The Elementals

Chapter 10: Surrounded By Darkness

The shadows around them took a solid form and shot out in every direction, no order among them. Elizabeth was turning and twisting her body as she looked around in the dark for her falling companions. She could see Alexis and Kyle farther down than the others, Brandon and Noah were right beside her, and Candice and Lily were above. Closing her eyes tight, she threw out both of her arms and took a deep breath. The shadows straightened up and went for the bodies, wrapping around them tightly. She grunted as one went around her; she wasn't expecting there to be so much force behind it. Opening her eyes quickly, she looked down to see shadows still chasing down Kyle and Alexis. She cursed under her breath and concentrated on them, the black streaks speeding up. Past them she could see a sharp edge approaching way too fast; she wasn't going to get them.

"Alexis!" she yelled, her voice bouncing off of the hard walls. The girl's eyes shot open and she stretched out her body, strong winds whistling around them as she came to. Her body turned in the air and she started falling faster as the wind pushed her down. She slammed into Kyle and wrapped her arms around his waist, closing her eyes tight and pulling him as close to her as she could. A loud boom sounded as a ball of air encased them and crashed into the edge just before they hit it, then they continued falling.

Elizabeth curled up her body and the others closed in on her as a much bigger shadow took them in, thickening into a shield. She could hear the sound of Alexis and Kyle in their ball crashing into things, and soon after they would come in contact with the same thing. It felt like they fell for a long time, and then, with one last thud, they were on solid ground.

The hold Elizabeth had around them went away as the shadows faded back into nothing, but the area around them was still pitch black. A faint light started to glow as Candice looked around. It was coming from her chest and was slowly getting brighter as she saw more of her friends around her. A little ways off was Kyle and Alexis. The boy's legs were crossed as he leaned back on his hands, Alexis still gripping him tightly. She was awake, but it looked like she was in shock, her large brown eyes threatening to spill over with tears. Kyle looked down at her, completely confused on what he should do to help her. He raised a hand and ran his fingers through her hair, letting out a sigh.

"I did it," she said quietly, looking up at him. Taking a deep breath, her lip quivered slightly but she didn't let the tears fall. She buried her face into his shoulder, shaking against him. "I was able to save you! I didn't panic!" Kyle let himself embrace her and rested his chin on top of her head, savoring the moment. She had just defeated a monster within herself, and he couldn't help but be proud of her. She let go of him and wiped under her eyes, then turned around quickly and counted the bodies around her.

"We're all here," Elizabeth said.

"Where is here, exactly?" Candice asked. They were in a dark cave, no sign of sunlight from above where they had fallen. The smell of dirt was strong, the air was thick with humidity, and the area around them was wet. A small dripping sound came from somewhere deeper within and echoed throughout the cave. Pointed edges seemed to protrude from just about everywhere, and by the looks of it there would be not only a lot of dead ends but high falls as well. Kyle and Alexis got to their feet and Kyle held his hand casually out in front of him. His brow furrowed when nothing happened and he looked around.

"Can you guys conjure anything?" he asked, looking towards the others. He watched curiously as Alexis held out her hand and curled her fingers. She did it a few times, looking alarmed. Noah had his hand in a small puddle of water and Brandon was feeling around the walls.