The Elements

Chapter Nine

  "Stay low. Keep your hair over your ears, and don't draw any attention to yourselves."

"What if our hair isn't long enough?! Not all of our hair is long like yours, Luna!"

"Well, do something, Frost. Just don't draw attention."

"You already said that."

"Yes, Brin, I know I already said that, but I really need you to do that. Don't touch that, Jayde. Or that. Jayde! Oh my moons, you can't be stealthy."

"Ooo what's that?"

"Jayde, don't touch that."

"Ooo, what's that?"

"Jayde, don't touch that!"

"Ooo, what's that?!"

"Jayde! Don't. Touch. Anything!"

We approached the market square with nervous glances. As we drew closer, we saw the harshness of the world these people were living in. The food was swarmed with flies, yet people were selling it. No one was making any money as more and more people swiped fruits and loaves of bread. I kept the hood pulled over my head, my eyes scanning the area around us for the back haired girl.

We walked nonchalantly down the middle of the market, sellers yelling over each other, trying to sell things. There were carts apon carts, seeming to go on forever. Yet, we reached the end, all six of us still in one piece. At least, for now.

"Luna, is that her?" Skipper asked, trying to point calmly, but failing. I looked to where he was pointing, but turned back quickly.

"Nope, that's not her."

"What about her?" he asked again, and I looked. A woman, at least thirty moons or older with long light brown hair was washing her clothes.

"Skipper, does that even match the description I gave you?"

"Okay, whoops. What about...her!"

"Skipper, I'm not even going to look-"

"No, Luna, I really think that's her!" I sighed, but looked, and sure enough, it was her. She looked almost the exact same from my dream. She stole an apple, and then a loaf of bread, just like my dream. I pointed this out in an undertone to Kai and Brin.

"Well, what does she do next?" Kai asked in a hushed whisper.

"Next, she goes to her house. I think we need to follow her, but we would look really weird..."

"We should split up. We can't all just go up to her and be like, 'Hi! How are you? Can we cut your finger?' We need something else..." Frost trailed off.

"Okay, well, we need to do something. I think we should try to split up. Frost, you take Jayde, Brin take Skipper, and Kai and I will go to her house. Frost and Brin, you guys try to find some food or water, and find a place we could maybe store the horses."

"Luna..."

"Yes, Frost?"

"Um, where's Jayde?" I immediately looked around.

"Oh my moons...where is she?"

"Who was the last person to see her, and what was she doing?"

"I was the last one to see her, and she was looking over at that seller's cart," said Kai, pointing at a man selling cactus flowers. The man looked mean, tattoos running from his neck down his bare chest, his muscles rippling. His hair was pulled up into a messy bun, a style that I noticed a lot of men here had.