Born of Fire, The Element Decendents: Book 1

Chapter 1

"C'mon, Liz! Don't be such a scaredy-cat!" I huff at the sound of my boyfriend's overly-excited voice through my earpiece. "Just push off. Zip-lining isn't that complicated. It's fun and-" And relaxing, I know. That's what you said the entire hike up here." I huff, knowing I had no choice but to do this. "If I break anything, it's your fault." I hear him laugh, and I smile. "I know, babe. This is our last actual day together before you start work, we gotta make it count!" I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and push off. When I open my eyes, my breath is taken away by how beautiful everything is. I close them again as I grow closer to the pole, only opening them when I feel my feet touch the ground. When they open, I gasp, taking in what's in front of me.

My boyfriend of 4 years, on one knee, in front of me.

I shoot up, covered in sweat. I rip the tags off my skin and stand, almost collapsing to the floor. I feel someone's hands grab my upper arms, keeping me steady. Their hands are cold against my burning hot skin. I turn and come face-to-face with Jack. Jack, or 'Ice', is my 'ideal counterpart'. When I arrived, I was placed in my 'holding cell' like him and the other two call them. After the first two weeks, I agreed to let them run tests on me and was given time to leave and gather my things. That was my number one mistake.

My second mistake was listening and telling my fiance that I "Couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't keep hurting him." Instead, I did exactly what they said to do, and became what I am now. I went from being Elizabeth Alexis James, class of 2018 Valedictorian, to Subject 0104.

I have had no contact with him or my parents. A few friends from school check up on me once a month, but other than that it's me and the guys. Normally, I wouldn't complain, except one of these guys is my 'ideal counterpart', and has opposite 'powers' of me.

Together, we are 'Fire & Ice'.

"My god, Red. You are burning up. How long were you under?" I shrug his hands off and walk to the corner, throwing on a hoodie (one of Tay's) and walk out of the room. "I dunno. Like, an hour and a half, two maybe?" I walk into the 'common area' and plop down on the couch, leaning my head on Tay's shoulder. "Okay, one, you should not be in there that long without someone monitoring and two, Mike got food." My face lights up and I grab the bag with my name on it. I smile as I take notice of its contents:

3 bacon cheeseburgers

2 large fries

2 cheese fries

6 cookies

an extra-large chocolate shake, and a large Sprite.

"I can't believe you can eat all of that and still look like that." I throw a fry at Mike and huff "I work, and they put me on some shit that makes me eat like a pig. Shut up and don't judge me." I feel Tay laugh and he pats my head. "Yeah, yeah. Now, Red. What was it this time? You have a glow around you that you haven't had before." I shrug and take a bite of my food. "Nothing of big importance. Nothing new, really." I smile and grab the remote from the coffee table, shoving his feet off the table in the process. I click the TV on and sigh as the News comes on. I mute it and stand, grabbing my food. "I need air. I'm eating on the deck." I open the door and begin to walk outside. "C'mon Red, you know that this is the public's busiest time of day. You don't need to be spotted, none of us do. We can go into town this evening."

"Now, Ice. "What's life without a little risk?" We could go out now, go to the park. We could hide under the tree. I've wanted to play with fire for a while now, but that room sucks the oxygen out of itself around my hand or arm. That room suffocates my body every time a drastic amount of heat is detected." I turn and see Tay smiling, and jack glaring at me. "Did you just quote me to me, Elizabeth?" I smile and nod, then walk outside. "Get over yourself, Jack. I'll be out here if you need me." I close the door, leaving it cracked so I can still hear everything being said. "C'mon, you guys. You can't really expect her to be okay with being held up in this place with three guys. The only female contact she's had in the past month is the doctor that does her check-ups." I smile as Mike sticks up for me. I sit there for a minute and finish my food. I burn the trash and look back. The guys have lost interest in talking about me, so I turn and climb onto the stone wall 'railing'.

I take a deep breath, and jump. I land in a crouched position, and stand. I dust myself off, and look up. The guys have yet to notice. "Good. Now, I have my money pouch, and I really want pretzels and ice cream." I smile and walk along the trees, watching the many people walking by me. I wait until I see no-one around, and walk out of the wood. I step onto the sidewalk, and as I walk earn many stares from people. "Who is she? I've seen her before." "I recognize her! Her name is Elizabeth. She lives and works up in that big building run by the Scientific Studies unit of the police force." I huff, blowing hair out of my face.

I smile as I walk into the pretzel shoppe. The cashier looks up, and her frown turns into a smile at the sight of me. "Lizzy! How's Tay? I heard the house is coming along great. What color did you decide on for the master room?" I smile.

[Backstory on the cashier: Her name is Gaby. She is 22, and manager of the pretzel shoppe. She has no idea who I really am, and I plan on keeping it that way. She thinks that Tay and I are moving in together. She believes that me and Jack are siblings, and Mike is my best friend. That last one is not wrong. She has no clue about my abilities. She knows about my ex, and how I don't really talk to anyone from school anymore, but that's it.]

"I think we're deciding on a darker red color. You know, something more calming than the bright yellow that they had suggested. Cuz you know about his sleep problems. We decided on a shade of yellow for the kitchen, and blue for the living room." Her face lights up with each word. "Anyways, I came for pretzels. I need 3 dozen. One dozen salted, one and a half dozen cinnamon-sugar, and half a dozen plain. I also need the cheese sauce. The guys love the cheese sauce." She nods and begins to gather my order. I walk to the wall and take a seat. I feel someone standing over me, and I open one eye.

"Tay!" I look over and see Gaby holding my order. She walks over, and he takes it before I can. "Hi, Gaby. I'm super sorry, but we've got an appointment to get to. I think something might be wrong with the house, and we need to go talk to them about it." She nods "Enjoy the pretzels, you guys. Hope to see you again soon!" Tay nods and kisses my temple, putting his arm around my waist. "Let's get going. We also have to meet the guys for dinner to tell them the news." I nod and we walk out. As we walk, we're talking about the guys, but I have a strange feeling that someone is watching us. Or, more specifically, me.