The Elementals : The Dawn of Darkness

Chapter 3 - The Camp for Elementals

When I woke up I was tucked up in bed, I could feel sunlight pouring in through the windows and the whole room felt nice and warm. I sighed, happily snuggling back down into bed back home safe and sound in my own flat. What a weird dream that was. Talking lions, girls with the power to control ice and a monster stitched out of human body parts. It was going to be one hell of a story to tell Maxie and Lilah. They'd be amazed that they were in the dream too, being pulled through a portal along with Mum, they would see the strangeness and humour in it though, I knew they would.

I could hear someone talking, or rather some people, Mum must have her radio on again I thought sleepily, finally opening my eyes. Then I opened my eyes a lot wider. I wasn't at home, I wasn't at a friend's house or sleeping on the desk during a detention. Honestly, I didn't know where I was. I sat up and scanned my surroundings. I seemed to be in some sort of infirmary, rows of identical beds lining the walls, slings suspended from the ceiling and I V units were hooked up to the shapes of other people lying in their own beds. There were a few windows, the ones I could see were showing pale blue sunset skies and green fields and a distant view of London's skyline peaking over the trees. I wasn't in Kansas anymore.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and had a good look at what was surrounding me. My school uniform and bag were neatly piled on a nearby chair while a pile of clean clothes was on the little chest of drawers. There was a note on top of the pile, written in a handwriting I had never seen before, I hope these fit you, it was all we could find for the moment - Sophie x. Sophie? I didn't know any Sophie's, but I have to admit that I was a bit more concerned about whether or not I was vivid dreaming and if I wasn't, if this girl had seen me in my pants.

I quickly pulled on the jacket and jeans, they were a bit big to be honest, and the t-shirt was way too small, so I abandoned it on the chair. I looked up now and saw a ball of light hanging above my head, not a light bulb, a ball, hanging in the air. I actually checked, I stood up on top of the bed and swiped my hand over the empty space where the ball was hanging. Hmm.

As I jumped down I nearly kicked over a I V rack, it looked empty but when I looked closer I could see a long tube of something green hanging from the rack. The liquid inside was an acidic green and it was bubbling within the tube, it looked like poison...or snake venom. I looked down at my hand, the hand that had been torn to bloody ribbons didn't have a scratch on it. But I remembered it clear as day, it hurt like murder, so it couldn't have been a dream. But if it wasn't a dream and I was here, that meant that... oh god. Oh my god.

I ran for it then.

This couldn't be real, it just couldn't be, but I could feel my bare feet slapping the wooden floor and I could hear the voices of dozens of people in the dozens of different rooms. I skidded to a stop just in front of a heavy wooden door, my mind was racing, my thoughts were swimming around my head so quickly it felt like my head was going to burst. I had to wake up, I had to wake up right now.

"Hey, shouldn't you be in bed?"

I jumped about three feet in the air in surprise, slipping down a small set of stairs as I landed. I fell backwards, giving a yell of surprise as my back slammed into the doors and I spilled backwards, crashing down the steps and into the bright sunshine. I moaned in pain as I steadily pushed myself up into a sitting position and then I gasped as my eyes struggled to take in what I was looking at.

The world around me was filled with colour and sights not even my wildest imagination could conjure up. From the bright green grass which shone and rippled in the wind, to the ochre blue sky fading to purple that was filled with summer clouds while three tall buildings stood like monuments. I steadily pushed myself up to my feet, my jaw scraping the floor as the world revolved around me. A variety of buildings rose out of the ground like monuments, totem pole like trees rose even higher, scraping the sky with their needle like leaves while the sound of rushing water echoed up to my ears.