Elements

Chapter 49

This chapter is dedicated to all of my friends who have heard me plan and rant about this story: especially those who made death threats. Please consider not killing me.

Please do not hate me!

Our footsteps echoed in the night as we neared the closed off tunnel. Drooping caution tape covered the entrance, and a large "No Entry" sign was placed in the middle of the road. If Anita hadn't promised me it was the right place, I never would've believed it was the same tunnel we had driven through on the first day. The damp air, the dreary atmosphere... so much was different from that first day.

Not just the weather had changed. Everything was different now- I had some of my memories back, I had friends...someone who was more than a friend...

I snapped out of my reminiscing at that thought. I wouldn't have him for much longer if we didn't hurry. We ducked under the caution tape, and I held a ball of flames in my hand, bouncing off shadows against the otherwise pitch dark tunnel. The sounds of dripping water and our footsteps ricocheted off the concrete walls, and even with the fire keeping me warm, it was difficult not to shiver.

Finally, we reached the end of the road- literally. The pavement suddenly dropped off into a pit roughly the size of a swimming pool. It was filed to the brim with a shimmering, ethereal light, glinting in shades of cobalt, viridian, and cerulean. The odd pond of light swirled and shimmered like water. This was it: the portal to the Haven.

"Are you sure about this? Once we go through, I seriously doubt we'll be able to escape again. Something tells me Estel will have tightened up security after we left." Anita cautioned.

I shook my head. "We have to go now. The sooner I show up, the less time he has to prepare for me. If I can catch him by surprise-"

"You mean if we can catch him by surprise," Anita cut me off. "No way are you doing this alone."

I took a deep breath, knowing she wasn't going to like what I said. I had held off on telling her this part of my plan, because I knew she would have argued with it. Now, there was no time to turn back or change plans: she would just have to deal with it. "I have to do this alone." I held up a hand to keep her from interrupting. "He has my parents and Ben, which already puts me at a huge disadvantage. If you came with me and he caught you too, this fight would go from difficult to impossible.

"Besides," I continued, "I need you to make sure that everyone else at the school stays out of the way. Ms. Wren needs to be alerted to the situation immediately, and I can't do all that if I'm going to go straight into this fight. Please," I looked her right in the eyes, pleading with her, "I need you to keep your distance. You saved me from him the first time, and I'm very grateful for that, but I won't have anyone else getting caught in the crossfire."

She sat there in silence, begrudgingly pondering my reasoning. Eventually, she sighed. "Fine, but don't expect this to be a regular thing. Next time we're squaring off against a super villain, I'm coming along whether you like it or not!" I couldn't help but grin.

"Deal."

"Anyway, you won't have o worry much about the other students." She informed me. "They're all taking their finals. They aren't even on campus. Everyone got sent, alone, to a different location somewhere in the world, and were given a task to complete in three days. They'll be coming back this morning though, so you'd better make this quick." It's already been three days, I realized.

"Okay. Anything else I should keep in mind?"

She thought for a moment, then added a final piece of advice. "Remember, just because he holds the hostages doesn't mean he holds all the cards. Sometimes, a good poker face can be your best weapon." The she brightened, remembering one more thing. "Also, be careful of your power barrier. You're probably going to be straining at it pretty severely, and if it breaks we don't know what'll happen."