"Chemical elements?" I asked, frowning. 

"No. Elements as in Wind, Earth..." 

"Four." I said. It was an easy enough question. "Earth, Wind, Fire and Water." 

Scarlett smiled at me. "That's what most... normal people think. There's actually six. The fifth is ice." 

"Ice isn't an element." I said, frowning. "It's just frozen water." 

"Here me out, Eli." Scarlett continued. "There are four elements, but there are also six. Depending on how you look at it, it can be either. Sure, ice is created from water, but it can also, to some people, be classed as a fifth element." 

"Okay." I'd never heard that before and I'd studied the elements pretty hard. I was willing to keep to four elements, but I was intrigued. "And what's the sixth?" 

"Aether." Scarlett said. 

"What?" 

"Aether." Scarlett repeated. "It's a Greek word for 'pure, fresh air'. It was the basis for several early theories for light and gravity. A scientist once said that light travelled in the form of longitudinal waves, called Aether. Newton himself thought Aether was the force of gravity. In Greek mythology, it was considered to be the the air the Gods breathed and the essence of where they lived. You'll find out a lot more about it when you get to your classes. But basically, it's the medium density of everything in the universe." 

"Oh." I said, trying to remember if I'd every heard of Aether before. I'd probably come across it at some point or another. "Cool." 

"Us kids with 'Special Abilities' always have powers relating to one of the six elements. I'd guess you're Aether. Tony is Ice. I'm fire." She looked around to make sure our carriage was near enough empty, then a small flame appeared, bouncing joyfully on her index finger. "See?" 

"H-how many of us are there?" I asked, staring disbelievingly at the flame. 

"Six." Scarlett said, without even thinking. "There's always six." 

"Will I be number seven then?" I asked curiously. 

Scarlett shook her head. "There's, um, always six of us, one for each of the elements. We're all born on the same day. One of us is born every year. We keep tabs on everyone born on June the sixth, and if they develop special abilities at twelve, we take them back to headquarters and train them. There are a lot of people out there who would love to either use us or dissect us." 

"Wait, so if one is born every year, why is there always only six of us?" I saw the dark look on Scarlett's face and guessed. "When you were talking to my mum, you said something about what would happen when I was eighteen. The reason there's only six of us is because we only live until we're eighteen. What happens when we're eighteen?"