The Elementals [Watty Awards 2012 Action Winner]

Chapter 7

Dedicated to LunaLightandAmeeba for being an awesome fan and commenting me heaps!

Chapter seven:

I jerked awake, sweat beading down my forehead and dampening my clothes.

Every night ever since that first nightmare I’d been having the same dream over and over again. I do the same thing and yet it scares me just as much as the first time and every time I wake up I have a throbbing headache. It’s been weeks! Months!

Thank God we had a week off to ‘study’ before our exams and I’d decided to pay a visit to Troy and Serena. Familiar faces and a home cooked meal is what I needed for sure. I started packing and glanced outside, the sun was barely rising and the morning birds had just woken up singing good morning songs for their chicks.

I finished packing in a matter of minutes and looked over at a sleeping Helena. She’d been worried about me and took the role of mother trying to force me to eat ‘a little something’ or talk to her about it. But I didn’t want to. It just felt like this nightmare was something personal and I just couldn’t find it in myself to tell her, or anyone. I didn’t want to wake her so I changed into short gym shorts and a tank top then tied my hair up in a high ponytail before slipping on my running shoes.

This had been my routine lately. Waking up freaked out of my mind, wash my face, change, go running. I never knew how long I’d run for but the sun would be shining brightly and some days I’d end up being late for my morning classes.

I walked outside and began stretching my limbs warming them up and breathing the fresh morning air. The grass was wet with dew drops and the crushed blades of grass stuck to the soles of my sneakers. I began running. The feel of the chilly air breezed past my face and made me feel fresh and safe.

I started running laps around the campus and on my fifth lap I turned for the lake. I felt much more at ease around the water. The lake was my element. It was huge so I ran around and around feeling the lake water swivel and stir like it was magnetised to me. I ran until the sun blazed down on me and my muscles ached with over use.

I pushed myself farther and harder and enjoyed the feel of my core temperature rising and sweat cooling my skin then finally I collapsed on the bank of the lake. I breathed hard and worked to get my heart rate to slow down as well as my breathing. Most students would be inside their rooms or the library studying hard but I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate hard enough to do that.

I tugged my shoes and socks off and dipped my heated feet into the cool lake water. I sighed as a smile tugged at my lips, it felt so refreshing I cupped the water with my hands and splashed my face. It wasn’t enough so I thought, ‘oh why not?’

I tore my top and shorts off leaving me in my bra and panties before diving into the cold liquid. The water rejuvenated my body as I swam. I swam deep and far and loved how the world could be forgotten as long as I was underwater. I reached the bottom of the lake and looked around at the underwater marine life.

Slippery rocks with plants growing on and in between them varying in shades of green. Little fish of pinks, green, blues and yellows darted through the swaying plants and schools of them rushed past me. Marine life weren’t scared of me, as a Water-abled I comfortably fit in amongst them.

I planted my feet on the soft bottom of the lake and pushed up kicking for the surface. All too soon I decided I should get going if I wanted to make it home before nightfall. I pulled myself out of the lake and froze when I saw a half naked Derrek sitting by my pile of clothes. He wore basketball shorts and sneakers with earphones dangling around his neck. He smirked when he saw me and his eyes roamed down my body.