The Elementalists

JOHN

We've been walking around for about ten minutes, but there's been not even the slightest sign of Peter. The most interesting thing that I've seen so far was Cooper and Liz walking hand in hand.

Which did nothing more than creep me out for some weird reason.

"Why won't Peter just let us find him?" I whine to no one in particular. "Actually, why would he betray us in the first place?"

"I don't know," Cooper replies, rolling his eyes. "For the fourth time, John, I don't know. Stop asking your pointless questions that we have no answer to."

I stick my tongue out at him and cross my arms before stomping off in front of them. He thinks he has to act tough because Liz is here. I don't know what he sees in the girl, anyways.

I continue looking for Peter, even though I'm almost positive we won't find him. I'm debating whether or not to climb a tall tree, like the people in movies do, when I feel the wind pick up.

That was weird, I think to myself. I turn around to ask Cooper and Liz if they felt that, but they're nowhere to be found. I groan and I'm about to shout their names when the wind picks up to a dangerous speed. My hair flies in my face, and I push it out of my eyes, growing frantic.

What the heck is happening?

I have to find Cooper and Liz. That's the thought I manage to plant in my mind, and I take off running in the direction I came from, fighting against the wind as I do so.

"Cooper!" I yell. "Liz! Where are you guys! Cooper! Liz! Guys!"

Grass and dirt have been flying into my face, forcing me to close my eyes halfway. I force my eyes to open fully and almost scream at what I see.

It's a gigantic tornado.

I grow even more frantic and start screaming Cooper and Liz's names even louder and faster. I've about given up hope when I hear a girl's scream, and I immediately know that it's Liz.

I take off in the direction of the scream, fighting the wind and the debris. My hair whips around my face in different directions, but I don't care. All I care about is finding Liz and Cooper.

I push my hair out of my eyes and almost cry out in joy when I see the two standing near a tree. I'm so enveloped in the fact that they're alive and here that I don't notice the two girls standing next to Cooper until one grabs me by the arm. I jump a little and turn to look at whoever's holding me back by my arm, and I grow less frantic when I see that it's Robin. The fact that she's here mean that we're not going to die, after all.

"John," she says in a shaky voice, "thank gosh you're alright." My stomach sinks when I see the worry that stands out in her eyes. "Stay here with Emma," she tells me. "I taught her a basic force field—it'll keep you guys safe. I have to find Mark and the others." She turns away and I hear her mumble, "This is no ordinary tornado... I didn't think it'd start this soon..."

My fear resurfaces and I ask, "What do you mean? What's started? How did you and Emma find us? How—"

"John," Robin interrupts, "stop asking so many questions. I don't have the time—I have to find the others. Emma and I sensed something was wrong before we saw the tornado, and we happened to find you guys first." She looks at me with a serious expression and says, "It's begun."

"What?" I ask. "What's begun?"

Robin looks at Emma, who seems to be struggling with something. She turns back to face me with a worried expression before saying, "Go over to Emma. You'll be safe in the force field."

I begin to grow angry. "Not until you answer my question!" I almost yell. "What the heck is going on?"

"It's starting," Robin replies. She begins to walk away, but I grab the back of her shirt to stop her.

"What's starting?" I ask, trying to remain calm.

Robin hesitates. She turns to look at me, and I see the fear on her face as clear as day.

"The apocalypse," she says, and I hear her voice crack. She turns away, pulling out of my grip, and begins to slowly walk away.

It's only a few seconds before she breaks into a run.