Water and Earth (The Four Elements: Book 2) (ON HOLD)

Chapter Fourteen: The Plan of Action

"Tickle tag!" Kayla exclaimed as she tickled me on my stomach.

"Ahaha, I'll get you!" I started to swim as fast as I could to get my girlfriend so I could tickle her for the fourteenth time. About an hour has passed since we chased each other out of the cove and played tickle tag. What fun we had, us just trying to catch up with each other just to tickle the both of us when we're caught.

I also wanted to say that we don't really have this much fun when we were back in Detroit, where there are classes, sports, P.E. and other things that keep us from running around like the little kids do now.

"No you can't!" she giggled, swimming away to one part of the coral reef we were in.

"Oh don't you swim away from me!" I called out, still chasing after her. I know that she's better at maneuvering through the ice but she's not that good at maneuvering around the coral, which makes things fun in this realm.

We chased each other in this way for a while, until...

"Kayla, watch out!"

She abruptly stopped in her tracks and I grabbed her hand and held her close to me so that she wasn't in the path of that mysterious blast.

"What was that?!" Kayla inquired.

"No idea," I replied. "We need to alert the others."

Still on the lookout for more mysterious blasts, we both swam back to the cove to wake the others up. But it seems like they already knew what's happening.

"Do you guys know where the blasts are coming from?" Chelsea inquired, a worried tone in her voice.

"Not that I know of," I shook my head in disappointment. "Kai, do you?"

"I don't know, but check if we have everyone here. If someone's missing, we need to find that person," Kai suggested.

We are supposed to have seven of us here, including me, and so I started counting everyone.

"Six," I muttered.

"Six?" Carter confirmed.

"Yeah, six." I nodded.

"Who's missing?" Kai asked and looked around.

"Amaya," Brandon replied. "Amaya's gone."

All of us searched each room for Amaya, but she was nowhere to be found. Where could she have gone?

I have no idea... Kayla shook her head.

"Did anyone find her, or maybe some clues to where she might have run off to?" Chelsea called out from one room.

"I think I found something," Carter exclaimed.

The five of us swam towards where Carter was.

"First, she'll never pack everything she brought whenever she leaves right?" he inquired.

"Right, and she'll never just leave without yelling out 'Bye y'all!' right?" Kayla added.

"Right," Brandon agreed. "This is strange, I wonder why..."

"Didn't you all notice how Amaya's been acting lately? Her expressions always say that she is up to something and that something could be bad..." Chelsea pointed out and exaggerated her opinion.

"Chels, you're definitely right," I said. "Besides her arrogant behavior, she is acting a bit aloof since she transferred."

"Is it the fact that she is trying to pursue you, Elias?" Carter pointed out.

"Well, it could be. Like pretty much, everyone's trying to look for guys to go out with but Amaya? I cannot trust her, especially after our first encounter with her," Kayla explained. "It was a good thing she and some others aided us in defeating the wolves yet it doesn't mean I trust her after that. Do you not agree?"

Kai chimed in. "Okay, stop dilly-dallying; we need to look for her right now."

* * *

It has been one and a half hour since Amaya left without a word, and we still weren't able to find her.

"She is a sneaky one isn't she?" Kai commented.

"Yeah," I nodded in agreement. "Being witty and cunning are rare for someone both with Geokinetic powers right?"

"That's right," he agreed. "And if you think in your mind something like, 'Amaya won't be able to complete whatever she has to do because she is at a disadvantage in this realm', then you are underestimating her abilities."

"I'm not really thinking about it much but thanks for the warning."

"No problem, bro."

All of us kept searching. We looked around the reefs, the other coves, the rock beds, literally everywhere. Finally, we all took another break.

"Why can't she just come out already?" Chelsea complained.

"Like this?"

We heard another voice. As we turned our heads around, the source tackled me onto the sand and held me there. As I resisted, I had a chance to peek a look at my assailant's face.

"A-Amaya?!" I was shocked.

"Don't say a word and drink," Amaya said gently, but with a forceful tone as she pressed a vial contained with pink liquid near my mouth. Is that the love potion?!

"No."

"Yes, do it. Come on,"

"Let go of him!" Kayla exclaimed and tried to swim over to help me get out of this situation.

"Not a chance ice girl, get out of my way. 'Terra Beam'!" she chanted a spell to blast her away.

"Kayla, help!" I exclaimed at the top of my lungs. How did Amaya get so strong? She wasn't like this for the duration that we knew her...

"We can't! She put a barrier around you both!" she shouted back.

"That's right Elias Theodore Merritt-Sangster, this is the real world. Instead of you guys saving each other's backs. Why don't you do it without one of you? You five are still strong, even that merman Kai is someone you can trust." Amaya said, now in a voice none of us recognizes. "Now, I'm sorry Elias but I have to knock you out."

"What?!" is all I was able to shout out before I blacked out.