The Chosen

Chapter 16

Noah was lonely.

He was at the point where he would even try to converse with Oliver; he was so desperate! That wasn't an option, though. Oliver seemed a bit busy with Karen just then.

Noah turned away, cheeks slightly red. He had always been the innocent child, determined to be one of the rare 'good boys'.

He looked around for Mina. He hadn't seen her since arriving at the village and he was a bit worried.

Noah sat in a corner of their temporary hideout. The village had been completely destroyed, and many had died. There were only a handful of people left and out for revenge, most of them hostile since learning about Noah's powers.

The only reason Noah wasn't dead was because of Karen and her orders to hold back. The villagers knew of her feelings for Oliver, and even if they didn't approve, they cared about her enough that they hid their hatred.

“Hey, stranger,” a familiar voice sounded behind Noah, breaking him out of his thoughts. He turned as Mina walked up beside him, climbing onto the bench he sat on.

“Hi,” he replied softly, willing his voice not to crack or do something more embarrassing. Noah hated that he still got so flustered around Mina.

He knew full well how he felt about her, and he had the feeling she liked him back. If only he could get the courage to ask her, he would know.

Mina leaned forward, folding her hands in her lap. “What now?” she asked. “We need to do something, or we'll all die.”

Noah nodded. “I heard something, ya know.”

Mina's head shot up. “What? What was it?”

Noah turned to face her. “I think I know where their 'headquarters' is.” he answered, making quotation marks with his fingers when he said headquarters.

Mina leaned towards Noah, making him move back, heart pounding. “Really? Where?” she demanded.

“Um, it's...”

***

Noah was scared out of his wits. Everyone on their side was gathered behind the ridge that separated them and their doom.

The headquarters of the Element Users was basically a palace. The turrets reached high for the sky, dark and black. The whole building looked exactly like a medieval castle.

Noah had persuaded the villagers to stay back while they waited for Oliver's report. They had sent him out to scout the battlefield.

Everyone had travelled a long way, picking up other settlements to fight. Noah looked back over his forces and a strange surge of pride flew through him. They were all armed and ready to fight.

Mina sat beside him, her warmth radiating and giving him courage. He turned to look at her, feeling a new sense of encouragement.

He knew he had to fight for her, his family, and everyone else he cared about. Heck, even Oliver was on that list. The two were still rivals, but they were friendly enough to the point where they weren't beating each other up every day.

The flapping of wings turned his attention back to Oliver, who was just landing in a crouch, folding his wings away. His bow and arrows were out and ready to use. Oliver's sword hung at his side.

Noah was tempted to crack a joke about whether or not he had finally learned how to use his wings, but decided against it. The time wasn't now.

Karen rushed up to Oliver. “What took so long?” she demanded sharply. “I-We got worried.”

Oliver didn't seem to notice her slip-up. He sat down cross-legged on the ground. “The grounds were actually a lot larger than I expected. Plus, I think they know there's going to be an attack. There are guards everywhere.”

Karen looked worried. She was their top strategist, therefore they all looked to her for plans, but this time it was Amber that spoke up.

“Why don't we send a small unit? We can pretend that's our 'army', but when the Element Users retaliate, we can send another batch down. Then another, then another. We'll need to send in some of the Medical Unit who can fight, and the rest will spread out and be at stations to tend to the wounded.” she suggested.

Everyone stared for a moment, then Oliver grinned. “Nice, Shortie. That might just work!”

“It might not,” Karen mumbled. Her voice was quiet enough that only Noah could hear it, but he could sense obvious jealousy laced in her words.

Amber huffed, answering to Oliver. “I'm only short to you because you're ridiculously tall!” she retorted. The two bickered as Noah watched Karen.

“I think she's jealous,” Mina whispered, leaning over. Noah nodded in agreement. Karen's face was red, and she looked pretty upset at how close Oliver and Amber were.

Mina leaned gently against Noah's shoulder. “Do you remember the times where all we had to worry about was getting jealous about our crush?”

Noah laughed slightly. “To be honest, no.”

Mina smirked. “Yeah, well, you didn't have to worry about it. Every girl was smitten with you.” she snickered, snuggling up closer.

Noah glanced sideways at her. Every girl? His heart jumped, wondering about possibilities unknown. Mina noticed him watching her and met his eyes. He reached for her hand and squeezed it. She squeezed back.

Noah grinned, slowly getting to his feet. He pulled Mina up. Everyone was still paying attention to Oliver and Amber, so he snagged the chance to grab Mina in a hug. She was comfy and fit perfectly in his arms. Mina wrapped her arms around his back, slipping her head under his chin.

Neither of them said anything for a while. Mina broke away first. “Come on,” she murmured. “We may as well stop them.”

Noah nodded and let himself be pulled along. He now had new confidence that they could all get through this.